Construction has restarted on State Road 52, near the Suncoast Parkway, in Land O’ Lakes.
A new contractor, PCS Civil Inc., began work on Oct. 25.
The contractor is expected to spend a few weeks doing cleanup, surveying and other tasks necessary to safely resume operations, according to an update from the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) District Seven office.
Work on the project stopped on July 28, 2021, when the original contractor notified FDOT that it was halting work on the project. The state transportation department declared the contractor in default on Aug. 3.
The FDOT requires its contracts to have bonds issued by a surety company.
The surety company was required to obtain a completion contractor and chose PCS Civil Inc.
The State Road 52 project calls for widening the road to a six-lane divided highway from the Suncoast Parkway to east of U.S. 41.
The contract also includes widening U.S. 41 for approximately 1 mile, approaching the State Road 52 intersection. A 12-foot wide multi-use trail — to be built along the north side of State Road 52 — is another element of the project.
The estimated cost for the State Road 52 widening is $49.8 million, according to FDOT’s website.
While work has resumed on State Road 52, it is expected to begin again soon on the State Road 54 widening, from Curley Road to Morris Bridge Road, according to the FDOT update.
The prospective completion contractor is sending the surety company an updated price proposal.
A completion contract is expected to be with the surety by Nov. 12, with execution of the contract to follow. Once that occurs, the contractor is expected to begin work within a week.
In the meantime, mowing and litter removal is expected to occur.
Another project that had been halted involves the construction of the Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) project being built at the State Road 56 and Interstate 75 interchange.
That work stopped June 25, when the contractor informed FDOT it was halting work on the project. On July 1, FDOT declared the contractor in default.
Work resumed on Sept. 13, after Superior Construction Company Southeast LLC was selected by the surety company to complete the work.
The project, estimated at $33.6 million, is now expected to finished in summer 2022, according to FDOT’s website.
The project will reconfigure the State Road 56/I-75 interchange between County Road 54 and Cypress Ridge Boulevard.
The existing diamond interchange at the intersection will be converted to a DDI.
The main change will be to diverge, or cross, State Road 56 traffic to the left side of the road through the interchange, and then cross vehicles back over to the right side of the road on the opposite side of the interchange, according to a description on FDOT’s website.
The changes will help to alleviate traffic congestion to reduce travel time for motorists in this rapidly growing area.
A DDI was chosen for the State Road 56/I-75 interchange because of the proven ability of this traffic configuration to increase safety and capacity while using a large amount of the existing interchange footprint, including the existing bridge, according to FDOT.
The DDI also was chosen because of its ability to handle heavy left-turn volumes, such as the westbound to southbound movement from State Road 56 to southbound I-75.
For more information about these or other FDOT projects in Pasco or Hillsborough counties, visit FDOTtampabay.com.
Published November 10, 2021
