What the 90th Avenue Rebuild Means for the Drive Out of Vero Lake Estates Through 2028

From 10 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 2026, until midnight on Sunday, April 5, FDOT closed SR 510 in both directions between 87th Street and a point just south of Stony Point Drive. The official detour ran northbound traffic west on 87th Street, north on 101st Avenue and east on SR 512. Southbound drivers took the same loop in reverse.

So for just over a week, the region's way around a state road project ran through the interior streets of Vero Lake Estates. That says a lot about the next two years. The stretch being rebuilt marks the neighborhood's eastern edge, and while it's under construction, the neighborhood's own grid is the backup.

The Mile That Frames the Neighborhood

Vero Lake Estates sits on a street grid. CR 512, also called 95th Street, runs along the north side. The western edge is 108th Avenue, the southern edge is 77th Street, and the eastern edge is 90th Avenue. Along that eastern line, the road is signed as CR 510, which most people know as 85th Street. Two paved roads carry most traffic in and out. 87th Street connects CR 510 to the interior at a traffic light. 101st Avenue runs north to a signal at CR 512. The western part of 85th Street, known as Wabasso Road, doesn't connect to CR 510 at all.

That makes the corner of 87th Street and 90th Avenue the main front door on the east side, and it's inside the construction zone. FDOT project T4699 covers 0.97 miles of SR 510/85th Street, from SR 512/Sebastian Boulevard to just west of 87th Street. Work started on October 29, 2025, and FDOT lists completion as Fall 2028. Timothy Rose Contracting holds the contract, and FDOT puts construction cost at $24.89 million.

The full project page from FDOT describes the final road. The two-lane undivided road becomes four divided lanes. It gets seven-foot buffered bike lanes and a six-foot sidewalk for the whole length. New signals go in at CR 512, Mako Way, Hammerhead Way and 87th Street. A closed drainage system and retention pond are part of the job, along with a new bus transfer facility with six more bus bays around that pond.

The Order of the Work Decides Your Commute

FDOT's public meeting presentation from September 17, 2025, lays out a set sequence. Each phase changes a different part of the drive.

1. Pre-Phase 1. Crews add temporary pavement in the median and along the outside lanes. They also build temporary earth berms, a sheet pile wall and a new 16-inch water main.
2. Phase 1. Traffic moves west so crews can build the southbound side between CR 512 and 87th Street, including storm sewer, sanitary sewer and the new Indian River County transit hub and pond. On CR 512, the speed limit drops from 45 to 40 mph within 900 feet east and west of the CR 510 intersection. The westbound CR 512 sidewalk between CR 510 and Sebastian River Lane closes, and pedestrians and cyclists use a channel between a low barrier wall and channelizing devices.
3. Phase 2. Southbound traffic moves onto the new southbound road, and northbound traffic stays on temporary pavement. Crews rebuild CR 512 from Sebastian Crossings Boulevard to CR 510 and put in utilities at the intersection.
4. Phase 3. Crews build the northbound road and side streets. A temporary sheet pile wall goes in between Hammerhead Way and 89th Street, and the earth berms come out.
5. Phase 4. Crews build the median curb and raised median, plus the southbound sidewalk. During this phase, pedestrians stay on the northbound side.
6. Phase 5. Crews lay the final friction-course asphalt on both CR 510 and CR 512 and put down the permanent pavement markings.

The sequence shows that the walking and cycling improvements come last. The southbound sidewalk isn't scheduled until Phase 4, and the finished surface waits for Phase 5. The presentation also allows single-lane closures on CR 510 and CR 512 every night of the week, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. None of the FDOT material says which phase is underway this October, so the list above is a map of what's ahead, not a progress report.

The Bus Hub Moves Before the Old One Closes

One piece of Phase 1 changes something many people use without thinking about it. FDOT's plan shows a new Indian River County North County Transit Hub built around the new retention pond. The plan says the existing hub stays in place and operating until the new hub and pond are built and open, and the old hub is removed only after that.

GoLine's printed guide lists a stop named "CR 510 & Vero Lake Estates." That guide's rules are marked effective August 2021, though, and none of the FDOT documents say which routes will use the new bays. Until GoLine publishes current routes for the new facility, the stop name only tells you the neighborhood is on the network.

What the Edge Looks Like at Each Stage

Fall 2028 Covers Less Road Than It Sounds Like

The current contract stops just west of 87th Street. FDOT is widening CR 510 from 87th Street to 58th Avenue in phases, and the next stretch, from 87th Street to just west of 82nd Avenue, is listed separately in the Indian River County MPO's 2027–31 Transportation Improvement Program, adopted June 10, 2026. The TIP says final design is underway and right-of-way work runs in phases through fiscal year 2031. Construction on that section is programmed for fiscal year 2030.

The same document lists widening CR 512 to four lanes from Willow Street to I-95, with construction funded in fiscal year 2031. That's the road at the neighborhood's northern edge. Putting the schedules together, the east-side front door at 87th Street is due to be finished in Fall 2028. After that, planned roadwork moves south of it on 85th Street and along the north side on CR 512 in the following fiscal years. Since 87th Street and 101st Avenue already worked as the detour once, they're the obvious streets to watch whenever a future phase needs a closure.

The River Next to the Road Is Further Behind

The widening includes a new box culvert and a temporary sheet pile wall where the road crosses low ground. East along 85th Street, the county owns South Prong Preserve at 7775 85th St. The preserve covers 37.5 acres on parcels on both the north and south sides of CR 510, and it includes part of the South Prong of the Sebastian River. Most of the upland is former citrus grove now left fallow. The floodplain is bottomland forest with a mature canopy of cypress, water hickory and cabbage palm.

The county's preserve page is direct about access. The preserve is not open to the public because the county hasn't finished the planned amenities. According to a February 20, 2026 county staff report, the county bought the land in 2006 and 2007 using environmental bond funds and Florida Communities Trust grants, and the land is part of the St. Sebastian River Greenway. The approved design covers site access from SR 510, parking, connecting trails and an educational building. A later amendment of $43,910 adds design and permitting for utilities to a proposed pavilion and to the existing Ryall house. That work would connect the house to sewer and remove a septic system close to the South Prong Slough, which the report calls the headwaters of the St. Sebastian River.

The paperwork is behind the road schedule. The county's active application register, updated May 27, 2026, lists the South Prong improvements as a pavilion, parking, restrooms and a boardwalk. The pre-application dates from July 2025 and was still awaiting formal submittal. The same register lists a separate Headwaters Preserve at 8080 85th St. Coastal Waterways Design and Engineering LLC is the applicant, and the plan calls for a one-mile walking loop, benches, an interpretive sign, a picnic shelter and an observation platform. That pre-application, from October 2025, was also awaiting formal submittal. Neither listing gives an opening date. The register also doesn't say who owns the Headwaters parcel.

The new sidewalk and bike lanes will have a finish date of Fall 2028. The river land beside 85th Street has none yet.

This Week on 90th Avenue

FDOT's Treasure Coast traffic report for October 9 to 16, 2026, lists intermittent single-lane closures in both directions on SR 510/90th Avenue between SR 512/Sebastian Boulevard and 87th Street. The closures run 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., starting Sunday, October 11, and running through Friday, October 16. FDOT says driveway and street access will stay open for the whole project. For questions about a specific closure, the project's community outreach specialist is Kim Johnson, at (772) 801-8736.

A road project with a fixed end date changes how a property on the east side of the grid looks to buyers. A house near 87th Street shows differently during Phase 2 lane shifts than it will once the median and sidewalk are done. If you're deciding when to list or buy on this side of Vero Lake Estates, Vero Premier Properties can show how construction timing has played out in recent local sales. Get Your Instant Home Valuation to start with a clear number.