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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Construction, legal action on Ridge Road

December 29, 2020 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Work on the Ridge Road extension is pushing ahead even as legal action from the Sierra Club to halt construction remains active.

Attorneys for the Sierra Club recently filed a motion to add U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a defendant in a lawsuit that was filed in February against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The approximately 9-mile corridor would link Moon Lake Road in New Port Richey with the Suncoast Parkway, and eventually will reach U.S. 41 in Land O’ Lakes.

An aerial view shows a portion of the Ridge Road extension route beginning with Moon Lake Road in New Port Richey and linking to U.S. 41 in Land O’ Lakes. (Courtesy of Pasco County)

The extension cuts through the Serenova Tract of the Starkey Wildlife Preserve, which has been a point of contention.

Environmentalists say the road will destroy sensitive conservation wetlands and wildlife habitats. They believe the motive for the road extension is to support more growth and development.

The lawsuit alleges that Fish and Wildlife in its “biological opinion” violated the Endangered Species Act and failed to properly assess harmful impacts, specifically to the Eastern indigo snake. The lawsuit also claims the Army Corps failed to complete a legally required comprehensive analysis on impacts to the Florida scrub blue jay and the red-cockaded woodpecker.

“They are causing damage to the best preserve in Pasco County,” said Tim Martin, chair of the Sierra Club Florida’s conservation committee.

County officials say the road extension will add a vital east/west evacuation route during hurricanes and other emergencies. The route and construction seek to do minimal damage to the preserve, they say.

The Serenova Tract is part of a 1990s settlement agreement reached during litigation over construction of the Suncoast Parkway. About 200 acres were set aside to mitigate wetlands damage. Ownership transferred from the Florida Department of Transportation to the Southwest Water Management District, but preserved the right to extend Ridge Road.

Battle lines over the proposed route put county officials and environmental activists on opposing sides for more than 20 years. But, in late 2019, the Army Corps granted a construction permit.

In March, a federal judge denied a Sierra Club motion for an emergency injunction to temporarily block road construction until the lawsuit’s conclusion. The decision cited “monetary harm” to the county if work were halted.

Roadwork moved ahead.

And, in November, Pasco County commissioners approved approximately $2.7 million to purchase wetland mitigation credits due to “unavoidable wetlands impact.”

Last summer work crews completed a road segment linking Ridge Road and Town Center Boulevard, an access point for River Ridge Middle and High Schools.

Next up is building a two-lane segment between Town Center and the Suncoast Parkway, with an expected completion in summer 2021. The two-lane roadway later will be widened to four lanes by summer of 2022.

Construction is expected to begin in 2021 on the Ridge Road extension between Suncoast Parkway to the future Suncoast Boulevard. The final step would be extending Ridge Road from the boulevard to U.S. 41 at the intersection with Connerton Boulevard, the main entrance into the master-planned community of Connerton.

Construction on this segment would begin in 2022.

County officials hope to open the entire Ridge Road extension by the end of 2025.

In addition to the roadway, as many as 16 bridges will provide overpasses along the length of Ridge Road. There also will be pathways, upland wildlife crossings and fences to provide habitat connectivity, and prevent roadkill of the numerous species living in the preserve.

Work crews cleared a swath of land to prepare for construction of the Ridge Road extension.

The initial phase of the project is estimated at $93.2 million, including incentives to finish early. About $11.3 million will pay for ramps and toll equipment at the Suncoast Parkway interchange. The final phase of construction is about $36.1 million. However, county officials said the design and cost estimate of that phase will be updated by the end of 2020.

Martin said the county is moving aggressively to complete construction. If the Sierra Club prevails in its efforts to permanently stop the road extension, Martin said, “We want them to restore it to its natural state.”

Sierra Club attorney Sarah Hayter said the goal is to have the permit revoked. Though the county is spending millions, Hayter said the courts could require Pasco to restore what it has done.

A federal judge must determine if Fish and Wildlife can be added to the lawsuit, said Hayter. Representatives for Fish and Wildlife, and the Army Corps, agreed to the amended lawsuit, she said.

However, Hayter said she understood that Pasco officials planned to file an objection.

Pasco isn’t a defendant in the lawsuit, but the courts granted a request for the county to intervene on behalf of the Army Corps.

County officials declined to comment on pending litigation.

By Kathy Steele

Published December 30, 2020

Wetlands’ impact costs $2.7 million

December 15, 2020 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Pasco County will pay about $2.7 million to buy wetland mitigation credits related to construction of the Ridge Road extension.

The Pasco County Commission approved a resolution for the payment to EIP (Ecosystem Investment Partners LLC) and the Old Florida Wetland Mitigation Bank during the county board’s Nov. 17 meeting.

The resolution described the payment as due to “unavoidable wetland impacts.”

Ridge Road is under construction but remains embroiled in a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club against the United States Army Corp of Engineers. The federal agency approved the road’s permit after a controversy spanning more than two decades about its construction.

The Sierra Club alleges that the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service relied on a faulty, outdated environmental report that omitted impacts to some endangered and threatened species.

County officials describe the road as a necessary addition to the county’s emergency evacuation routes.

Environmentalists have said the county wants the road to accommodate additional  development along the road’s pathway.

The road extension is intended to provide an east-west pathway from Moon Lake Road in New Port Richey, to U.S. 41, also known as Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, in Land O’ Lakes.

Published December 16, 2020

County continues pursuit of Ridge Road Extension

December 19, 2018 By Brian Fernandes

Pasco County is continuing its pursuit of a project to allow the extension of Ridge Road, and Sam Beneck, the county’s project manager, gave a briefing on the status during a Dec. 12 luncheon meeting of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.

“We are currently in the design and permitting phase,” said Beneck. “We have not started any construction activities,” he told members and guests during the luncheon at the Fox Hollow Golf Club in Trinity.

At the North Tampa Bay Chamber luncheon on Dec. 12, Sam Beneck, Pasco County project manager, updates attendees on the current plans for the Ridge Road Extension. (Brian Fernandes)

The planned 9-mile project will be broken into two phases, the project manager said. Phase 1 would stretch from Moon Lake Road in New Port Richey heading east to the Suncoast Parkway. Phase 2 would run from the Suncoast Parkway to U.S. 41, in Land O’ Lakes.

The duration for the first phase is expected to be three years, but the county hopes to shorten that.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers views it as one project, and the funds for the phases will be allocated separately.

The first phase is estimated at $67.8 million. The second phase has not yet been funded.

A Suncoast Parkway interchange also is being considered. The design for that project is expected to cost $1 million, with funding from the Florida Turnpike Enterprise.

“In prior years, we have expended almost $20 million on this project,” Beneck explained. “That includes land acquisition, a fair amount of design and redesign.”

He emphasized that in working with the Corps of Engineers, the county vigorously sought the alternative that is cost efficient, while improving mobility and reducing hurricane evacuation time.

Replacing roadside slopes with walls and pedestrian rails is being considered, he said.

The project manager also said the county has been working closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reduce impacts to the environment.

Pasco County and the Corps of Engineers came to a consensus in 2017 on an approach called Modified Alternative 7 as the least environmentally damaging option. It calls for partially elevating the Ridge Road Extension.

According to a traffic analysis survey, Modified Alternative 7 would also increase traffic flow and reduce evacuation time.

Under the plan, 16 bridges would be added in sensitive areas, as well as curbs and guardrails.

Specialized fencing also will be installed in areas where animals are most likely to frequent.

The county also would provide $3.2 million in compensation for environmental impacts during Phase 1.

The county also is collaborating with Duke Energy to design a new trailhead with parking and to provide access to existing hiking trails within the Serenova Preserve.

The county expects a permit decision by the Corps of Engineers by September 2019.

While the county continues to press forward on its efforts, the project continues to meet resistance.

Two of those opponents spoke at the Pasco County Commission’s Dec. 11 meeting.

Dan Callaghan, a long-time critic of the Ridge Road Extension, said that contrary to the county’s claims, the project is being pursued to promote development, not to improve hurricane evacuation.

He said the county wants to nibble to death its preserve areas and “slash our wild places to death, by a thousand cuts.”

Clay Colson, who also opposes the Ridge Road Extension, urged commissioners to protect the county’s preserves.

“You know preserve is something that means we’re going to keep it for our future generations,” Colson said.

Instead of extending Ridge Road through the Serenova Preserve, Colson said the county should extend Connerton Boulevard to the Suncoast Parkway.

Staff writer B.C. Manion contributed to the report.

Published December 19, 2018

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