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Major Road Projects Coming

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By KENNETH KNIGHT

kknight@tampatrib.com

Published: February 25, 2009

TAMPA PALMS - You can expect more gridlock on New Tampa roads later this year as two major projects are scheduled to get under way about the same time.

Construction of a bridge over Interstate 75 linking New Tampa Boulevard to Commerce Park Boulevard is expected to begin by October, said Steve Daignault, the city's administrator of public works. The city will begin seeking bid proposals in March.

The city plans to launch the controversial $22 million project shortly after Hillsborough County begins the Bruce B. Downs Boulevard widening in early fall.

City officials hope coordinating bridge construction with the road-widening project will minimize cut-through traffic through Tampa Palms' residential neighborhoods, Daignault said.

Such plans offer no comfort to members of the Tampa Palms Owners Association. They are launching a letter-writing campaign to demand that Hillsborough County repair County Road 581, which is also Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, from Bearss Avenue to County Line Road.
Tampa Palms resident Warren Dixon III, and his wife, Andrea, who have been outspoken opponents of building the New Tampa Boulevard bridge without the proposed east-west road, which is now off the table, said they realize the fight to stop the project might be over. However, they aren't willing to give up the fight to prevent their neighborhood from becoming a short-cut for commuters.

They are preparing to join other residents to put pressure on county officials to fix CR 581, which has been deemed a failed road for more than a decade.

Members of Tampa Palms' homeowners association are opposed to the $104 million Bruce B. Downs Boulevard widening plan that would expand the road to eight lanes from Palm Springs Boulevard in Tampa Palms to Pebble Creek Drive near Wharton High School.

They said gridlock is unlikely to improve along the Bruce B. Downs corridor in Tampa Palms after the widening, which will be done in segments over a number of months. They contend it could get worse when southbound traffic merges from eight lanes to four lanes near Tampa Palms and Commerce Park boulevards, forcing drivers to find other routes through nearby neighborhoods.

The Dixons, who live in the Manchester village, and other Tampa Palms homeowners want the Bruce B. Downs widening to run from Bearss Avenue to County Line Road.

Hillsborough County Public Works spokesman Steve Valdez said the plan is to limit traffic backups on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard during construction.

"Our contractors have got to maintain two-way traffic at all times," Valdez said. "We understand the tremendous volume that road carries.

"We understand the importance of maintaining the existing traffic flow."

Thousands of drivers from northern Hillsborough and southern Pasco counties hop on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard for their daily commute only to find gridlock in New Tampa. Traffic counts estimate that 60,000 cars and trucks travel the road each day.

Daignault said having the bridge project coincide with the Bruce B. Downs Boulevard widening should minimize drivers from using the bridge and Tampa Palms Boulevard as a cut-through to avoid the widening construction site.

The bridge would link Tampa Palms to neighborhoods and shopping centers north of the I-75 interchange so motorists can move around without having to use Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. However, that is why so many Tampa Palms homeowners don't want it built.

But the city says its hands are tied, and it must build the bridge.

The project was part of a road network required under state concurrency laws that allowed the city to approve several New Tampa developments, such as West Meadows and Arbor Greene. It also was named in annexation agreements for K-Bar Ranch and Grand Hampton.

The bridge project is estimated to be completed within 18 months after the start date, Daignault said.

Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 865-4842.

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