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Ybor City Brick Road Closing For Resurfacing

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By JESSICA DaSILVA

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 5, 2008

TAMPA - Motorists driving through Ybor City should avoid Seventh Avenue for the rest of the week while the brick road is repaved with asphalt.

The road will be closed during the day through Aug. 12. Access to the parking garages and parking lots will still be available, and the road will be opened to traffic at night, said Vince Pardo, head of the Ybor City Development Corp.

From 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Seventh Avenue will be closed to traffic from Nick Nuccio Parkway to 22nd Street. All vehicles must be removed from the street by 6 a.m. to avoid ticketing and towing. Delivery and service vehicles are instructed to use cross streets, and the HART bus line will be detoured to Fourth Avenue.

Willie Ray, construction maintenance supervisor for Tampa's Transportation Division, said the job will cost a little more than $100,000. That's a little higher than usual because the base of the road must be redone before it can be repaved.

Ray said redoing the base will lengthen the lifespan of the road, which shouldn't need repairs for another 15 to 20 years.

Waiting to do the work probably would just add to the expense, Ray said. About three years ago, the price of asphalt was about $30 a pound. Today, it costs $61 a pound.

The repaving was planned several months ago but held off to consult with Ybor merchants about the least inconvenient time to do the work.

Joe Howden, manager of King Corona Cigars on Seventh Avenue, said it's sad a historically brick road will be paved over with asphalt but knows it will probably be an asset once it's done. Since he arrived in Ybor in 1991, he said, the road has never been repaired.

Ray agreed the work will improve Ybor.

"Even though there's a little inconvenience right now, the end product will be 100 percent better," he said.

Reporter Jessica DaSilva can be reached at (813) 259-7851 or jdasilva@tampatrib.com.

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