County Celebrates Groundbreaking of U.S. Hwy. 301 Project

Tamas Mondovics — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:39:37 +0000

The northeast corner of U.S. Hwy. 301 and Big Bend Rd. in Riverview marked the site of the beginning of another long-awaited project, soon to alter the flow of traffic in Riverview.
Hillsborough County and Florida Department of Transportation officials, along with staff, local development representatives and community representatives, gathered together in October to celebrate the groundbreaking of the U.S. Hwy. 301 Improvement Project and to be first to put the shovel in the ground.
According to County Division Director of Transportation and Land Development Review Bob Campbell, work on the project itself, which is hoped to improve a six-mile segment of U.S. Hwy. 301 from Gibsonton Dr. to C.R. 672/Balm Rd., began in 2005 when the county approved an agreement with nine developers to provide partial funding for the widening U.S. Hwy. 301 to four lanes from Gibsonton Dr. to S.R. 674 (Sun City Center).
Campbell explained that additional funds were provided by a second group of developers in 2008 which allowed the county and Florida Department of Transportation to expand the design of the project to six lanes with a 22-ft. median. Pedestrian features will include a five-ft. sidewalk on the west side and a 12-ft. multi-use path on the east side.
The cost of the current phase is approximately $110 million, which includes construction, design, studies, acquisition and administrative costs. The state is contributing $47 million to the project. A portion of this amount, $32.9 million, is from a grant that the county received from the state in October of 2007, which is awarded to communities that have congested state roads. Developers are contributing about $42 million to the project, and the county will be contributing about $20 million.
But according to District Secretary Don Skelton, the best part of all of this is what the three parties involved were able to accomplish.
“The partnership between the state, the county and the developers alone is a tremendous accomplishment,” Skelton said.
FDOT spokesperson Marian Scorza agreed when she said “This construction project is simply unique. Due to the efforts of all involved, the project construction has advanced by almost 10 years,” she said.
Of course, this project will require the cooperation of all motorists as well before things will be smooth sailing on U.S. Hwy. 301. The project is to be completed and open to traffic in the summer of 2012.
For more information, residents may call the Florida Department of Transportation at 975-6060.

Lithia Pinecrest Road Widening Public Meeting Draws Crowds

Tamas Mondovics — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:17:29 +0000

Hundreds attended a recent public meeting concerning the proposed widening of approximately an 11 mile section of Lithia Pinecrest Rd. from its current two travel lane roadway to a six travel lane roadway, affecting the Brandon, Bloomingdale and Lithia communities from S.R. 60 in Brandon to C.R. 39. Local residents who showed up at the Palmetto Club at FishHawk Ranch to hear more extensively about the project had the opportunity to view maps, elevations, a video presentation of the proposed change, as well as talk to county officials on-hand to address questions and concerns. Hillsborough County, in cooperation with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), has been working on preparing a Project Development and Environment (PDE) Study to consider the proposed widening of Lithia Pinecrest Rd., which according to county officials and many local residents, at this point, is simply not sufficient to handle the traffic. “Portions of this roadway currently operate below the county’s adopted minimum acceptable level-of-service standard,” said Hillsborough County Engineering Division Public Works Center Project Manager William Alford. Alford explained that the meeting was strictly about gathering information and that the improvements are intended to accommodate both existing and future traffic volumes as well as enhance motorist safety and reduce emergency response times. But while area residents in general agree that something needs to be done, just as many were unsatisfied due to the lack of information offered by the county. For starters, county officials were faced with complaints that the video presentation of the project seemed to be short on facts. The hot topic that seemed to concern most included the lack of traffic lights planned for the Valrico portion of the project. “I don’t see how they can talk about safety. It is difficult to turn onto Lithia Pinecrest going north now. How is that going to be better trying to cross three lanes and then merge in to three lanes of traffic without a traffic light,” said Gene Will of Valrico, who has lived on Hummingbird Ln. for the past 40 years and is very concerned about being able to turn northbound onto Lithia Pinecrest once the six lane road project is completed. For many residents the small but problematic as well as infamous, Bell Shoals Road and Lithia Pinecrest intersection just a few yards south of Lumsden was the worry of the day-although not on the agenda for the meeting-the proposed road widening plan will include the turning Bell Shoals Road, into a cul-de-sac, cutting traffic flow from it to merge onto Lithia Pinecrest. That is a big problem for Sue Curd with Curd and Associates who feels that the change would choke or at least alter the volume that her business generates. “I will lose business,” she said. Jim Barfield, also a Valrico resident for the past four decades whose wife Jean became Honorary Mayor of Brandon in1996, was disturbed by the fact that the County took this long to decide on thinking about the roads. “The County has been passing out building permits to developers for years. Now they have a problem on their hands and rightly; nobody is happy,” Barfield said. Good, bad or ugly, the meeting seemed to have accomplished its purpose and as expected could and would not please everyone while provided an opportunity to hear or to be heard. One thing is sure. This project will be done and Lithia Pinecrest Road will be a six lane major artery for commuters even if its success remains to be seen. For ore information about the project or for project updates, public comments and concerns please visit www.lpcstudy.com.

Osprey Observer » C.R

County Celebrates Groundbreaking of U.S. Hwy. 301 Project

Lithia Pinecrest Road Widening Public Meeting Draws Crowds