Sometimes plans change.
While the project is nearly complete, the finished product of the County Road 54 Phase II will be different than originally planned, Pasco County officials told The Laker/Lutz News.
Originally, County Road 54 was expected to have a four-lane roadway section, east of U.S. 301 and west of 12th Street/Wire Road. Additionally, it would be a two-lane roadway section between 12th Street/Wire Road and 23rd Street.
The section and plans, which are adjacent to Zephyrhills High, were per the Pasco County Commission’s approved route study.
After 60% completion design phase, and during the utility coordination stage, it was discovered there would be substantial right of way costs resulting from impacts to a new Duke Energy transmission easement. Those costs would have occurred in the part of the project where the four-lane roadway section had been proposed, the county added.
Relocating the Duke Energy facilities would cause significant impacts to the high school.
Design alternatives were provided, and the evaluation of alternatives involved five inter-agency meetings with staff from Pasco County, the City of Zephyrhills and the Pasco County School District. Parties involved agreed to a project redesign.
The current project consists of a two-lane roadway section east of U.S. 301 and west of 12th Street/Wire Road, with the addition of left and right turn lanes on County Road 54 at the intersection of 12th Street/Wire Road — and a left turn lane on Wire Road.
The remainder of the project’s design is unchanged from the original design, according to county officials.
Right and left turn lanes are proposed on County Road 54 at the intersections of 20th Street and 23rd Street, while a new traffic signal is proposed at 23rd Street.
Published August 02, 2023
