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Minton Road rush-hour traffic congestion under study in West Melbourne, Palm Bay - Florida Today

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West Melbourne and Palm Bay motorists routinely encounter delays along busy Minton Road, where rush-hour commuters converge with school traffic and Hammock Landing shoppers.

"The queuing, or that congestion. The stacking where you're waiting at a signal: We saw a lot of that when we were out there," said Travis Hills, project manager with Kittelson & Associates, an Orlando transportation engineering firm.

"In the a.m. when you're going northbound, pretty much from the bridge over 95 up to Wingate (Boulevard) was really one of your big problem areas there, with the school and the interaction with the schoolkids and the crossings that are going on there at the intersection," Hills said.

"And then in p.m., it's the opposite. So you're going southbound, and it really all backs up from Palm Bay Road — that's what we were seeing in p.m.," he said.

"And then we also had some issues along Henry (Avenue) as well. Folks were struggling to get out in the afternoon going westbound to get out onto that road." 

Hills delivered an in-depth Minton Road assessment during a Wednesday night Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization virtual meeting.

Kittelson & Associates is studying potential improvements along the congested stretch of Minton Road from U.S. 192 southward to Palm Bay Road.

More: Ellis Road widening project leads list of Space Coast road improvement plans

This 3-mile corridor passes by or near Meadowlane Elementary, Meadowlane Intermediate, Central Middle School, West Melbourne School for Science, Palm Bay Seventh-day Adventist School and Early Learning Center, Calvary Chapel Academy, West Melbourne Christian Academy and Pineapple Cove Classical Academy.

The 3-mile stretch also leads to large single-family subdivisions, passes West Melbourne Community Park-Field of Dreams, and provides access to Promise in Brevard, a housing facility for special-needs adults.

A second public meeting may occur in January, and traffic engineers will deliver a presentation to the Space Coast TPO board in March.

The target Minton Road corridor lies primarily within West Melbourne city limits, with a small portion in Palm Bay. Brevard County maintains the roadway. On average, up to 33,100 daily vehicles travel this study area.

Worst areas of Minton Road

Delays in these areas can exceed 80 seconds for motorists.

  • Intersections: Norfolk Parkway (mornings) and Carriage Gate Drive (mornings and evenings).
  • Southbound segments: Helen Street to Henry Avenue and Hield Road to Palm Bay Road (evenings).
  • Northbound segments: Helen Street to U.S. 192 (mornings and evenings).

To combat congestion, officials are examining a series of possible future road configurations.

One calls for a "restricted crossing U-turn" redesign, which would limit motorists from Milwaukee Avenue and Heritage Oaks Boulevard to only right-hand turns onto Minton Road. The estimated cost is $2.7 million, including design, construction and right-of-way acquisition.

Hills said Milwaukee Avenue-Heritage Oaks Boulevard was the worst location for pedestrian-bicyclist crashes — and during field reviews, a crossing guard was nearly struck by a vehicle that was making a left-hand turn.

Other potential projects

  •  Add a second westbound left-turn lane on Henry Avenue (cost $1.8 million)
  • Add a second eastbound left-turn lane on Norfolk Parkway (cost $286,000)
  •  Add a second westbound left-turn lane on Eber Road and restrict driveway access at Sunoco/7-Eleven (cost $195,000)
  •  Add an eastbound left-turn lane on Hield Road (cost $40,000)

Officials are not considering widening Minton Road from four to six lanes — which could cost up to $30 million, not including utility relocation costs, right-of-way costs or pedestrian improvements.

"There are currently other roadway widening and intersection capacity-related projects within the county that are of a higher need and priority than Minton Road, thus funding to widen the roadway may not be available for decades," a May feasibility study said.

Hills said widening to six lanes would also increase vehicle speeds and crash rates.

For more information and to provide survey feedback on Minton Road, visit mintonroadstudy.com.

More: Future east-west expressway linking Brevard-Osceola counties under study

Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1. To subscribe: https://ift.tt/2GpIgJW

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