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
