Scene Set For S.R. 54 Lawsuits

WESLEY CHAPEL - Landowners along State Road 54 could find themselves facing condemnation lawsuits as soon as this summer as county officials press ahead with widening the chronically congested road to six lanes in central Pasco County.

County commissioners on Tuesday set in motion the process for taking landowners to court when necessary to acquire their land for the road improvements.

The county began buying land in the road corridor in the fall. Since then, it has bought five of the 106 parcels needed for the project, assistant county attorney Marcy McDonie told commissioners.

"We hope to have the majority of the parcels acquired by the end of the year," McDonie said.

That schedule likely will require the county to take owners to court to get the land quickly rather than proceed with lengthy negotiations, she said.

The county's power of eminent domain lets it force landowners to surrender property for public purposes with proper financial compensation.

County officials prefer to negotiate those settlements as they have done for the widening of Moon Lake Road in west Pasco County.

Condemnation is handled as a civil court proceeding with a jury deciding how much landowners should get for their property.

McDonie said her office will issue condemnations in segments along the length of the highway to avoid clogging the circuit court with claims.

She said she hopes the process of buying right of way for the expansion will go off without too many hitches.

"It is a project the owners are looking forward to, which is unusual for a project," McDonie said.

The county has budgeted $95 million to widen S.R. 54 to six lanes between Interstate 75 and Curley Road.

That total includes nearly $76.7 million for construction and $16.4 million to buy right of way, said Debbie Bolduc, who oversees the county's road building division.

The county plans to start construction on the road by mid-2009.

"However, a lot depends on the right of way acquisition and how long that takes," Bolduc said.

Bolduc said the county is recalculating its estimates to reflect changes in the costs of both construction materials and land.

The recent population boom in east Pasco's commuter communities has turned S.R. 54 - the region's main traffic artery - into a bottleneck for much of the day.

Even outside the morning and evening rush hours, the road has become known for congestion.

State highway officials say 39,500 cars a day used S.R. 54 east of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in 2006, the most recent count available.