Hurricane season has begun early this year, as New Tampa and Wesley Chapel residents definitely now know, following a recent afternoon without power, which was restored in about two hours.Continue reading
New Watering Restrictions
Even though our area has received more rain in recent weeks than it did throughout the whole of spring, new water use restrictions have been issued for the Tampa Bay area, including residences and businesses in both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel.Continue reading
Young Wesley Chapel Man Dies In New Tampa Crash
A Wesley Chapel man is dead after losing control of his vehicle and rolling off the road during the early hours of June 5.Continue reading
Bruce B. Downs Construction Still Creeping Along, But On Track
By Matt Wiley
Construction is full-speed-ahead, as traffic patterns change and strange metal structures rise from the dust along multiple sections of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in New Tampa.
Area residents may have noticed a new traffic pattern along BBD just south of I-75 at Commerce Palms Blvd., as vehicles are now traveling northbound along newly reconstructed lanes, so construction can begin on the southbound stretch.
“We switched the northbound traffic to the new lanes so that we can remove the temporary lanes in the median,” says Scott Passmore, an engineer with KCI Technologies, the engineering firm heading the BBD widening project. “That traffic configuration will remain in effect until the project is complete.”
Passmore says that in that section of the construction project, storm drainage also needs to be installed before reconstruction of the southbound BBD lanes can begin. But, he says, that phase of the project is still on track to be completed by late this year.
Continuing north on BBD past I-75, drivers may have noticed a large, metal, T-shaped structure rising from the median in front of Cold Stone Creamery. It’s not some obscure piece of modern art, but actually something much more practical.
“It’s a support for a Dynamic Message Sign (DMS),” says Passmore. “There will be one installed north and south of I-75 on BBD by the time construction is complete.” Just as in some sections of I-75 and I-275, DMS’s are electronic signs programmed with important information drivers should know about the driving conditions on the interstate and are part of the state’s Sunguide Traffic Management System, which, according to its website, helps to provide motorists with reliable traveler information.
Whether it is a message from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) alerting drivers of a large accident and urging them to seek an alternate route, or a message from law enforcement warning drivers of an Amber alert, Passmore says that these signs are installed to keep drivers aware of what is happening on the interstate.
The benefit of these signs, he says, is that drivers can see messages about driving conditions before they get onto the interstate. However, if the need arises, he says, messages about driving conditions on BBD could be delivered.
“There will be some cross-functionality between the city and FDOT, but the primary focus is on the interstate,” Passmore says.
Our Exclusive First Peek Inside Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel!
By Matt Wiley
Although the walls are still bare and many rooms sit unfinished or, at least unfurnished, the under-construction Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) is already an impressive sight, with its three-story glass atrium lining the front wall, reflecting the work being done on the outside to those passing by on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. The hospital will be an extraordinary addition to the community and drive the local economy when it opens to patients in early October.Continue reading