STUART — The wait is far from over. But some relief is coming for those who drive through Martin County’s busiest intersection.
The Florida Department of Transportation is planning to spend nearly $10 million in fiscal 2028 to improve the Kanner Highway-U.S. 1 intersection.
“The planned improvements will help reduce overall average delay at the intersection,” said Tony Norat, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation.
Changes consist of a dedicated right-turn lane from southbound U.S. 1 to Kanner Highway and a third left-turn lane from eastbound Kanner Highway to northbound U.S. 1. Two left-turn lanes already exist.
Design of the project is almost 30% complete, Norat said. But it’s unclear how FDOT will add a left-turn lane in the existing right-of-way.
The state may use an existing eastbound lane, that runs straight toward historic downtown Stuart, and make it a left-turn lane, according to a concept drawing provided by FDOT.
Construction is expected to start in spring 2028 and be complete in January 2029, according to the department. No local tax money would be spent on the project. The state would pay $5.1 million and $4.6 million would come from the federal government, Norat said.
A busy intersection
“That is the busiest intersection in the city,” said Mayor Campbell Rich. “Clearly, changes have to be made.”
Stuart gets the blame for the congestion, but it’s an intersection of a state road and a federal road, he said.
The newly opened Costco store on Kanner Highway may be adding to the congestion at the intersection.
Wait times
The added left-turn lane is expected shave several seconds off motorists’ wait times when turning north from Kanner Highway onto U.S. 1, according to FDOT.
Vehicles are waiting an average of 55 seconds during morning rush hour and 71 seconds during afternoon rush hour to make that turn, Norat said, citing a 2022 analysis.
Following construction, wait times are projected to drop to 50 seconds in the morning and 64 seconds in the afternoon, he said.
Keith Burbank is TCPalm’s watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com and at 720-288-6882.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: $10 million upgrade eyed to help move traffic through Kanner-U.S. 1 intersection in Stuart
Reporting by Keith Burbank, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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