By Matt Wiley
Although work continues on the widening of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. underneath I-75 that will complete BBD “Segments B & C,” work has begun on “Segment A” —which will widen New Tampa’s main thoroughfare from four to eight lanes from Palm Springs Blvd. in Tampa Palms south to Bearss Ave.
“(Segment A) will be constructed in a similar sequence to the other segments,” says Hillsborough County community relations coordinator Andrea Roshaven, adding that the number of moving traffic lanes will remain the same during the Segment A construction because the new lanes are to be added in the right-of-way on either side of BBD. She says that access to the many businesses along BBD —especially south of Tampa Palms — also will be maintained throughout the project.
“Construction will primarily take place during weekdays, but occasional weekend or night work may be necessary to cross driveways or side streets, to minimize traffic impacts,” Roshaven says.
As part of the project, Prince also will be responsible for constructing sidewalks, widening the bridge over Cypress Creek (just south of Amberly Dr. in Tampa Palms), making improvements at the Tampa Palms Blvd. and Amberly Dr. intersections with BBD (including removing and replacing the existing traffic signals) and creating four retention ponds.
Prince currently is in the process of wrapping up the widening of the one-mile stretch of BBD underneath I-75, between Doña Michelle Dr. in North Palms Village and Commerce Park Blvd. That section could not be widened until the project to replace the I-75 overpasses above BBD (part of the Florida Department of Transportation, or FDOT’s I-75 widening project between Fowler Ave. and S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel), was completed (see below and separate story on this page).
BBD/I-75 Aims For April
Florida Department of Transportation spokesperson John McShaffrey reports that the BBD lanes under I-75 are coming along, but that the project likely won’t be completely finished until late spring.
“Based on our current projection, it appears that the majority of BBD work will be completed in April, with some landscaping and final clean up to follow,” McShaffrey says. Although we last reported in October that the BBD lanes under I-75 were expected to be completed by the end of 2014, that was a projection provided by FDOT based upon the status of the project at the time of our inquiry in September, not the official time by which the entire I-75 widening project had to be completed.
Because the widening of BBD is tied into the contract time for Prince to widen I-75, the span of BBD under the interstate was not contractually required to finish at the same time as the Hillsborough County project to widen BBD Segments B & C, between Pebble Creek Dr. in New Tampa and Palm Springs Blvd. in Tampa Palms.
The BBD widening under I-75 is included in the same contract for the I-75 widening between Fowler Ave. and S.R. 56, which has contract time remaining through spring 2016.
“If one has been driving through the (BBD) corridor under the interstate, one would see that progress is being made,” McShaffrey says, adding that northbound BBD lanes have been shifted onto the new pavement. McShaffrey explains that the southbound BBD lanes likely will be shifted in late January or February. The remainder of the work on the southbound lanes is expected to be completed about two months after that, he says.
For more info, visit MyTBI.com.
No comment yet, add your voice below!