Information to the timing of the plan will be provided as the county provides updates. For now, this is what we know:
FY25 Paving: Mr. Layport reported that the 2025 paving program will commence in February or
March, once bids are received and the Board of County Commissioners approves the contractor.
There are only two companies with plants in the area that can supply competitive bids. The
chosen contractor will pave Placida and Englewood East, in the order of its choosing. The cost
will likely be higher than the estimate in the budget, which was based on 2023 prices plus five
percent. Once a bid is approved, Fiscal Services will present financing options to the Advisory
Board. In response to questions from the Board, Mr. Layport continued. It will take about eight
weeks to pave the eighteen miles of road in the Placida area. Inconvenience to homeowners will
be minimal; they can drive on the blacktop twenty minutes after it is lain. The expected lifespan
of twenty years is enhanced by a rejuvenation in the first year, 2026; that will be budgeted. The
specification is for 75-pound quartz and one inch of blacktop with approved levels of bitumen and
liquid and recycled asphalt. An inspector samples the mix daily. A half-inch lip of blacktop can be
expected on abutting driveways. It is recommended that owners with paving stones remove one
row before the project begins and replace it after the machines roll through. Empty rows would
be paved in the final phase. Mr. Howell expressed concern about the cost. Mr. Zwetzig expressed
concerns about banyan tree roots (those in roadway will be dug out) and the closing the Cape
Haze bridge (it can be paved one lane at a time) and the impact of tidal surge.