Overpass Rd. I-75 Interchange Officially Receives Federal Approval

By Matt Wiley

Residents of northern Wesley Chapel could have a much easier time heading north or south on I-75 in coming years, as the proposed interchange at I-75 and Overpass Rd. officially has received approval from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

A plan to construct a new I-75 interchange at Overpass Rd., part of a larger project to link Old Pasco Rd. all the way east to U.S. 301, has received official approval from the FHWA.

“This is a huge accomplishment as all new interchange requests along the interstate system go up to Washington, D.C for approval,” said Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Dist. 7 secretary Paul Steinman in a press release on July 8.” “I want to thank Pasco County for the hard work in developing the Interchange Justification Report for submittal to the Federal Highway Administration.”

The Overpass Rd. project dates back to 2005, when an initial study was done to determine safety improvement alternatives and to evaluate capacity along the road from Old Pasco Rd. to Fort King Rd. in Zephyrhills, followed by an interchange feasibility study. An Interchange Justification Report currently is under way, as required by both FDOT and FHWA to add a new interchange to a limited-access facility (or interstate highway).

Pasco planning and development director Richard Gehring says that the project must be under construction within the next eight years, or the approval process will have to begin again.

“It’s not an easy process to get a new connection to the interstate,” says Pasco Transportation Planning manager James Edwards. “But, we have preliminary approval from FHWA, based upon the various studies that have been done so far.”

The project was identified in the 2009 Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)’s Transportation Update Plan through 2035 “Needs Plan.” That plan scheduled the new interchange, extension and expansion of Overpass Rd. to be completed between 2016-20. Edwards says that although nothing is in stone yet, the project looks like it should fit into that window.

Once approved, the Overpass Rd. project could cost anywhere from $50 million-$150 million, Edwards explains. However, funding would come from several sources, including the new Penny for Pasco one-cent sales tax that is set to begin in 2015. More than $15 million is earmarked for Overpass Rd. from the Penny alone. Additional funding would come from Villages of Pasadena Hills (VOPH-an area in between Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills) Tax Increment Bond, East Pasco SIS Mobility Fees, VOPH Tax Increment, and VOPH External Improvement Fee. Edwards says that additional private sector impact fees could be used, as well.

“There’s not just one source of funding,” Edwards explains. “It hasn’t yet been determined where (all of the funding) will come from.”

Once the county gets final FHWA approval, the Overpass Rd. project will move into the design phase, which could take as long as two years. Four different design options have been proposed, one of which looks very similar to the Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd./I-75 interchange with a flyover. However, if chosen, Edwards says that the interchange initially could be built “at-grade” (or on the ground) and the flyover could be added once traffic warranted it.

A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for late this summer, but a specific date and location have not yet been set.

For info about the project, or to submit comments about it to the county, please visit OverpassRoad.com. Stay with WCNeighborhoodNews.com for the announcement of the public hearing.