Road widening is delayed

Hillsborough County has put the brakes on a plan to begin the Bruce B. Downs Boulevard widening before Christmas.

County public works officials said major road construction has been delayed until early 2010 to prevent the thoroughfare connecting Hillsborough and Pasco counties from becoming a parking lot during the holiday season.

"We don't want them to do any work which could be perceived as negatively impacting business owners over the holidays," said Thomas Fass, a senior manager in the county's public works department.

County officials had discussed starting the widening project this fall and completing the work within 21/2 years.

Previously referred to as "the road to nowhere," Bruce B. Downs Boulevard clips the USF Tampa campus, slices through New Tampa and extends north into southern Pasco, where that county is experiencing commercial growth near The Shops at Wiregrass, a new outdoor mall.

Thousands of drivers from northern Hillsborough and southern Pasco counties hop on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard for their daily commute only to find gridlock in New Tampa.

The widening became a priority. This year a pool of federal, state and local dollars was secured to pay for the work.

Eight contractors submitted sealed bids, which were opened and reviewed by county public works officials this summer. They hoped to have a contractor in place by Oct. 1. However, a formal presentation to Hillsborough County commissioners, who will have the final say, is unlikely to occur before November.

The widening project is scheduled for three phases. The first anticipated segment would be a 3.4-mile stretch from Palm Springs Boulevard to Pebble Creek Drive. About 60,000 vehicles a day travel that portion of Bruce B. Downs.

Kamminga & Roodvoets Inc. of Tampa submitted the lowest bid of $40.5 million for the first leg.

The highest bid for the same segment - $50.1 million - was submitted by Cone & Graham Inc., another Tampa-based construction company.

The county estimated spending $104 million on the Bruce B. Downs Boulevard segment that would expand the road to eight lanes from Palm Springs Boulevard, south of Interstate 75, to Pebble Creek Drive, on the interstate's north side.

Counties such as Hillsborough are taking advantage of an increase in lower-than-estimated bids for public projects. In a sluggish construction economy, governments are earning the benefits of a declining price of construction labor, allowing money for capital improvements to go a lot further.

Commission Chairman Ken Hagan said he was delighted to hear the bids came in lower than expected. Hillsborough County has the potential to save money, he said.

The second leg of the project would be shortest, running from Pebble Creek Drive, north to County Line Road.

The commissioners recently approved a planned third segment from Palm Springs Boulevard, south to Bearss Avenue near the University of South Florida campus.

A group of New Tampa residents spent nearly a year petitioning county officials to include the Bearss portion of the road in the construction plan.

Members of the Tampa Palms Owners Association had complained that ending the Bruce B. Downs Boulevard widening at Palm Springs Boulevard would create a bottleneck as traffic attempted to merge from four southbound lanes to the current two lanes.

The most recent discussions between the residents and the commissioners focused on reducing the planned eight-lane widening to six lanes along parts, if not the entire stretch.

Hagan said he was uncertain the change would produce a major cost saving. In addition, the existing plan was designed as an eight-lane project, he said.

Fass said he anticipates preliminary work on the widening will begin this year.

When a contractor is selected, a field office will have to be set up, a detailed work schedule developed, maintenance of traffic plans submitted and products and materials approved.

County officials also will be required to review a bid protest filed by Pepper Contracting Services of Clearwater, the second lowest bidder for the widening project, Fass said. Pepper submitted a bid of $43.4 million.