BBD Widening Enters Final Phase

Local residents have been waiting more than 20 years for the main thoroughfare through New Tampa to be widened from a four- and six-lane divided roadway to an eight-lane divided roadway to relieve the area’s infamous traffic congestion. And, while it may be premature to say there’s a light at the end of the, well, Boulevard, local residents are a step closer to Bruce B. Downs (BBD) finally being “Bruce B. Done.”

Work on the last of the four segments of BBD widening finally began on Oct. 18, and is expected to conclude by the end of summer 2018. Prince Construction LLC’s finalization of Segment D, a 1.44-mile-long stretch between just south of Pebble Creek Dr. and County Line Rd., should conclude the long and sometimes arduous process of the major project that runs from just north of Bearss Ave. to the Pasco County line.

According to the county’s website, Segment D is a $24-milion project that is funded through the Public Works Transportation Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and was awarded $5 million from the Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The segment will include a landscaped median, drainage improvements, pedestrian safety features, sidewalks, a multi-use path and an upgraded traffic signal system.

Segment A, which is still the most congested area of BBD and extends from Bearss Ave. to Palm Springs Blvd. in Tampa Palms (see previous page), is a $54-million project that should be finished around August 2017.

Segments B and C, which bracket the work that was done around the same time I-75 was widened, were considered the most difficult of the segments geographically, but they were finally  completed earlier this year.

The same night that work began on Segment D, the county held a pre-construction meeting in the Paul R. Wharton High auditorium about widening BBD. If you think New Tampa is tired of talking about the traffic on BBD, consider this: the county set up three stands showing the area of construction, but the meeting was attended by only a dozen or residents.

One of the more vocal participants wasn’t even a resident, but rather a bus driver for Wharton who expressed a number of concerns about the traffic flow in the morning and afternoon during construction. Cheryl Puelo, who lives in Thonotosassa but has driven a school bus for Wharton almost since the school opened, said long lines in the morning at the Oak Preserve Blvd. entrance are already an issue that construction needs to be careful not to exacerbate.

Hillsborough Public Works Department project manager David Vogel said that every effort will be made so as not to interfere with the three primary driveways in use at Wharton during peak times.

“We told the principal of the high school (Brad Woods) we will do everything we can to coordinate,’’ Vogel said. “We can’t completely eliminate any impacts, but we will try to limit them, with things like night and weekend work.”

Others in attendance wondered how the road work would affect the already congested areas in front of both Walmart and Wharton, and asked about additional traffic lights to help drivers pulling out from businesses along BBD.

One piece of good news – the left turn lane in front of the Walmart that causes so many issues with drivers suddenly swerving right to exit it will finally be corrected.

“The biggest (problem) is the amount of traffic in the corridor,’’ Vogel said. “There is drainage and power lines (that need to be repositioned and considered), and the staging and coordination for something like that is always a challenge. Power lines have to be moved. And traffic has to be shifted to get a 66-inch pipeline in there.”

And So It Begins…

As a result, Vogel warns that for the first year or so, travelers won’t see many changes happening in terms of the actual road. He estimates that the first 400 days (of the 685 estimated to complete the project) will be underground work. Travelers will first notice temporary pavement put in as traffic is shifted over to allow crews to dig and position the utilities and power and water lines.

“It’s an urban project, so you have utilities and things like that,’’ Vogel said. “The part people have the hardest time with is the underground work. You’re digging holes, you’re putting in pipe, water and sewer and all that stuff. No one sees any progress. All they see is they are digging here and, a month later, they are digging here again.”

Vogel said in many ways, the final segment will be the easiest. In Segment A, a bridge and four retention ponds needed to be built. Segments B and C also involved a bridge and working around construction at the busy BBD exits off I-75. By comparison, Segment D has far fewer challenges.

And, while it won’t mean drivers won’t become frustrated as the widening unfolds, Vogel said locals will start to see significant improvements by the end of next summer.

“There’s just a little bit of pain involved until you can get the cure,’’ he said.