By Kyle LoJacono
Lucy Smith-Rogers dreams for the day when she can take her two sons to school without the hassles of road construction slowing her down.
Smith-Rogers, of New Tampa, drops off her youngest son, Josh, at Hunter’s Green Elementary before doing the same with her oldest son, Tommy, at Benito Middle. She lives about 15 miles from the facilities, which are next to each other on Cross Creek Boulevard, but the delays associated with the project along with traffic make the trip almost 30 minutes.
“It didn’t used to take that long,” Smith-Rogers said. “When they both went to Hunter’s Green last year it only took about 10-15 minutes.”
Smith-Rogers also has her daily commute to downtown Tampa slowed by the same roadwork that makes dropping off her sons more time consuming. She said it takes her about 30 minutes longer to get to work than it did a year ago.
Smith-Rogers is one of the 66,500 drivers who use Bruce B. Downs from County Line Road to East Bearss Avenue. That daily traffic is greater than the number of vehicles that use I-75 from the split with I-275 down to East Fletcher.
Edward Arnold, Hillsborough project manager, said the county is paying for the four-stage, $80.84 million widening project to reduce traffic congestion created by increasing population in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. Once completed the entire stretch of Bruce B. Downs will expand from four to eight lanes.
“It’s been years in the planning stages,” Arnold said. “The first two segments’ construction started in early 2010 and will be completed together.”
The first two segments stretch from Pebble Creek Drive to Palm Springs Boulevard in the south. Arnold said the job is on pace for completion in late 2012.
The third section begins at Palm Springs and extends south to Bearss, while the final stage goes from Pebble Creek north to the Pasco County line.
Arnold said the third phase of the project is scheduled to last from the middle of 2013 to late 2016, with the fourth segment lasting from the middle of 2014 to 2015.
“The reason we did the middle section first is that’s the area that includes the onramp to I-75,” Arnold said. “We wanted to get that taken care of so people can use the newly widened interstate instead of Bruce B. Downs while we finish that job.”
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is currently widening I-75 from SR 54 in Wesley Chapel south to Fowler Avenue and has plans to expand the interstate north to SR 52 in Dade City.
“That whole area along I-75 has been growing in population the last 10 or so years,” said FDOT public information officer John McShaffrey. “The department is planning for even more growth with these projects.”
For now, the construction on Bruce B. Downs is an inconvenience for Smith-Rogers and the others who share the roadway, but eventually it will make travel easier.
“Maybe by the time both of my boys are in high school and can drive themselves it’ll be done,” Smith-Rogers said with a laugh. “Maybe, but I’m not counting on it anytime soon.”
