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A Schedule Change For S.R. 56

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 15, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - County officials on Thursday gave the builders of State Road 56 a break on the letter of their deal with Pasco County that will let the road open in conjunction with the Shops at Wiregrass mall in late October.

The deal-making between the Development Review Committee and the road builders - owners of Wiregrass Ranch and the Meadow Pointe IV Community Development District - lets the developers build the road in three stages instead of two and lets them open temporarily with a five-lane road instead of the full six-lane road that's envisioned.

The DRC, led by County Administrator John Gallagher, also released the builders from having to secure extra land needed on the south side of the road in order to open the temporary connection. The lack of that land, which must be acquired from the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza, makes it impossible for the builders to add the road's mandated sixth lane.

Forest City Enterprises, which is developing the 800,000-square-foot, open-air Wiregrass mall in the northeast corner of S.R. 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, can't open Oct. 30 unless the S.R. 56 extension can link to Bruce B. Downs.

Without the change approved Thursday, Forest City would have been unable to open its mall until the road reached Mansfield Boulevard sometime early next year.

The state Department of Transportation has said it is willing to let the road open temporarily with five lanes. That permit should be released today, according to DOT spokeswoman Kris Carson.

Without the extra eastbound lane, the intersection will be overwhelmed with mall traffic the day it opens, potentially tripling the existing wait at the traffic signal, Jim Widman, the county's chief engineer, told the DRC.

DOT has threatened to close the intersection in March if it hasn't grown by another lane, allowing traffic to reach the Wiregrass school complex at Mansfield Boulevard, Widman said.

Gallagher pressed the builders for an exact date when the road will reach Mansfield, but came away empty-handed.

"My concern is everyone's going to work to get the mall open, then they're going to forget to do the rest and we're going to end up in court," he told the builders.

Speaking on the behalf of the builders, Forest City representative Jim Richardson said S.R. 56 could be open to Mansfield in January but wouldn't give a specific date.

"Regardless of what it looks like, we're trying desperately to get this done," said Vince Nuccio, the builders' attorney.

Thursday's hourlong discussion with the DRC was the latest in what promises to be a series of negotiations between the county and the road builders aimed at getting the road open by fall.

County commissioners spent more than 90 minutes Tuesday ironing out issues related to the road. They'll take them up again next Tuesday.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com.

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