Meadow Pointe-To-K-Bar Connector Still Not Happening

On the Pasco County side of the roadblocks, lively communities of people go about their lives, never having to worry about traffic from the south moving through their area. The lonely road once thought to be an appealing portal to Wesley Chapel sits barren and unused, a thin strip of undeveloped land hugging its shoulders.Continue reading

Trees In Tampa Palms Fall During The Widening Of I-75

By Matt Wiley

Sam Shaheen could sometimes forget that I-75 was right behind his home on Yardley Way in Tampa Palms. That is, until all the trees behind his house were chopped down, leaving the home with a front row view of the noisy interstate. Now, however, a large, cement “sound wall” has been erected to “fix” the problem.

“They told us about four years ago that a wall would go up,” says Shaheen. “I guess I thought they would have left the trees up and built the wall behind them. It was a very nice view. I was shocked.”

Several homes along Yardley Way and Hammet Rd. in The Enclave once enjoyed pleasant views of a small pond bordered by trees on the far side, shielding the residences from the not-so-pleasant view of I-75.

Seeing the interstate out the back window would be bad enough, but it has become especially worse thanks to the current construction project to widen the interstate to three lanes in both directions. And now, residents living on the east end of the street get to stare at a large cement wall.

Chris Welcomer and his family just moved onto Yardley Way about three weeks ago, before the wall was built.

“They put it up fast,” he says. “We saw the posts for it when we were moving in. They told us when we were closing on the house that it wouldn’t be up until the fall.”

Welcomer says that there has been a small difference in the amount of noise since the wall was put up, but nothing too substantial.

Spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) John McShaffrey explains that the wall will only be in place at certain sections along the interstate.

“Only one section qualified (for a wall),” he says, “and that is on the west side of I-75 in front of The Enclave.”

McShaffrey says that, through noise studies, FDOT examines the cost of each wall and looks at how many homes will ultimately be affected by interstate noise to determine which sections qualify for a wall.

He also says that noise studies have shown that trees don’t really factor into noise buffering.

FDOT is exempt from any local ordinances concerning the replanting of trees along the interstate corridor. He says they are considered “clear zones” and that, with the widening of the interstate, there has to be room for storm drainage to be installed. In addition, trees have to be planted a certain distance away from the interstate as a precaution for any vehicles that veer off the roadway.

“(FDOT) is not replacing any trees at this point,” he says. However, City of Tampa Parks & Recreation director Greg Bayor says that there will be Southern Red Cedars planted in between the gaps in the sound wall to help eliminate the interstate from view. But, for those living with the wall view, as of this point, no trees are planned to be planted in front of the noise wall.

Temp Bridge & Northbound Lanes Open On Bruce B. Downs

By Matt Wiley

Drivers on and above Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. have been experiencing some new traffic patterns. In the past few weeks, both the temporary northbound I-75 bridge over BBD and the recently finished northbound lanes on BBD north of the interstate have opened to traffic.

The temporary bridge, which will be in place for about two years during the reconstruction of the interstate bridges that carry traffic over BBD, opened to northbound drivers on May 7. Southbound I-75 traffic is now moving over the old northbound bridge, as construction will soon be starting on the now-vacant southbound bridge.

Heading north on BBD has never felt so good. For tires, at least.

Recently finished northbound lanes of BBD have opened north of I-75 in New Tampa, all the way to the entrance of Hunter’s Green, and local businesses and residents of the Hunter’s Green community are beginning to feel the impact.

Keith Oakley, the owner of Oakley’s Grille on BBD next to Dairy Queen, says that business is beginning to pick back up.

“It’s better,” he says. “Not to the extent it will be in the future, when it’s all done, but we’re definitely more visible now (than we were). And, we’re a lot more accessible.”

For the past several months, the BBD widening project has diverted both directions of traffic to the southbound lanes, making businesses on the east side of BBD much less visible and more difficult to access during the road construction.

“Before, it was like people had tunnel vision with all of the construction,” Oakley explains. “You had to watch where you were going. You couldn’t really look around to see what businesses were there.”

The local business market isn’t the only thing expected to bounce back after the completion of the BBD widening project.

“Once it’s reopened, the housing market should change considerably,” says New Tampa Realty owner Tom Bosso, whose office in the former Hunter’s Green Model & Visitor Center also has been made much more accessible since the northbound lanes reopened. He says the widening project has directly affected the local real estate market.

“I see it every day when I’m driving around clients,” he explains. “I can see it in their faces. They’re looking around at all of the construction thinking, ‘I have to drive through this every day?’ They’re preoccupied thinking about the construction.”

The $107-million, three-phase widening project will eventually turn BBD into an eight-lane highway from the Pasco County line all the way south to Bearss Ave. Phase 1 construction along BBD from Pebble Creek Dr. to Palm Springs Blvd. in Tampa Palms has been causing problems for New Tampa residents since January 2010.

Hillsborough County Public Works spokesman Steve Valdez says that the stretch from Pebble Creek Blvd. to I-75 should be completed by the end of the year. The stretch south of I-75 to Bearss Ave. should be completed by late spring 2013. Valdez says that the project’s third phase, which is set to widen BBD from Pebble Creek Dr. north to the Pasco County line, is still unfunded, so no schedule has yet been set for its completion.

Temp Bridge & Northbound Lanes Open On Bruce B. Downs

By Matt Wiley

Drivers on and above Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. have been experiencing some new traffic patterns. In the past few weeks, both the temporary northbound I-75 bridge over BBD and the recently finished northbound lanes on BBD north of the interstate have opened to traffic.

The temporary bridge, which will be in place for about two years during the reconstruction of the interstate bridges that carry traffic over BBD, opened to northbound drivers on May 7. Southbound I-75 traffic is now moving over the old northbound bridge, as construction will soon be starting on the now-vacant southbound bridge.

Heading north on BBD has never felt so good. For tires, at least.

Recently finished northbound lanes of BBD have opened north of I-75 in New Tampa, all the way to the entrance of Hunter’s Green, and local businesses and residents of the Hunter’s Green community are beginning to feel the impact.

Keith Oakley, the owner of Oakley’s Grille on BBD next to Dairy Queen, says that business is beginning to pick back up.

“It’s better,” he says. “Not to the extent it will be in the future, when it’s all done, but we’re definitely more visible now (than we were). And, we’re a lot more accessible.”

For the past several months, the BBD widening project has diverted both directions of traffic to the southbound lanes, making businesses on the east side of BBD much less visible and more difficult to access during the road construction.

“Before, it was like people had tunnel vision with all of the construction,” Oakley explains. “You had to watch where you were going. You couldn’t really look around to see what businesses were there.”

The local business market isn’t the only thing expected to bounce back after the completion of the BBD widening project.

“Once it’s reopened, the housing market should change considerably,” says New Tampa Realty owner Tom Bosso, whose office in the former Hunter’s Green Model & Visitor Center also has been made much more accessible since the northbound lanes reopened. He says the widening project has directly affected the local real estate market.

“I see it every day when I’m driving around clients,” he explains. “I can see it in their faces. They’re looking around at all of the construction thinking, ‘I have to drive through this every day?’ They’re preoccupied thinking about the construction.”

The $107-million, three-phase widening project will eventually turn BBD into an eight-lane highway from the Pasco County line all the way south to Bearss Ave. Phase 1 construction along BBD from Pebble Creek Dr. to Palm Springs Blvd. in Tampa Palms has been causing problems for New Tampa residents since January 2010.

Hillsborough County Public Works spokesman Steve Valdez says that the stretch from Pebble Creek Blvd. to I-75 should be completed by the end of the year. The stretch south of I-75 to Bearss Ave. should be completed by late spring 2013. Valdez says that the project’s third phase, which is set to widen BBD from Pebble Creek Dr. north to the Pasco County line, is still unfunded, so no schedule has yet been set for its completion.