North Courtenay's Center Turn Lane Is on Its Way Out. Here's Which Merritt Island Left Turns Go With It.

North Courtenay Parkway is 100 feet wide from one property line to the other. Starting at the curb, it has a 5-foot sidewalk, an 8-foot shoulder, an 11-foot travel lane and a 10-foot travel lane. Then comes the 11-foot center lane, where a driver headed to Publix, a church parking lot or a marine service bay can stop and wait for a gap. The other half of the road mirrors the first.

In the Florida Department of Transportation's proposed design, every one of those measurements stays the same except the middle one. The 11-foot two-way left-turn lane becomes an 11-foot raised median. Merritt Island will get no new lanes, no wider shoulders and no new sidewalk out of this. What changes is where a left turn is allowed. Today a driver can turn left at almost any driveway. After the project, left turns will be limited to a short list of openings, signals and U-turns.

What Gets Built, and Where

The project, FDOT number 453311-1, runs 2.216 miles on State Road 3, from Catalina Isle Drive north to the SR 528 eastbound ramps. FDOT says the concept is "consistent with the existing roadway configuration on North Courtenay Parkway to the south." In practice, the northern stretch will be built to work like the divided section drivers already use below Catalina Isle.

FDOT's project handout lists right-of-way as "Within existing," so no property along the corridor is being bought for the work.

Side Street by Side Street

The center lane goes away along the whole corridor, but FDOT's handout changes some intersections more than others.

A directional median still lets drivers on Courtenay turn left into the side street, but it physically blocks drivers on the side street from turning left or going straight across. At Hickory, Butler and Venetian, the median closes completely, so a left turn there will mean driving to the next opening or signal and making a U-turn.

FDOT has planned for that U-turn traffic. The handout says existing signals will be retimed "to accommodate increased U-turn movements at signalized intersections." Older span-wire signals will be replaced, every signal head will get a reflective backplate, and some sections will be resurfaced and restriped.

Via De La Reina Becomes the Corridor's New Hinge

The only new signalized intersection in the project is at Via De La Reina, where FDOT plans a traffic signal on mast-arm poles along with new crosswalks and pedestrian signals. FDOT's open-house exhibit for that intersection gives a sense of the area it will serve. It labels the County Service Complex, Islander Alliance Church, Perrone Plaza, RaceTrac and Dealer's Choice Marine, with Venetian Way just beyond.

Those are everyday stops. The Brevard County Clerk runs an in-person service counter at the Merritt Island Service Complex, 2575 N. Courtenay Parkway, Room 129. Dealer's Choice Marine sells, repairs, details and supplies parts for boats at 2600 N. Courtenay Parkway. A little farther south, the Publix at 1850 N. Courtenay Parkway includes a pharmacy, and Divine Mercy Catholic Church at 1940 N. Courtenay Parkway holds weekday Masses and keeps weekday office hours.

FDOT's published materials do not say which median opening will serve each of these driveways. The detailed access pattern for any one business depends on the final plans, and FDOT has not posted those plans. The overall effect is clear, though. Left turns that are now spread across dozens of curb cuts will be concentrated at a few openings, and the new signal at Via De La Reina sits in the middle of the most visited cluster on the corridor.

Why FDOT Chose This Stretch

According to Spectrum News 13, about 34,000 vehicles a day use Courtenay Parkway between SR 520 and SR 528. FDOT's crash data for the project area covers January 1, 2014, through November 14, 2025. Over those almost 12 years, the corridor had 1,498 crashes, 13 of them fatal and 52 with incapacitating injuries.

The types of crashes explain why FDOT chose a median. In the same period, FDOT's exhibits count 348 left-turn crashes and 586 rear-end crashes. Together, those two types make up 62% of all crashes on the corridor. A two-way center lane lets drivers turn across oncoming traffic from almost anywhere, and every one of those spots is what FDOT's handout calls a "conflict point." Its stated goal is fewer of them, to help prevent head-on and angle crashes.

Business owners on the corridor see both sides of the plan. Bill Stasak, who has run a gun and outdoor sporting goods store on Courtenay Parkway for ten years, told Spectrum News 13 in May 2026 that he has seen the crashes up close:

"I'd love to see it be safer, because we definitely see the accidents. … I see an issue with customers not wanting to come into these businesses as much because of the median. Because they're gonna have to make new turns to get into them."

Stasak told the station he had seen three serious crashes at his own intersection, and he described himself as undecided.

A Recent Example Down US-1

Merritt Island drivers don't have to guess what a new raised median feels like at a single business. Spectrum News 13 noted that FDOT recently added medians to US-1 in Melbourne. In a March 31, 2026, report, the station looked at the Marathon gas station and fried chicken counter at US-1 and Hoag Avenue. The new median there blocks southbound drivers from turning left into the business, so those customers now have to make a U-turn, and large trucks face longer detours. The owner, Jomon Lukose, spoke to the station about the business.

FDOT told Spectrum that it chose the US-1 openings to reduce crashes, and that another opening near the station would violate its 660-foot spacing standard. That example is one business's experience, not a study of the whole corridor. The spacing rule matters for Courtenay, though, because it shows that median openings follow a fixed engineering standard and are not placed driveway by driveway.

The Calendar From Here

FDOT held its public open house on February 19 at Divine Mercy Catholic Church and asked for comments by March 2, 2026, to be included in the official record. As of early October 2026, the project page still lists the Design phase and has no revised plan set or response-to-comments document. The intersection changes described above are still FDOT's proposal.

1. Fall 2026: FDOT expects to finish design, at a design cost of $1.1 million.
2. March 31, 2027: The scheduled letting date, when FDOT puts the construction contract out to bid.
3. Spring 2027: Construction is scheduled to begin, with an estimated cost of $5.5 million.

FDOT marks every one of these dates "subject to change." The project page has a form for sending comments and questions, and the FDOT project manager is Gene Varano, reachable at 386-943-5145 or [email protected]. If you live on Hickory, Butler, Venetian, Queensland or Summer Place, your daily left turn is one of the ones being redesigned. Plans for this stretch are easiest to influence while the project is still in design, and the CFLRoads project page is where FDOT will post anything new.

When a road project changes how people get to and from a property, that becomes part of how the property is described and priced. If you own a home off North Courtenay and want to know how the new median openings could affect your property's position, Jamie Dandridge can go over your street with you before construction begins. Request a Home Valuation to start the conversation.