Extending the success of Sarasota’s Legacy Trails.

Building on the success of their popular Legacy Trails, Sarasota County contracted Haskell to expand their former railway-turned biking and walking trail by 12 miles. Delivered in partnership with Jon F. Swift for $36.5 million, the expanded trails connect Payne Park in Sarasota to Venice, Florida.

The 14-foot-wide asphalt surfaces are high impact, capable of sustaining 11-ton rescue vehicles, and come equipped with rest areas, benches and covered structures approximately every mile. Three new trailheads offer parking, restrooms, pavilions and playground equipment, while master planning will accommodate pickleball courts, bocce ball, bicycle safety courses and other activities in the future.

Given the expansive nature of this project, coordination with the county, community and internal team was essential to the trail’s safe design and timely execution. In total, 20 miles of continuous, nonmotorized paved trails connect 27 schools within one linear mile and 45 schools within two linear miles of the corridor.

Coordinating communication and community support.

Despite popular community support, the Legacy Trails Extension project challenged Haskell and Sarasota County to coordinate several logistical challenges. Approximately 200 encroachments from neighboring homeowners, including fences, sheds and wells, required months of community outreach and voluntary compliance before construction proceeded. This door-to-door strategy maximized community buy-in while also raising awareness around the city’s newest amenities.

The Haskell team also negotiated with the Florida Department of Transportation to connect the trail across major roadways. To safeguard pedestrians, Haskell implemented dedicated bike and pedestrian overpasses, multiple at-grade crossings and signalizations. Internally, project management coordinated with in-house schedulers, as well as joint-venture partner Jon F. Swift, to phase construction across three segments. This allowed the county to open portions of the trail earlier, servicing the community without compromising Haskell’s quality of work.

Beyond the 12-mile conversion, Haskell transformed an old log road to create an additional four miles of bike. When Sarasota approached the team with a vision for this trail but needed a more cost-effective path forward. Our team responded with an innovative approach, converting the paths into an off-road mountain bike trail that achieved the project’s goals at a lower cost.

Enhancing Sarasota’s public spaces for future generations.

With this expansion project, the City of Sarasota was looking for a partner that values investing in local communities. From safety features to dynamic activity zones, the new Legacy Trails Extension offers Sarasota residents access to healthy, open-air recreation that brings a sense of community pride.