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By mid-October merging onto Lithia Pinecrest Rd. will be much easier for Bloomingdale residents. A new traffic signal is expected to be operating by the middle of the month at Erindale Rd. and Lithia Pinecrest, allowing residents much easier access to the busy road.
According to project manager Sandy Pettit, an engineer with Hillsborough County's public works department, the county-funded project cost $215,000 for construction, plus additional costs for design, and took approximately eight months from the signing of the work order.
"Each traffic signal is custom fabricated for the location so it takes anywhere from six to eight months, but most of that is waiting for the poles to arrive," says Pettit.
Car Wash on the Greens owner Carol Kleinotas says she trys to plan her daily errands so that she ends up making right hand turns only. “It is too dangerous to try to cross traffic on Lithia Pinecrest,” she says. “We are excited to see the light working for our customers and our business.”
County manager of traffic engineering, Pete Brett says that the intersection was probably chosen for a light because of calls from residents.
"We have a list of candidates for traffic projects and they are prioritized based on congestion and the number of accidents," says Brett. "It is most likely that this one was added to our list because of calls from residents."
For more information, call the Hillsborough County public works department at 272-5912.
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