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S.R. 56, Bruce B. Downs Work Still Delayed

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com

Published: February 18, 2009

WESLEY CHAPEL - More than a month after work was supposed to start on one of Wesley Chapel's busiest intersections, a company involved in the project says it will be another month before improvements begin.

The project's start date hinges on when the state Department of Transportation approves designs for improving the intersection of State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, said Keith Appenzeller, head of Tampa-based King Engineering, which is doing the design work.

DOT spokeswoman Kristen Carson said her agency has reviewed the plans and is waiting for proof the builders have permission to cross onto the northern edge of the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza to do part of the required work. When that proof arrives, the plans will be cleared, she said.

The date the road will open at Mansfield Boulevard remains unclear, though.
Pasco County officials say they expect a slight delay in the opening, putting it in late March or early April. Appenzeller said it could be delayed until May or June, depending on when DOT clears the project for construction.

DOT's blessing hinges on the builders' success at striking a deal with Publix and its landlords at the Shoppes at New Tampa, the plaza on the south side of S.R. 56.

Extending S.R. 56 meant closing the long-standing but temporary access at the northwest corner of the plaza. That entrance was shifted farther east when work extending the nearby highway began.

As part of a deal Publix and plaza owner DDR Inc. struck last year, the road builders pledged to add a westbound left-turn lane to S.R. 56 and truck entrance at the northeast corner of the plaza. Those changes will be incorporated into the intersection work.

Late last year, the companies working to build S.R. 56 between Bruce B. Downs and Meadow Pointe Boulevard said they expected to begin work in January on the intersection with Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. The builders told county commissioners that the work, which includes adding a sixth lane to S.R. 56, was expected to wrap up in March.

Since planning began more than a year ago, renovations of the S.R. 56-Bruce B. Downs intersection has required county and state officials to juggle a laundry list of developers and engineering firms. That list includes the developers of Meadow Pointe, Wiregrass Ranch and Seven Oaks.

The developer of Seven Oaks, Crown Communities, plans to begin work this year on the long-delayed widening of Bruce B. Downs between County Line Road and State Road 54. That project could take 18 months to two years for completion.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201.

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