Construction will widen a 1.8-mile stretch of Ellis Road from two lanes to four between John Rodes Boulevard and Wickham Road in West Melbourne and Melbourne, with work set to begin in May 2026.

The construction timeline was confirmed by Abby Hemenway, the Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization public information officer. Plans for the project go back more than a decade, with information on the City of West Melbourne's website showing that a Project Development and Environment Study was conducted in 2014.

"This has been a long time coming," Hemenway said. "We're really, really excited that now we're reaching the final phase of the plan which is construction." The project is the number one strategic intermodal system priority for the Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization, the Central Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization Alliance and on the Florida Department of Transportation D5 2022 Freight Project Priority List.

"This roadway is going to come complete with some really innovative technology," Hemenway said. "There will be three new signalized intersections and two existing signalized intersections that will have some of what we call ITS, which is Intelligent Transportations Systems. We will be adding CCTV to those two existing signalized intersections and Bluetooth within the project limits for 100 percent coverage of traffic incident detections."

The estimated construction cost for the project is $57 million, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. The process of clearing land at Ellis Road began in July 2025, with major construction activities scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2026.

"If you've driven this corridor before, it's very narrow and it doesn't offer a lot facility-wise to different types of users," Hemenway said. "So, some of the safety improvements include lots of new lighting on this corridor. It's very dark if you go out there currently, some realignment of some access management. You have a lot of different businesses along this corridor, a lot of industrial warehouses. So, some access management makes it a little safer going in and out of driveways and the most exciting thing I think is addition of new bike lanes and sidewalks."

The widening project addresses a critical transportation corridor that serves numerous industrial and commercial properties in the West Melbourne and Melbourne area. The addition of intelligent transportation systems and improved pedestrian and cycling infrastructure represents a significant upgrade to the road's functionality and safety profile, supporting both vehicular traffic and alternative transportation modes in the growing region.

Source: Viera Voice