A $5-million, 2-mile long widening project on Cross Creek Blvd. was completed last year, but that’s not the end of the improvements planned for the busy road, as the familiar site of bulldozers and orange barrels are back as you’re reading this issue.
Construction, which is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, is ongoing at one of the busier intersections of Cross Creek, which runs east from Bruce B. Downs Blvd. to Morris Bridge Rd., as revamped turn lanes and signage are now being updated at the corners of Cross Creek Blvd. and Kinnan St., between Louis Benito Middle School and the New Tampa Regional Library.
The intersection improvement is being done by K-Bar developer M/I Homes, as part of the approved K-Bar rezoning last August. The balance of the required transportation improvements for the K-Bar project are related to road construction of the K- Bar Pkwy., including connections at Kinnan and Morris Bridge and the southern collector roadway.
Meanwhile, on eastbound Cross Creek Blvd., two short left turn lanes onto Kinnan St. are being lengthened by approximately 400 feet. Previously, the left turn lanes were roughly half that distance, and often filled by cars, many that spilled back out onto the two eastbound lanes, tangling traffic during high-volume times during the evening rush hour.
Many of those commuters are returning to their homes in the K-Bar Ranch development, as Kinnan is the only road in and out without driving two more miles down Cross Creek to turn left onto Morris Bridge.
Now that the turn lanes are extended from the corner all the way to the library, the flow of traffic is expected to be smoother.
A right turn lane also is being built on southbound Kinnan, to accommodate morning traffic out of K-Bar Ranch, at the corner of the Cross Creek Center shopping plaza.
The construction will move the existing walkways that cross over Cross Creek Blvd. from the Cross Creek Center to the library side of the road 15 feet or so to the west, or towards the library.
The existing mast arm traffic signal will be replaced at the southwest corner of the intersection, due to the addition of an additional signal head for the new right turn lane on Kinnan.
On the south side of Cross Creek Blvd., at the entrance to Benito, a Type F Curb (we suggest Googling it to understand what that looks like) will be placed from the inside shoulder to the existing sidewalk on both sides of the entrance.
In addition, new signage will replace the existing signs at the intersection of Cross Creek and Kinnan.
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