Citrus County launches roughly $18 million road preservation push to upgrade 130 miles

Citrus County Technical Services said the county will invest approximately $18,000,000 this year in a coordinated pavement preservation program aimed at improving more than 130 miles of county-maintained roads.

"This year alone, Citrus County is investing approximately $18,000,000," said Charles Lezotte, Citrus County Technical Services, who oversees the pavement management program. Lezotte described the effort as the largest roadway improvement effort in Citrus County history and said officials are prioritizing interventions on roads that are approaching rapid decline.

County staff are shifting toward earlier preservation treatments rather than waiting for major rehabilitations, a change officials say reduces life-cycle costs. "You're now seeing preservation treatments for the 1st time in decades," Lezotte said, adding that, over a 40-year period, preserving a road at the right time can extend service life while costing nearly 0.5 as much as repeated major rehabilitations.

Lezotte said this year's work will affect about 7% of the county's roadway network and put that portion into what he described as "excellent condition" through planned preservation and timely maintenance. Residents can review the county's work plan, completed projects and those underway at citruscounty.gov/roads and learn more about treatments and decision criteria at the pavement management transparency portal, citruscounty.gov/roadportal.

The announcement is informational and does not record any formal vote or ordinance during this statement.