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S.R. 56 EXPANSION IS GETTING MESSY

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 3, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - Drivers using one of central Pasco County's busiest intersections could see their travels get complicated this summer.

Work could begin as early as mid-July on reconfiguring the junction of State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard as part of the ongoing extension of the state highway to the east, county officials said recently.

Crews from Forest City Enterprises, the developer of the nearby Shops at Wiregrass mall, recently cleared and filled a wetlands area between the mall and The Shoppes at New Tampa to the south to make room for the new road.

Forest City is one of three parties committed to extending S.R. 56 east as far as Meadow Pointe Boulevard. That work started in March and is scheduled to take 18 months.

The owners of Wiregrass Ranch and the developers of Meadow Pointe also are contributing to the $25 million project. Forest City is managing the work.

The first 3,000 feet of road - just enough to get shoppers to Wiregrass - is scheduled to open at the same time as the mall, in late October or early November, said Bob Shepherd, a project manager with the county's road construction division.

Before then, crews will add new left- and right-turn lanes to the existing intersection, Shepherd said.

To avoid disrupting traffic in the intersection, new lanes will be added at the edges of the current roads. Existing lanes will be shifted slightly to accommodate the work, Shepherd said.

"The goal is to keep all lanes that are open, open," Shepherd said.

Any work that requires closing lanes will be done outside rush-hour periods or at night, he said.

Part of the work calls for raising the center of the intersection by about a foot to match the elevation of the extension. That will be accomplished by adding asphalt to the road, Shepherd said.

The extension of S.R. 56 has been on the county's agenda for more than four years. County Administrator John Gallagher has said he sees the road as vital to relieving congestion on S.R. 54 to the north, especially when crews begin widening that highway between Interstate 75 and Curley Road next year.

Long-term plans call for extending S.R. 56 nearly 10 miles across southeast Pasco to meet U.S. 301 south of Zephyrhills.

Work on S.R. 56 will coincide with the widening of Bruce B. Downs between County Line Road and S.R. 54. That work will be done by Crown Communities, the developer of Seven Oaks.

Where the two roads meet, the builders will construct one of the region's largest intersections - 10 lanes in every direction.

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

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