By Kyle LoJacono
Pasco and north Hillsborough counties currently have several major road projects underway. Here is a look at what drivers and riders can look forward to on the highways and byways across the area this year.
Lutz-Lake Fern Road widening
The project to widen W. Lutz-Lake Fern Road is still on schedule for completion in May, according to Hillsborough County Public Works spokesman Steve Valdez.
The job is growing the two-lane highway to four lanes from just east of the Suncoast Parkway to the Boulevard of the Roses in Lutz at a cost of $9.9 million. Hillsborough is paying for the construction and Pepper Contracting Services Inc. is doing the job.
The construction site includes the entrances to Steinbrenner High, Martinez Middle and McKitrick Elementary schools. The project is mainly needed to handle the daily traffic to and from the schools.
A future project, still unfunded, will further widen Lutz-Lake Fern from Boulevard of the Roses to 300 feet west of Dale Mabry Highway. That later job is projected to cost about $58 million, according to Valdez.
US 41 widening
The $14.8 million project to widen US 41 will be completed by the spring as originally planned, according to Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) spokeswoman Kris Carson.
Currently, US 41 is two lanes from Tower Road to Connerton Road in Land O’ Lakes, a distance of about three miles. The construction is growing that to four lanes while adding center turning lanes and a grassy median. Additionally, a concrete sidewalk on the east side of the highway has already been finished, according to Carson. Places along the project include Land O’ Lakes High, Connerton Elementary and Pasco County School District’s administrative office.
The job is managed by FDOT and being completed by R.E. Purcell Construction. The project began in August 2009 and was needed to help ease traffic flow from the increasing population in central Pasco.
Collier Parkway extension
The much delayed Collier Parkway extension will be finished by the end of February, according to Pasco County Chief Project Manager Robert Shepherd.
The project was originally planned for completion last April, but the original contractor, WDG Construction, was released from its contract with Pasco for falling behind schedule. Ripa & Associates took over the job last September.
The project includes the first two of three phases to take Collier north to Ehren Cutoff. The first two portions of the job take the street from where it stops at Hale Road north to connect with Parkway Boulevard in Land O’ Lakes, a stretch of 1.8 miles. The last segment will not happen until 2015 or 2016, according to program administrator for Pasco County Engineering Services Deborah Bolduc.
The original contract was for $4.3 million and about $2.5 million remained when Ripa took control, according to Shepherd. The project is needed to take drivers off of US 41 and Parkway and onto Collier.
SR 54 widening
More than half the construction is finished on the most expensive project in Pasco County history, the widening of SR 54.
The job was projected to take 21 months, but is more than half finished through the first eight months, according to Pasco County Chief Project Manager Robert Shepherd. He said the project is still scheduled for completion March 2012.
“I’d hate to say a date sooner just yet, but we are way ahead of schedule,” Shepherd said. “We could have a very cold winter or rainy period and that would slow us down again.”
The project costs $105.2 million, but only $28 million is for construction. The job is widening SR 54 to six lanes from I-75 to Curley Road in Wesley Chapel, a distance of about 3.2 miles. Pepper Contracting Services Inc. is doing the construction.
The job also included the temporary closing of portions of Boyette Road and Curley, but those intersections with SR 54 are finished.
Bruce B. Downs widening
The widening project of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, also known as either CR 581 or SR 581 depending on the location, is still progressing on schedule.
Pasco County Chief Project Manager Robert Shepherd said the new lanes between SR 56 and just south of SR 54 should be opened by the end of January. That last section to the intersection of SR 54 will then be reduced from three to one lane to improve the old road, which will take about four months to finish. The total length of the road from SR 56 to SR 54 is just less than four miles.
The widening project is being paid for by a developer, Crown Development, at a cost of $17 million. Once finished, Bruce B. Downs will be three lanes from SR 54 to the county line. The project is needed to keep up with the growing population of Wesley Chapel.
Light at Mansfield
The intersection of SR 56 and Mansfield Boulevard in Wesley Chapel remains without a traffic signal months after the opening of the extension of the state road.
Both Wiregrass Ranch High and Dr. John Long Middle are on Mansfield, and many school buses and vehicles leaving the schools each day have to turn across several lanes of traffic to leave the school since the extension opened. Parents of students at the schools have complained to the county commission to get a light put in at the intersection to make turning safer, but fixing the problem is not as easy as it seems.
SR 56 is a six-lane divided road where it meets with Mansfield; too wide for a temporary traffic signal strung from wooden or concrete poles. The metal poles commonly used at wide crossings were unavailable until recently, but have been ordered and should be up and operational by the end of January.
“We need to get a signal there,” said Pasco County Commissioner Pat Mulieri. “It is dangerous to turn left out of Mansfield. Once we get the poles it shouldn’t take very long to put in place. We’ve already got the spots marked off.”
