Two resurfacing projects — proposed on the Suncoast Parkway — would make road conditions smoother for motorists using the toll road to drive through Pasco County.
The first project calls for resurfacing the Suncoast Parkway, from milepost 17.5 to milepost 28.5, in fiscal year 2025, at an estimated cost of $25.3 million.
The second project calls for resurfacing the Suncoast Parkway from milepost 28.5 to milepost 37.3, in fiscal years 2025 and 2026, at a cost of $24.1 million.
The first project starts at the Hillsborough/Pasco county lines and the second one ends at the Pasco/Hernando county lines.
Siaosi Fine, with Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, briefed the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization about the two projects when he presented the Turnpike’s five-year work plan, covering fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
Fine shared the highlights during the board’s Nov. 9 meeting.
The board is Pasco’s lead transportation planning agency and its board is made up of elected officials from Pasco County, Zephyrhills, Dade City, New Port Richey and Port Richey.
Fine also told the Pasco MPO board that the Turnpike Enterprise system has an active Project Design & Environment (PD&E) study going from Van Dyke Road in Hillsborough County to State Road 52 in Pasco County.
“The primary work base that we’re looking at is widening the Suncoast Parkway, but we’re also looking at other improvements to incorporate,” he said.
Pasco County Commission Chairman Jack Mariano asked the Turnpike’s representative if the off-ramp at State Road 54 can be reviewed because traffic coming from the north at State Road 54 has a tough time getting off, backing up traffic.
Fine told Mariano he would pass along that comment to a Turnpike Enterprise project manager.
Mariano also asked if it would be possible to look at doing an interchange at Crews Lake.
It was reviewed before, but new development is emerging in the area, Mariano said.
Fine told Mariano that applications are made to seek interchange studies.
“I can forward you that application,” he told Mariano.
Mariano responded: “You’ve studied it already. It was a few years ago. It’s now changing, what’s going on out there.
“That corridor is going to get busier. A lot of acreage has changed out there. A lot of development is coming in. So, the numbers you were using before won’t be the same.
“You’ve got a lot of data already. I want you to use the new data, to take another look at it.
“If you want to get us the application, that would be great. You could just add onto what you’ve done, kind of update it.”
“The application would probably be the best way to handle it,” Fine said.
“I think if Commissioner Kathryn Starkey was here, she’d say, let’s go look at the Tower Road, Rangeland. She’d say, let’s look at that one (interchange), too,” Mariano said.
Fine replied: “That will be part of the active PD&E study I brought up before.”
Published November 29, 2023
