Marion County hears PD&E presentation on Marion Oaks Manor extension; public workshop set for Oct. 23

Marion County officials on Oct. 7 received a presentation on the Marion Oaks Manor Extension Project Development and Environment (PD&E) study and were told a public workshop will be held Oct. 23 at the Marion Oaks Community Center from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The presentation, led by Steven Cahoon, Marion County engineer, and Ally Bridal of consultant Kimley Horn, outlined two remaining corridor alternatives — widening to the north (Alternative A) or to the south (Alternative B) — and described typical cross sections that would provide two travel lanes in each direction, paved shoulders, a 12-foot shared-use path and a wide median. "This slide shows kind of the general project location," Bridal said as she described the corridor from the future connection to Southwest 40th Ninth Court Road east over I‑75 to County Road 475.

Why it matters: The project is included in the county’s long-range planning and aims to provide a new connection between the Marion Oaks area and communities east of I‑75. County staff and Kimley Horn said the PD&E process will evaluate engineering, right-of-way needs, environmental impacts, social effects and costs, with oversight by the Florida Department of Transportation’s PD&E procedures.

The two build alternatives differ in how the roadway…