30500794 - Florida Administrative Rules, Law, Code, Register

Florida Department of State and Division of Library and Information Services


Notice: 30500794
Notice of Meeting/Workshop Hearing

Division:	Consor North America


Overview



	The The FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, DISTRICT ONE announces a hearing to which all persons are invited.

DATE AND TIME:	In-Person: Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 5:30-6:00 p.m. open house (6:00 p.m. formal presentation) Virtual: Thursday, February 19, 2026, 6:00 p.m. formal presentation and comment period) (please register in advance at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2829603521931654495).

PLACE:	Town of Lake Placid Government Center, 1069 U.S. 27 North, Lake Placid, FL 33852

Subject:	The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), District One, will conduct two public hearing sessions for proposed improvements to S.R. 70 from Lonesome Island Road to the southern leg of C.R. 721 in Highlands County, Florida. The same materials will be presented at both sessions. The in-person public hearing session will be held on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at the Town of Lake Placid Government Center, 1069 U.S. 27 North, Lake Placid, FL 33852. The in-person hearing will begin as an open house from 5:30-6:00 p.m., with a formal presentation at 6:00 p.m. The virtual public hearing session will be conducted online on Thursday, February 19, 2026, with a formal presentation and comment period beginning at 6:00 p.m. Please register for the virtual public hearing in advance at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2829603521931654495. The proposed improvements include widening S.R. 70 from a two-lane, undivided facility to a four-lane, divided facility, increasing the travel lane widths from 10 feet to 12 feet, increasing the guardrail setback, and installing a 12-foot wide shared-use path on the south side of the roadway. The public hearing sessions are being conducted to give interested persons an opportunity to express their views concerning the location, conceptual design, and social, economic, and environmental effects of the proposed improvements. Draft project documents will be available for public review from Monday, January 27, 2026, to Monday, March 2, 2026, at the Lake Placid Memorial Library 205 W. Interlake Blvd, Lake Placid, FL 33852, the FDOT Heartland Operations Center, 4722 Kenilworth Blvd., Sebring, FL 33870, and on the project website: www.swflroads.com/project/449851-1. Persons wishing to submit comments, in place of or in addition to oral statements, may do so at either hearing session or by sending them to FDOT Project Manager, Kathern Cothern, via email at kathern.cothern@dot.state.fl.us or via mail at 801 N. Broadway Ave., MS 1-41, Bartow, FL 33830. All comments postmarked on or before Monday, March 2, 2026, will become part of the public hearing record. Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, or family status. Persons who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or persons who require translation services (free of charge) should contact Cynthia Sykes, FDOT District One Title VI Coordinator, at (863) 519-2287, or email at Cynthia.Sykes@dot.state.fl.us at least seven (7) days prior to the public hearing sessions. The environmental review, consultation, and other actions required by applicable federal environmental laws for this project are being, or have been, carried out by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) pursuant to 23 U.S.C. §327 and a Memorandum of Understanding dated May 26, 2022, and executed by the Federal Highway Administration and FDOT.


	A copy of the agenda may be obtained by contacting: Not applicable

PRINT PUBLISH DATE:	2/10/2026 Vol. 52/27


REFERENCE MATERIALS:	No reference(s).

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Overview