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Federal Highway Administration

2045 roadway plan officially pushes forward

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The Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) board has approved the 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan that includes numerous projects that are expected to be pursued within a 20-year time frame.

“The goal is to develop [a] cost-affordable plan that covers a minimum of 20 years through the planning process,” Wally Blain, of Tindale Oliver, told the MPO board during a Dec. 11 meeting at the Historic Pasco County Courthouse.

The evaluation of State Road 54 and U.S. 41 is underway and a part of the 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan. This agenda was passed by the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization board on Dec. 11. (File)

The 2045 plan is a revision of the 2040 plan. It prioritizes road in greatest need.

The long-range plan is updated every five years and is subject to revision.

Its feasibility is determined by what funds are allocated on the federal, state and local levels.

The planning process also included a public comment period, from Nov. 6 to Dec.6.

“More than 2,500 residents of Pasco participated in those and provided input on the transportation planning process,” Blain noted.

One comment noted that trucks are traveling faster on Ehren Cutoff, since the road’s shoulders were expanded. Another cited a lack of north-south improvements in Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills compared to east-west improvements. And, there was a suggestion for a train service to connect Pasco County with Orlando and Tallahassee.

While the feedback was noted, priority road improvements must be dealt with first, Blain said.

The 2045 plan includes changes in the way revenues are distributed for transportation-related improvements.

The 2045 plan contrasts to the 2040 plan as follows:

  • Funding for roadway capacity rose from 64% to 71%
  • Funding for transit decreased from 25% to 9%
  • Funding for sidewalks and bicycle facilities increased from 1% to 2%
  • Funding for technology/congestion management rose from 1% to 3%
  • Funding for roadway maintenance rose from 9% to 14%

Projects in the 2045 plan include:

  • Widening of State Road 52 to four lanes, from U.S. 41 to Old Pasco Road
  • A one-way pair conversion, along U.S. 301
  • Widening of U.S. 301 to six lanes, from Eiland Boulevard to Kossik Road
  • Widening of Old Pasco Road to four lanes, from Wesley Chapel Boulevard to State Road 52
  • Widening of Overpass Road to four lanes, from Interstate 75 to U.S. 301
  • Extending Tower Road to U.S. 41

The Vision 54/56 project has $600 million for improvements, but specific changes have yet to be determined.

“State Road 54 is a key corridor that the MPO has taken as a priority in this plan, as well as the 2040 plan,” Blain said.

The MPO has been working along with the Florida Department of Transportation to address the issue.

The state transportation department is conducting an evaluation to determine potential improvements at the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54.

The approved long-range transportation plan will be submitted to the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration and the Florida Department of Transportation. These agencies utilize the adopted plan to implement numerous federal and state-funded transportation projects in Pasco County.

In addition to long-range planning, Blain also covered a number of projects that are ongoing and committed in the five-year plan, which runs through 2024.

Those include:

  • Widening of State Road 52 to four lanes from the Suncoast Parkway to U.S. 41
  • Widening U.S. 41 to four lanes, south of State Road 52
  • Ridge Road extension from Moon Lake Road to the Suncoast Parkway (The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit to begin work on the project on Dec. 20)
  • Construction of a new State Road 52 alignment, east of Interstate 75 to Clinton Avenue
  • Construction of an Interstate 75/Overpass Road interchange.
  • Widening of Collier Parkway to four lanes, from Bell Lake Road to Parkway Boulevard

Published December 25, 2019

Overpass Road could be widened

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Residents can review a proposal for improvements to Overpass Road at a public hearing on Dec. 15 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the First Congregational Church of Zephyrhills, 7900 Fort King Road in Zephyrhills.

Pasco County, the Florida Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration will host the event. Maps and related documents will be available for review.

There will be a formal presentation at 6 p.m., as well as opportunities, before and after, to offer comments and ask questions about the project.

Final approval for the project is expected by spring 2017.

Overpass Road currently is an east/west, two-lane road from Old Pasco Road to slightly less than a mile east of Boyette Road, where it ends.

The approximately nine-mile project would expand Overpass to a minimum of four lanes from Old Pasco Road eastward to U.S. 301, in Zephyrhills. A redesign would realign Overpass and connect it with Kossik Road.

In addition, a new interchange would be built to connect Overpass with Interstate 75.

“We need another exit,” said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore. “It’s that simple.”

Moore and other members of the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization received an update on the project during an MPO meeting on Dec. 8 in Dade City.

The interchange is the only portion of the project to have any funding. Construction costs for the interchange are about $64 million, but the county currently has about $32 million available.

Moore said about $15 million in state funding should be pursued to help make up the shortfall. And, Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano said federal funding also should be sought for road projects in light of President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to support infrastructure improvements nationwide.

Published December 14, 2016

Tampa Bay Express gaining favor in Pasco

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A project to build express toll lanes on interstate highways, known as the Tampa Bay Express, has picked up an endorsement from the Pasco County Commission.

Commissioners voted 4-1 on May 10 to send a letter to the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization urging a favorable vote on the project.

The planning organization is scheduled for a June 22 vote on a project that has gained wide support in Pasco as a solution to commuter gridlock.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano voted no. He cited concerns about the increasing reliance on toll roads to generate revenues. He did approve of the potential for rapid bus service included in TBX.

“All the toll roads in the world don’t necessarily help your traffic,” he said.

The Hillsborough MPO’s decision will determine if the project goes forward as a transportation priority.

State highway officials peg the initial construction costs at about $3.3 billion. Some state estimates put the costs at as much as $6 billion.

“This is very, very important for the residents of Pasco County,” said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore. “We think about quality of life, especially for residents who commute back and forth to Hillsborough County and Pinellas County on a daily basis.”

For some, commuting times can be more than two hours a day, Moore said. “If we save 30 to 45 minutes for them, just think about the increased quality of life, the time they will spend with family and friends, not on the road.”

In recent weeks, the Pasco Economic Development Council and The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce also have come out in favor of the TBX.

The Pasco MPO added its voice to the chorus on May 12 by approving a resolution in favor of TBX.

Outside of Pasco, the TBX has been a divisive issue for months.

Some Tampa city leaders, including Mayor Bob Buckhorn, are strongly in favor. But, community activists in Tampa’s historic neighborhoods of V.M. Ybor, Ybor City, Tampa Heights and Seminole Heights strenuously object.

They say the added express lanes will slice through their streets, wiping out more than 100 businesses and residences.

Opponents have held protest marches and packed public meetings. Yard signs opposing TBX are a common sight.

The Sunshine Citizens is pushing against the project.

Most recently, the civil rights office of the Federal Highway Administration agreed to a preliminary investigation of TBX, based on a complaint that the toll system benefits wealthy commuters and motorists, while harming minorities who live in the affected neighborhoods.

If approved, nearly 50 miles of new toll lanes would be built adjacent to existing non-toll lanes along Interstate 275, Interstate 75 and Interstate 4. The toll lanes would stretch from St. Petersburg to Wesley Chapel, but also along Interstate 4 to Plant City and southward along Interstate 75 toward Manatee County.

Toll fees would vary depending on traffic volume, with most expensive costs likely at rush hours.

A new span of the Howard Frankland Bridge, between Tampa and St. Petersburg, also is part of the overall highway project.

And, the express lanes would open up to rapid bus service.

“I can’t emphasize how important this project is as a cornerstone of the master plan for the seven county region,” said Ramond Chiaramonte, chief executive officer of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA). “I think we’re at a critical juncture. This is something that can transform this region within a decade from where we are now to a functioning transit system where we have express transit buses beginning to connect our suburban areas.”

The project could add about 90,000 temporary jobs during construction, said Richard Gehring, Pasco’s strategic policy administrator. While Tampa Bay is one of the largest job generators in the state, he said, “One of the biggest constraints on Tampa Bay is the transportation system.”

Work is underway to the north on about $400 million in highway projects, such as the State Road 52 interchange redesign at I-75, and TBX is a critical complement in efforts to reduce regional traffic congestion, Gehring said.

About 52 percent of Pasco residents commute outside the county daily, with about 66 percent of those motorists heading to jobs in Hillsborough, said James Edwards, director of Pasco County’s MPO.

“This is the first step to say we’re going to give Pasco commuters a choice,” he said.

Plus, Edwards said, “We look forward to reverse trips from Tampa.”

Published May 18, 2016

MPO keeps elevated road on county transportation plan

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A group that spent months successfully fighting a privately built elevated toll road through the heart of Pasco County got a bit of a setback last week. But its members seem to be OK with it … for now.

Jason Amerson, second from left, will fight any elevated road planned to run near his home off State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes, but won’t challenge the county’s current long-range transportation plan as long as elevated roads don’t come up as a viable option. He was one of the leaders of a local protest group, Pasco Fiasco, that included, from left, Patrick Knight, Brian Narcum and Kristine Narcum. (File Photo)
Jason Amerson, second from left, will fight any elevated road planned to run near his home off State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes, but won’t challenge the county’s current long-range transportation plan as long as elevated roads don’t come up as a viable option. He was one of the leaders of a local protest group, Pasco Fiasco, that included, from left, Patrick Knight, Brian Narcum and Kristine Narcum. (File Photo)

Pasco County’s 2040 Long-Range Transportation Plan is on its way to both federal and state authorities, highlighting the county’s plan for roads, transit and sidewalks over the next 25 years. And among the various needs the county’s Metropolitan Planning Organization included in that transportation plan are elevated roads along the State Road 54/56 corridor.

“We knew the (transportation plan) would still contain the elevated toll road,” said Jason Amerson, a Land O’ Lakes resident who was one of the key players in the elevated toll road protest group, Pasco Fiasco. “It’s not something we are worried about unless they start actively discussing it again at MPO meetings.”

Pasco Fiasco came together last year after some homeowners who live just off State Road 54 learned about a proposal by a private company, International Infrastructure Partners LLC, to build a 33-mile elevated toll road, stretching from U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills to U.S. 19 in New Port Richey. The company had said initially it would fund the estimated $2.2 billion project on its own, but then lost its negotiating power with the Florida Department of Transportation after it requested the state help finance it.

That killed the private project, but an elevated road option remained in the county’s transportation plan. While then Pasco County commissioner Henry Wilson Jr., vowed to help Pasco Fiasco and others against an elevated road down State Road 54 remove such projects from the plan, Wilson was defeated in an open primary election last October by Mike Wells Jr.

“It’s not a simple task getting it removed,” Amerson said. “Probably even a harder task now that Wilson is gone.”

The elevated road remains an option for the county between 2020 and 2040 along the State Road 54/56 corridor as an “alternative improvement.” That could include “premium transit improvements” like toll lanes, overpasses like those used on U.S. 19 in Pinellas County, and elevated lanes.

The elevated road stayed in the plan, but the MPO did make more than 30 other changes to the documents after two months of public hearings. The MPO conducted a 30-day comment period through Nov. 23, as well as public workshops throughout November. It concluded with a public hearing on Dec. 11 where the new transportation plan was adopted unanimously.

Many adjustments to the plan were minor, like name changes of some roads at Bexley Ranch near the Suncoast Parkway, and Mitchell Boulevard near the Little Road area.

But there also were some larger changes as well. They included:

  • Moving up the six-lane expansion of State Road 52 from Interstate 75 to Pasco Road from 2040 to 2019.
  • Delaying another 10 years to 2040 projects like Livingston Avenue from State Road 54 to Collier Parkway, Eiland Boulevard from Handcart to Dean Dairy roads, Curley Road from Wells Road to Clinton Avenue, and Lake Patience Road from Sunlake Boulevard to U.S. 41.
  • Keeping the State Road 56 expansion from Meadow Pointe to U.S. 301 two lanes instead of four by 2019, but possibly expanding it to four lanes by 2030.

That last proposal angered city leaders in Zephyrhills, who wanted four lanes leading into one of its key commercial areas, the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport. Lawmakers like new state representative and former Zephyrhills mayor Danny Burgess said they would work with the city to try and restore funding for a four-lane segment.

The MPO also made a number of changes to Tower Road, which runs primarily east to west in Pasco, just north of State Road 54. They include developer-funded improvements like a two-lane stretch from Bexley Ranch to Ballantrae Boulevard, and an expansion to a two-lane road from U.S. 41 to Ehren Cutoff by 2040, paid for by the county.

The Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, and the Florida Department of Transportation will now review the plan, and work with the county to help implement it.

To read the complete plan, visit Mobility2040Pasco.com.

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MPO keeps elevated toll road on long-range county plan

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Pasco County’s 2040 Long-Range Transportation Plan is on its way to both federal and state authorities, highlighting the county’s plan for roads, transit and sidewalks over the next 25 years. And one transportation feature that made the cut? Elevation roads along the State Road 54/56 corridor.

A group of residents successfully fought a proposed private elevated toll road that would’ve stretched from Zephyrhills to New Port Richey earlier this year, but once they stopped that project, they vowed to remove any mention of elevated roads from the transportation plan. Yet, among the more than 30 changes made to the plan after two months of public hearings, none of them included deleting references to an elevated road.

In fact, it remains an option for the county between 2020 and 2040 along the State Road 54/56 corridor as an “alternative improvement.” That could include “premium transit improvements” like toll lanes, overpasses like those used on U.S. 19 in Pinellas County, and elevated lanes, like was proposed by International Infrastructure Partners LLC in 2013 that could’ve cost upward of $2.2 billion or more.

Pasco’s Metropolitan Planning Organization conducted a 30-day comment period through Nov. 23, as well as public workshops throughout November. It concluded with a public hearing on Dec. 11 where the new transportation plan was adopted unanimously.

Many of the changes to the plan were minor, like name changes of some roads at Bexley Ranch near the Suncoast Parkway, and Mitchell Boulevard near the Little Road area. But there also were some larger changes as well, including:

• Moving up the six-lane expansion of State Road 52 from Interstate 75 to Pasco Road from 2040 to 2019.

• Keeping the State Road 56 expansion from Meadow Pointe to U.S. 301 two lanes instead of four by 2019, but possibly expanding it to four lanes by 2030. Zephyrhills city officials are working with state lawmakers to get that timetable moved up.

• Delaying another 10 years to 2040 projects like Livingston Avenue from State Road 54 to Collier Parkway, Eiland Boulevard from Handcart to Dean Dairy roads; Curley Road from Wells Road to Clinton Avenue, and Lake Patience Road from Sunlake Boulevard to U.S. 41.

The MPO also made a number of changes to Tower Road, which runs primarily east to west in Pasco County just north of State Road 54. They include developer-funded improvements like a two-lane stretch from Bexley Ranch to Ballantrae Boulevard, and an expansion to a two-lane road from U.S. 41 to Ehren Cutoff by 2040, paid for by the county.

The Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration and the Florida Department of Transportation will now review the plan, and work with the county to help implement it.

To read the complete plan, visit Mobility2040Pasco.com.

Time to walk to school on Wednesday

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Drivers should be extra careful on school routes Wednesday as many students will take to the street.

It’s part of International Walk to School Day, which raises awareness of the need to create safer routes for walking and bicycling, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. It also emphasizes the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, and concern for the environment.

Statewide, it’s expected that 100,000 students in more than 375 schools will walk and bike to school on Wednesday, along with parents, teachers and community leaders.

“Bicycle and pedestrian safety is a top initiative for the department,” said FDOT chief safety officer Lora Hollingsworth, in a release. “Walking to school creates healthy habits for students and families, and we want to ensure a safe way for them to get there and home safely.”

Organizations that support the walking program include America Walks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Highway Administration, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the National Center for Safer Routes to School, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Safe Kids Worldwide, and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.

For more information on the event, visit WalkBikeToSchool.org, SafeRoutesInfo.org, and IWalkToSchool.org.

Connecting Overpass Road to I-75 now up to county

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Seven months might seem like a long time to await a decision. But when it comes to building major roads, time isn’t always on your side.

Florida Department of Transportation District 7 secretary Paul Steinman announced to Pasco County commissioners last week that the Federal Highway Administration has approved a new interchange that will connect Interstate 75 with Overpass Road.

Overpass Road will finally get its connection with Interstate 75, the first step toward what could be Pasco County’s new hot spot with sports fields, schools and a massive community that could help fuel growth over the next 50 years. (File Photo)
Overpass Road will finally get its connection with Interstate 75, the first step toward what could be Pasco County’s new hot spot with sports fields, schools and a massive community that could help fuel growth over the next 50 years.
(File Photo)

The project will add yet another entry into the county in an area where Wesley Chapel District Park already exists and a new high school is planned, and could even alleviate current and future congestion on State Road 52 to the north, and State Road 54 to the south.

“The exciting part of that is that it does open up the east side of the county for you once it gets developed,” Steinman said at the meeting.

The Overpass Road interchange will provide additional access in the Wesley Chapel area as well as East Pasco County, where several developments have been approved, or are in various stages of planning or construction, such as Pasadena Hills.

That is a 22,000-acre project that will create more than a dozen high-density villages that could help the area manage growth for that region over the next few decades.

To build the interchange, that portion of Overpass Road near I-75 will be expanded to four lanes with the possibility of expanding into six in the future. Eventually, the plans are to extend Overpass to connect Old Pasco Road and U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills.

The cost for the project will be more than $55 million, and while federal money will eventually be available to the county, officials have to show initially they’re able to fund the overall work on their own. Funds could come from an expanded gas tax, Penny for Pasco funds, and even mobility fees.

“Whether the state or federal government will put in any money, you can’t depend on that,” county transportation planning manager James Edwards told The Laker last January.

But the clock is ticking, county planning and development director Richard Gehring told commissioners.

“Whenever you get this finally inked and approved, you have eight years to construct,” he said. If the county fails to do that, federal approval of the project is withdrawn, and both the county and the state would have to apply all over again.

Population studies have shown the number of people who live in the area Overpass would serve will explode 400 percent to 218,000 people by 2035. Right now, just fewer than 60,000 people live in the area.

Capacity on I-75 also will increase through that area from the current 51,000 vehicles daily between State Roads 52 and 54, to 165,800 in 2040. That kind of volume would create traffic nightmares for existing interchanges in San Antonio to the north and Wesley Chapel to the south. It could even back up State Road 56 just north of the Hillsborough County line.

The county may have been waiting for months to hear back from Washington, D.C., but plans to improve Overpass Road have been afoot for more than a decade.

In 2003, county officials first looked at how the road could be improved between Old Pasco and Fort King roads, without looking at any potential connection with I-75. That changed with a new study in 2006 that gained favorable reviews from FDOT and federal highway officials.

Because the interstate is a federal road, any connections to it would have to be approved by the federal government. To show the viability of such a plan, the county produced a project development and environment study and a preliminary interchange justification report, officials said.

The county already has started to put some funds aside for this particular project to the tune of $15 million. Additional money could come from the renewed Penny for Pasco when those funds start to come in next January.

Published July 16, 2014

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Feds approve Overpass Road interchange on I-75

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The Federal Highway Administration has given a green light to the new Interstate 75 interchange that will be built on Overpass Road, not far from Wesley Chapel District Park.

“This is a huge accomplishment, as all new interchange requests along the interstate system go up to Washington, D.C., for approval,” Florida Department of Transportation District 7 secretary Paul Steinman told Pasco County commissioners Tuesday, according to a release.

The Overpass Road interchange will provide additional access in the Wesley Chapel area, which has experienced a large population growth, as well as East Pasco County, where several developments have been approved or are in various stages of planning or construction, such as Pasadena Hills.

The new road will help divert traffic from existing interchanges on State Road 54, State Road 52 and State Road 56.

The county will have eight years to get the interchange ready to go, or the approval process would have to be reinitiated, county planning and development director Richard Gehring told commissioners, according to a release. The county would have to dip into mobility fees, Penny for Pasco, as well as “special contributions” from the Villages of Pasadena Hills, to get it going.

The initial cost estimate of the new interchange is $55 million.

See the July 16 edition of The Laker/Lutz News for more details on the new interchange.

 

Pressure grows on Scott to veto speed limit bill

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AAA is not a big fan of raising the speed limit on Florida highways, and is asking Gov. Rick Scott to veto a bill that would do just that.

S.B. 392, which was introduced by state Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, would allow Florida to join Maine as the only states east of the Mississippi River that would allow speeds above 70 mph. The bill would allow the Florida Department of Transportation to consider increasing speed limits by 5 mph on certain roads, meaning limited access highways could increase to 85 mph, highways outside urban areas 70 mph, and 65 mph on other roadways under FDOT’s jurisdiction.

But driving faster means more speed-related traffic deaths, AAA said. There are 16 states that allow speeds greater than 70 mph, and most are now well above the national average of 30 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“We’re deeply concerned for the safety of Florida’s roadway users with cars traveling at increasingly higher speeds on our interstates and other highways,” said Kevin Bakewell, senior vice president and chief public affairs officer for AAA, in a release. “Based upon similar action in other states, this change in state law will likely result in more crashes, injuries and deaths on our highways.”

NHTSA reported more than 10,200 deaths, or nearly a third of all motor vehicle fatalities, occurred in speed-related crashed in 2012, AAA said. The economic cost of speed-related crashes is more than $40 billion annually.

In the Florida Senate’s own analysis of the bill’s impact, a report from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program showed crash and fatality rates increased more when speed limits were increased from 55 to 65 mph, compared to a 65 to 75 mph increase. Yet, the Federal Highway Administration still points out that “there is clear and convincing evidence that crash severity increases with individual vehicle speed.”

The Senate’s analysis also pointed out that fuel efficiency drops the faster a vehicle goes, possibly more than a mile per gallon for each mile per hour a car increases speed.

The bill passed the Senate 27-11 on April 24, and the State House 58-56 on Wednesday. Locally on the Senate side, Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, and Tom Lee, R-Brandon, both voted for the bill, while John Legg, R-Lutz, voted against.

In the House, only Reps. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes; Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel; and James Grant, R-Tampa, voted for it.

 

Be careful in highway work zones, FDOT says

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In 2012, there were 51 fatalities, nearly 3,500 serious injuries and 4,700 crashes — all in Florida’s work zones.

Although that’s down from 62 fatalities and 3,700 serious injuries, the Florida Department of Transportation wants to continue to bring light to dangers in work zones, designating this week National Work Zone Awareness Week.

“Florida has many infrastructure improvement projects,” FDOT secretary Ananth Prasad said, in a release. “Work zones create unexpected hazards, and extra caution should be taken in these areas. Motorists should slow down, stay alert, and avoid distractions like texting.”

The awareness week began in 1999 when the Federal Highway Administration, the American Traffic Safety Services Association, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials pledged to increase public awareness of work zone safety issues through a national media campaign.

Local, state and federal transportation officials observe that in April, the traditional start of the highway construction season across most of the country.

“Construction crews face difficult conditions every day while they work to improve our highways and make them safer,” said Col. David Brierton, Florida Highway Patrol’s director, in a release. “And those conditions are made even more difficult when you factor in the daily flow of traffic they must work around.”