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County Looks Ahead At Possible Road Construction Speed Bumps

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By RICH SHOPES, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 25, 2007

Updated: 12/24/2007 10:55 pm

TAMPA - Hillsborough County is trying to learn how to quickly spend a half-billion dollars.

The county this fall announced an ambitious plan to spend close to $500 million to fix up and expand a dozen roads and intersections over five years.

Officials already know where to spend the money. The work includes, among other projects, building an extension for Citrus Park Drive to Sheldon Road, extending U.S. 301 from Balm Road to State Road 674 and widening Lutz-Lake Fern Road from the Suncoast Parkway to North Dale Mabry Highway.

Now they're trying to figure out how to meet a deadline that can be affected by environmental regulations and squabbles over right of way and utility lines that block construction.

"It's going to be very difficult to spend it in that time frame. Just the sheer number of projects is enormous," county engineer Leigh Ann Pyron said.

A new report by an Orlando-based consultant, Public Financial Management, offers some suggestions.

It calls for a general engineering consultant to oversee all the projects and for the county to incorporate time-saving elements employed by the state, such as bundling design and construction under one contract.

Other deadline-hitting measures include:

•Applying for several environmental permits at once instead of piecemeal

•Using additional lawyers, likely outside firms, to focus exclusively on eminent domain issues to keep projects moving

•Paying "a premium" for land up front when eminent domain could prove too costly or drag out a project

The trick is to get the work done quickly and remain good stewards of the taxpayers' money, said Lucia Garsys, the county's officer for strategic management initiatives.

No decision has been made about how many recommendations will be enacted and when construction will start.

Garsys said she envisions the county hiring the outside general engineering consultant by May or June and then deciding some of the recommendations after that.

Her job, she said, is to make sure county departments work hand-in-hand, such as public works and real estate, to keep the schedule from bogging down.

The report warns about several potential schedule busters.

Right-of-way acquisition is the biggest hurdle and should be avoided, it says. The report recommends getting civil engineers involved early in design stages to look for options to eminent domain.

Another suggestion, which could prove controversial, is that the county pay a premium for land to avoid long legal challenges. Officials say that would happen in only rare circumstances, though.

"They don't want to set a precedent where they start throwing money at everybody," Pyron said.

Another potential for delays involves relocating power lines. The report chides the county for developing a reputation for tolerating delays, which utility companies expect.

It recommends that a county-run program deal with utilities and not contractors on an individual project basis.

Additionally, dragging out a road project can prove disastrous for budgets. Material costs have increased dramatically the past four years in Florida. Asphalt, for example, has increased 80 percent since 2003.

"Historically, if it takes longer than a year or two years, that means you can't be out there building," said Mike Merrill, the county's debt management director. "The more time it takes, the more costly it gets."

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or at rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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