Indian River's $250M Road 510 Widening Stalls on Railroad Rules, Water District Fights

Maria Formoso has spent 11 years shepherding County Road 510 through the machinery of Florida government — permits, contracts, environmental reviews, drainage studies — and on Tuesday she stood before the Indian River County Metropolitan Planning Organization to deliver the most honest summary of that work: some of it is going well, and a lot of it isn't.

The $250 million project to widen a six-mile corridor from two lanes to four — stretching from County Road 512 west of Wabasso to east of US 1 — is the largest infrastructure undertaking in Indian River County history. For property owners along that corridor, the difference between four lanes and two isn't abstract. It's the difference between a road that moves traffic and one that traps it at a railroad crossing.

That railroad crossing is the project's sharpest tension. The Florida East Coast Railway demands the county close its Old Dixie grade crossing in exchange for constructing a new one, per FEC policy: one closing for every new lane added. To keep four-lane capacity without shutting down multiple crossings, Florida Department of Transportation engineers designed a $105 million flyover bridge near US 1. The workaround was the only viable path forward under FEC's terms, Formoso, the FDOT project manager, told the MPO.

The good news arrived first. Segment 7, running from County Road 512 to 87th Place, is ahead of schedule under a $25 million contract with Tim Rose Construction, Formoso said.

The rest of the project is a study in delay. Disputes with the Sebastian River Improvement District and the Indian River Farms Water Control District over right-of-way permits have stalled multiple segments. Segment 8 — from 87th Place to west of 82nd Avenue, priced at $21.8 million and physically ready for construction — sits waiting for funding that won't arrive until fiscal year 2030. Segment 5, the $51.4 million stretch to Powerline Road, is targeted for 2031. Segment 6 to 58th Avenue, at $46 million, could begin in 2032.

For residents who drive the corridor today, those dates carry weight. Seven-plus years of construction sequencing means relief could be a decade away for some stretches.

Wabasso community members pressed Formoso and county officials Tuesday on drainage impacts, emergency vehicle access, and a proposed roundabout at 66th Avenue and CR 510. The meeting surfaced a separate legal dispute when the county attorney clarified that only one individual holds legal authority to speak on behalf of the West Wabasso Progressive Civic League — a clarification that drew pointed attention during public comment.

The MPO received the project update without a formal vote. Funding decisions for the unfunded segments remain tied to future state and federal budget cycles.

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