The Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) is nearing completion and, as a result, S.R. 56 will be closed to all traffic at I-75 from approximately 11 p.m. on Friday, April 1, to sometime during the day on Sunday, April 3.
No traffic will be permitted to travel through the work zone across I-75, according to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). S.R. 56 is being closed to switch the roadway to the DDI traffic pattern.
S.R. 56 traffic will be detoured using S.R. 56, Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (S.R. 581) and S.R. 54/C.R. 54 (Wesley Chapel Blvd.) as shown on the map above.
FODT says the DDI will not be at full capacity until closer to the expected project completion this summer. The contractor, Superior Construction Company Southeast, LLC, has more work to do to open an additional lane on both eastbound and westbound S.R. 56, and another turn lane from the northbound I-275/I-75 exit ramp onto westbound S.R. 56.
While S.R. 56 is closed, two ramps will be available to use at the I-75/SR 56 interchange â the eastbound S.R. 56 entrance ramp onto southbound I-75, and the northbound I-275/I-75 exit ramps onto eastbound S.R. 56. All other traffic will be directed via detour signs to use the I-75 interchange at S.R. 54/C.R. 54.
The I-75/Overpass Rd. interchange (Photo: Florida Department of Transportation)
Overpass Rd. reopened to traffic Monday morning at 9 a.m. as the former bridge over I-75 was removed to make room for a new bridge as part of the $64-million diamond interchange project, which will include a flyover ramp for westbound traffic on Overpass Rd. to enter southbound I-75.
The bridge for westbound Overpass Rd. has been completed, and is being used for both directions of traffic as construction continues. The section of Overpass Rd. between Old Pasco Rd. and Boyette Rd. had been closed since Feb. 8, 2021.
The new diamond interchange is located almost directly between the S.R. 54 and 52 exits (roughly 3.5 miles south of S.R. 52.)
Only one lane is open in each direction, although additional lanes are expected to open sometime later this year or in early 2023. As a result of the new interchange, Overpass Rd. is being widened from two lanes to four lanes between I-75 and Old Pasco Rd, and six lanes between I-75 and Boyette Road.
Only vehicular traffic is allowed as construction continues to build sidewalks for future pedestrian use.
The diamond interchange including the flyover is expected to be completed sometime in summer 2023.
Wesley Chapel and New Tampa have been on a great run of fun and interesting projects, and 2022 should be no different. Here are the five weâre most looking forward to this year.
1. KRATE Container Park
The long-awaited KRATE container park at The Grove at Wesley Chapel is expected to be fully open by summer 2022 â which is great news for local residents in the quickly expanding S.R 54 corridor looking for more shopping and dining options.
Photos by Charmaine George
There are so many cool things coming to Wesley Chapel this year, but KRATE ranks as No. 1, thanks to the unique nature of the project and the anticipation that has built up because it has taken much longer than many expected, due in no small part to a variety of Covid-related issues.
KRATE was the jewel of developer Mark Goldâs plans when his company, Mishorim Gold Properties, bought The Grove â then a moribund 250-acre parcel anchored by a shopping center â for $64 million in September 2019. Gold has invested an additional $20 million in the KRATE, which he claims will be the largest container park in the U.S. and something that will draw visitors from around the state to Wesley Chapel.
The seven-acre KRATE project will feature 55 businesses in converted shipping containers, each with their own product-centric mural painted on the side by artist Whitney Holbourn of Colorado.
At our press time, only two stores â Provisions Coffee & Kitchen and Shake-A-Salad â were already open. Once the others are ready, the KRATE is expected to cash in on what is likely to be a welcome experience in these Covid-ridden times â walking an open-air market featuring restaurants, retail shops and even a stage that will host concerts and other performances.
Its proximity to The Groveâs big box stores, and its popular restaurants like Treble Makers and the Falabella Family Bistro (see pg. 36), the Double Branch Artisanal Ales craft brewery, The Grove movie theater (and home of Side Splitters comedy club) and a new mini-golf course (see below) will make The Grove arguably the top entertainment destination hub in Pasco County, if not all of Tampa Bay.
2. New Tampa PAC
If we didnât like shopping and desserts so much, this would be our No. 1.
Regardless, the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC; photo, left) will provide a cultural boost to the area with its promise of music, dance and theatrical performances. The area already has an acting troupe, the New Tampa Players (NTP), that will call the PAC home and be one of what we hope are hundreds of groups to bring productions to the 350-seat theater.
When was the last time you had to get dressed up to attend anything in New Tampa proper?
Our only gripe â it would have been nice to see the NTPAC fronting Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in all its glory, lit up at night as drivers-by gawked, as opposed to being tucked out of view between an apartment complex and a grocery store.
But, after a nearly 20-year battle to get the place built, whoâs complaining?
3. Lotte Market
This, very quietly, might be the coolest thing to open anywhere in 2022, because if you know, you know.
While we havenât had any updates in a while on the plans for the new market, and no official announcement at all, weâre guessing Lotte Market will fill the 55,000-sq.ft. former Sweetbay Market with hard-to-find Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese food items, as well what is likely to be the largest selection of fresh â and, dare we say, unique â seafood, fruits and vegetables in the area.
The only other Lotte Market in Florida is located in Orlando, and that store, like most of its others located in Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia, have a handful of Asian restaurants or a food court. Lotte has already been approved by the city to put restaurants in the market, and we canât wait to see which ones they will be.
4. Mini-Golf
The groundbreaking of PopStroke Entertainment was held on Feb. 2
Remember a few years ago, when the major complaint about the area was that there was nothing to do? Well, since 2016, weâve added an Urban Air Adventure Park in Tampa Palms, and in Wesley Chapel we now have the Advent Health Center Ice facility, the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, an indoor recreation center and outdoor roller hockey rink at the Wesley Chapel District Park and the Main Event bowling alley and game center on S.R. 56.
As if thatâs not enough, in 2022, Tiger Woods PopStroke Entertainment, a mini-golf and restaurant concept the golf superstar owns with entrepreneur Greg Bartoli, is coming to Wesley Chapelâs Cypress Creek Town Center on the north side of S.R. 56.
The project officially broke ground on Feb. 2 and should be ready by the beginning of summer, if not sooner.
Builders describe the place as an âexperiential golf and casual dining concept merging a dynamic, technologically advanced competitive golf environment with food and beverages.â
Sign us up!
And while weâre at it, please also reserve us a spot at the new Grove Mini-Golf, which is expected to open in March. While PopStroke skips all the bells and whistles associated with a traditional mini-golf course, Grove Mini-Golf is leaning into them with plenty of holes requiring tricky shots â one hole you shoot over a river, another into a river (youâll see), and thereâs even a figure-8 hole and lots of hills and rocks to accentuate a rich, tropical oasis experience.
And, nighttime neon lighting and fire will give it a fun, festive feel. All of the holes will be illuminated with neon lights and glow-in-the-dark flags and balls. Very cool!
5. Diverging Diamond Interchange
If navigating castles, rocks and water on a mini-golf course doesnât get you excited, how about navigating the soon-to-be-completed (no, weâre not kidding) Diverging Diamond Interchange at the S.R. 56 and I-75 intersection?
Weâre not sure if it will be easier figuring out the DDI or, say, shooting par, but the folks building it promise the new intersection is less confusing than it looks.
That would be great for those who want to venture out to that area but donât because, well, ugh…that traffic. But, the DDI is supposed to eliminate all those conflict points and make for a safer interchange, using free flowing lanes â sometimes taking you to the other side of the road (relax, itâll be fun!).
Just to be safe, though, weâd suggest hitting up YouTube to watch a few videos.
And…While these are our top 5, they arenât the only cool things happening in our area in 2022, like the completion of the S.R. 54 widening project, Wesley Chapelâs second lagoon at Mirada âwhich, at 15 acres, is twice as large as the one in Epperson â new restaurants like The Living Room, and we might even see a few surprises. (Weâre looking at you, empty Best Buy building on BBD).
Unable to meet the milestones set forth by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), D.A.B. Constructors has been defaulted and removed from the diverging diamond intersection (DDI) at S.R. 56 and I-75.
One of the milestones needed to be met by June 28, and was not. In addition, on June 25, âDAB notified FDOT they were demobilizing from the project,â according to FDOT spokesperson Kristen Carson.
Carson said FDOT will work with the surety company, which is required to provide a replacement contractor, to complete the project.
A message left with DAB vice-president Bill Bachschmidt was not returned.
The DDI construction has been ongoing since early 2019, and had an original schedule of 800 days, resulting in a finish date of April 2021. That did account for delays due to rain and holidays, but Covid-19 made a major impact when it caused delays and shortages of materials for the project.
But last fall, Pasco County and FDOT addressed issues with DAB, when county commissioner Mike Moore, who represents District 2 where the diverging diamond is located, delivered a harsh attack on what he saw as lackluster progress.
Moore criticized the lack of urgency and number of workers he noticed when driving through the construction site, and the Cypress Creek Town Center Property Owners Association (POA) â which includes the Tampa Premium Outlets, Costco and more than 20 other businesses located west of the interchange â made their concerns known as well.
David Gwynn, the FDOT secretary for District 7, imposed penalties on D.A.B. Constructors and threatened more if the deadlines could not be met.
According to Carson, in November 2020, FDOT issued a Notice of Intent to Default (NOI) to the contractor due to concerns they were not proceeding at the pace required to meet the contractual completion date.
âDAB Constructorsâ response included a recovery schedule showing a project completion date of October 2021,â Carson said. âFrom this schedule, (FDOT) established interim milestone dates that the contractor would need to meet in order to avoid being defaulted.â
Moore said after the public admonishment, he had seen some improvements early in 2021, but once again was noticing a lack of workers at the DDI site. The news this week was not shocking, and the project will likely not be completed until 2022, and by another company.
âIâm not surprised, Iâm disappointed,â Moore says, âbecause they stated on multiple occasions they would be able to meet the deadlines.â
More than 100,000 vehicles pass through the interchange on a daily basis. The long-awaited DDI is designed to create fewer conflict points at the interchange, and despite looking more confusing, similar interchanges (like Floridaâs first DDI at Exit 210 off I-75 in Sarasota) has been lauded for being safer and more efficient than your traditional junctions.
Carson says FDOT is empathetic to impacts any project delays may cause to motorists, residents, and businesses, and will make adjustments to traffic signals and any other traffic control devices to accommodate extra traffic volume during the upcoming holiday season.
Northbound I-275Â / I-75 exit to SR 56 to be closed at night
The northbound I-275 (Exit 59) and northbound I-75 (Exit 275) exit ramps to S.R. 56 may be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday (April 4 – 7) nights. Traffic will be detoured to I-75 Exit 279 as described below.
Detour to S.R. 56, east of I-75: Continue north past S.R. 56 and use I-75 Exit 279 to S.R. 54/CR 54. At the bottom of the ramp, turn right and go east on S.R. 54. Turn right onto S.R. 581 (Bruce B. Downs Boulevard) and go south to SR 56.
Detour to S.R. 54/S.R. 56, west of I-75: Continue north past S.R. 56 and use I-75 Exit 279 to S.R. 54/C.R. 54. At the bottom of the ramp, turn left and go southwest on Wesley Chapel Boulevard/C.R. 54 to S.R. 56 and S.R. 54.
