Proposed new road in Palmetto worries some residents

PALMETTO, Fla. (WWSB) - Palmetto residents are concerned about a new proposed road that would serve as an additional connection to Bradenton.

The project, which recently entered the project development and environmental study phase, seeks to alleviate traffic on U.S. 41 and U.S. 301.

“I just worry about the natural landscape,” Macy Reeves, a Palmetto resident whose land is involved in one of the possible roadways, said. “We live here for the peace and quiet and a road won’t be that.”

In total, the Florida Department of Transportation estimated 371 homeowners would be affected by the new road in some way. Reeves said the proposal would slice through her front yard.

“We’d probably have to find a new home for the donkeys,” she said. “They love the front pasture where the road might go.”