OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, Fla. — WPTV is still following up on your concerns and pushing for answers about State Road 710/Warfield Boulevard.
As we've showed you, that road stretches between Okeechobee, Martin and Palm Beach counties.
After another deadly wreck this week, we heard the Martin County Sheriff yesterday, push the state to speed up work to widen the roadway.
WPTV Treasure Coast reporter Tyler Hatfield has been tracking the problems on State Road 710 for nearly a year.
He got to work in Okeechobee County on Wednesday, listening to leaders and neighbors about this decades-long problem and he's showing us how the state plans to fix it.
“How do you feel about the roadway?” Hatfield asked Okeechobee County Sheriff Noel Stephen.
“We're trying to put 10 pounds of stuff in a five-pound sack. [It’s] one of the significantly identifiable dangerous roads within our community," Stephen replied.
He said his county is seeing a lot of growth, and with it, more traffic. Since just 2020, the Okeechobee County Sheriffs Office said there’s been over 400 crashes, eight of them deadly.
“They're driving erratically,” Stephen said. “That does not mix in a congested road.”
He agrees with Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek about widening State Road 710.
Traffic News
1 dead, 2 hurt in Martin County crash
“I think that early four-laneing will help us in those areas,” Stephen said.
He said he’d like to see widening of the road, sooner than the Florida Department of Transportation's current plan to make the road four lanes starting in 2030.
“It just it seems a little too late,” Stephen said.
Hatfield pressed FDOT about their four-lane widening plans for State Road 710 in Okeechobee and Martin counties. FDOT said construction will begin in 2030, but first, they will start realigning SR-714 to 126th Boulevard in Okeechobee County in 2029.
In 2030, they will begin widening State Road 710 from FPL Access Road in Martin County all the way to Okeechobee County Line.
In 2031, FDOT will begin widening the roadway from FPL Access Road south to Allapattah Road in Indiantown.
In Okeechobee County, along State Road 710, neighbor Claire Hair’s property and her pastures are no stranger to crashes.
WATCH BELOW: Sheriff calls for expedited safety improvements to State Road 710 after wrecks
“We repair fences probably two to three times a year, as well as the other ranch owners here,” said Hair. “You never know what's coming through the fences— semis, cars, motorcycles. It doesn't matter.”
She said she’s lived there for 40 years.
“You put your life at risk every day you get on this road,” Hair said.
She added that State Road 710 is just not enough road.
“People are losing their lives, simply because there's not enough highway to support the influx of people going to and from work,” said Hair. “Without more asphalt for people to drive on, nothing's going to change.”
WPTV pressed the FDOT about any plans to upgrade the Okeechobee portion of State Road 710 and we’re still waiting for their response.
Read more of WPTV's coverage below:
Traffic News
1 dead, 2 hurt in Martin County crash
Traffic News
Neighbors want solutions for SR-710 after 2 double fatal crashes
Region Martin County
4 people killed in 2 separate crashes on State Road 710, officials say
Martin County
FDOT reviewing safety on Indiantown roadway
Traffic News
Crash injuring Indiantown teen revives calls for safety changes
Traffic News
Widening of this troubled road carries $170M price tag
Traffic News
Why residents are saying 'you risk your life' on this road
Region Martin County
