BOYNTON I-95 WORK BEHIND SCHEDULE
Construction work at Hypoluxo, Woolbright could last to November.
Much to the dismay of Boynton Beach drivers, state officials have delayed construction completion dates for Interstate 95 interchanges at Woolbright and Hypoluxo roads.
A big gripe for drivers — the confusing markings and construction cones on the road.
“I have seen so many close calls because people either aren’t paying attention or can’t follow lines,” resident Connie Gollhardt complained.
After 10 months since the initial completion date, the Florida Department of Transportation hopes all lanes on Woolbright Road will be open by the end of October, but it could extend to November. The interchange “still has substantial work outstanding,” FDOT spokeswoman
Andrea Pacini said.
“The contractor needs to complete the widening of the I-95 northbound entrance ramp and finish south-side widening, sidewalk construction, drainage,
lighting and final signalization,” Pacini said.
Work on Woolbright Road includes:
■ Widening Woolbright from Southwest 18th Street to Southwest Second Street.
■ Adding road approaches and bridges over I-95 and the railroad tracks.
■ Providing dual eastbound left-turn lanes onto northbound I-95.
■ Providing free-flow right turns onto westbound Wool
bright from the southbound
I-95 exit.
■ Resurfacing the entire width of Woolbright Road and along the I-95 ramps.
The contractor for the projects, Community Asphalt Corp.,
has been fined $8,941.01 per day since Nov. 4, 2017, after it missed the Nov. 3 deadline for all five locations of the sched
uled work, Pacini said. Hypoluxo Road construction is expected to finish by the end of September, Pacini said. It
includes:
■ Re-configuring the existing Hypoluxo Road approaches and bridges over I-95 and the Tri-Rail / Amtrak / CSX railroad tracks.
■ Constructing dual eastbound left-turn lanes onto I-95.
■ Widening the existing southbound exit ramp to lengthen the turn lanes.
Hypoluxo construction started
in June 2015; Woolbright, in January 2016. They are both part of a $32.5 million project that will also improve the interchanges at 10th Avenue North and Donald Ross Road in Palm Beach County and from Hillsboro Boulevard to Southwest 10th Street in Broward County.
Traffic delays on Woolbright Road are both eastbound and westbound. That aggravates drivers not just during rush hour but 24/7, resident Susie Angiolilli complained.
Angiolilli said many peo- ple speed through the con- struction sites, and the lines dividing the lanes are con- fusing.
“Some of the ‘old’ markings for lanes are still there so it becomes a discom- bobulated mess,” Angiolilli said. “I would say that more definitive lines are needed heading toward the bridge from the west side.”
Others have noticed a big- ger police presence near the interchanges to watch out for speeders. Resident Stan pulled Martucci over by said an he officer was hiding on a side street near Woolbright Road.
“It would be more help- ful if they got out of their vehicle and helped direct a commuters,” smoother traffic Martucci flow said. for Angiolilli said she is happy with police response. “I saw that the police were at the I-95 interchange when the traffic lights were out last week. They did an awesome job of keeping the traf- fic flow running smoothly,” Angiolilli said. A new I-95 project that will stretch about 7.5 miles from north of Gateway Boulevard to north of Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach is expected to begin Sunday, Pacini said.The $15 million project will be contracted by the same company and is expected to be completed by winter 2019. Work for the new proj- ect will include improv- ing drainage, milling and resurfacing roads, improving guardrails, improving rumble strips, fixing signing and pavement markings and installing a traffic-monitoring site along I-95.
Once construction starts, drivers can expect lane closures between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. from Sunday to Thursday night. One lane of I-95 will close at 9 p.m., two lanes will close at 11:30 p.m. and three lanes will close by 1 a.m. The I-95 entrance and exit ramps within the project limits will be closed as needed from 11:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m., according to FDOT.