WESLEY CHAPEL - County and state transportation officials will give drivers their chance to comment on plans to tweak the future path of State Road 56 east of Meadow Pointe Boulevard.
The public meeting to review the new plans will start at 5 p.m. today at the First Baptist Church of New Tampa, 28125 County Line Road in Meadow Pointe.
These changes won't affect S.R. 56 west of Meadow Pointe Boulevard, said Debbie Bolduc, who oversees road projects for Pasco County.
Work will start Wednesday to extend S.R. 56 eastward from its current terminus at Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.
The developers of Shops at Wiregrass, the open-air mall going up near the S.R. 56-Bruce B. Downs junction, will oversee the $25 million project.
Long-range plans call for extending S.R. 56 nearly 10 miles from Bruce B. Downs to U.S. 301 south of Zephyrhills.
County officials expect the road to relieve some of the congestion on State Road 54, currently the only east-west route between Interstate 75 and Zephyrhills.
There is no timetable for building the road east of Meadow Pointe Boulevard, Bolduc said.
The changes up for review show S.R. 56 shifting south from its originally designed route.
The shift will move the road away from a planned county park and will reduce impact on wetlands in the New River area, Bolduc said.
DOT officials said the new route will line up better with U.S. 301 and also will avoid the Zephyrhills Correctional Institution just north of Crystal Springs.
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