Some Pasco County commissioners are now calling for the widening of Old Pasco Road before a proposed business park is built on the road.
“I don’t want to see anything built until the road is widened,” Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore said during the board’s May 8 meeting.
“We need to make sure the entire road is widened. It will be a nightmare for a lot of residents who live across from the site or near it,” he said.
Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley also supported the road’s widening. “We realize…we have to look at the road and make sure (the widening) is built sooner rather than later,” he said.
Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano suggested that county officials apply for a federal transportation grant from the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) program.
Moore and Oakley revisited the issue on May 10, at Pasco County’s Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting in Dade City.
Moore said the widening project was removed awhile ago from the county’s long range transportation plan and should be put back on the list.
Commissioners have already approved a plan to spend $2.2 million to improve the intersection at Old Pasco Road and State Road 52. That project is scheduled for completion in late 2019.
Work includes pavement reconstruction starting about 1,450 feet south of State Road 52, a sidewalk, storm water, pond construction, signage and turn lanes.
The Florida Department of Transportation currently is widening State Road 52, and installed a traffic signal at Old Pasco Road a few months ago.
When the business park proposal initially came up in March, area residents opposed the project. They said there were too many uncertainties about the businesses that would open there and how Old Pasco Road would handle the increased traffic.
County commissioners previously expressed general support for the business park, but have twice postponed a final vote. Initially named the Vibrant Sun Business Park, county commissioners asked for a name change to Overpass Business Park.
County officials cited the name change as reason for the most recent postponement. The public hearing will be re-advertised with the business park’s new name.
The new public hearing is set for May 22 at the board’s meeting room in New Port Richey. Board meetings begin at 10 a.m.
The Florida Department of Transportation currently is widening State Road 52, and installed a traffic signal at Old Pasco Road a few months ago.
Another project is slated for 2019 at Old Pasco Road and Quail Hollow Boulevard.
Published May 16, 2018
