NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla – Neighbors in New Smyrna Beach’s Venetian Bay community are raising concerns about why their neighborhood was chosen as the detour route for a major Interstate 95 project.
Airport Road, the designated detour route through Venetian Bay, winds past several subdivisions, a town center with businesses, parks and busy walking paths. Residents say the road is not built for semi-trucks and highway traffic — even during overnight hours.
“The amount of traffic going up and down Airport Road. This is a fairly residential area. They’re sending an awful lot of vehicles and trucks like major 18-wheelers. I don’t know if the roads [are] prepared to handle it like a state highway would,” said Devin Williams, a Venetian Bay resident.
Overnight I-95 closures tied to the Florida Department of Transportation’s Pioneer Trail project will push traffic onto local roads — including Airport Road — from 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. over the next week. While neighbors say they support the new interchange project, they question why their community is bearing the brunt of the detour.
Resident Carl Scharwath hopes that if the detour route won’t change, at least the speed limit might be temporarily reduced to make the road safer.
“I just think the right answer is to lower the speed limit temporarily from 45 to 30 or 35. I know it’s only going on a couple more days technically, but the Pioneer Trail project will be going on for a long time,” Scharwath said.
“They’re going to go either 45 or 50 on a one-lane road with grass on the side, which neighbors are worried about getting torn up and accidents. We have Luna Bella, which is a main drag up the street because they’re starting at 9:30. So that’s a concern with kids on e-bikes and things like that,” he added.
News 6 emailed the city with residents’ concerns. The city manager said the city asked FDOT to potentially lower the speed limit temporarily — but was told a slower speed limit would actually make semi-trucks even louder.
Scharwath says his biggest worry is overnight truck traffic.
“Just think [about] 95 overnight. I think a lot of trucks do deliveries late at night, so I’m more worried about the trucks,” he said.
News 6 also reached out to local police about enforcement efforts. The police chief said his department will now have more officers working the detour to monitor speeds and traffic during those overnight hours.
