Work On Kinnan-Mansfield Under Way, Expected To Be Completed Soon

Kinnan Mansfield
This is the view from the end of Kinnan St., which runs north from Cross Creek Blvd. Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe is on the other side of the barrier, about 40 feet away. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

For New Tampa residents hoping that one day Kinnan St. in New Tampa would be connected to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe at the southern county line of Pasco County — allowing locals an alternate route to Wesley Chapel — news that work has already begun on connecting the roads for emergency vehicles only might be a bit of a letdown.

 Luis Viera, however, says he will take it. The Tampa District 7 City Council member (see pg. 6) and New Tampa resident likened the final result to “a single, maybe a double” but praised the decision to move forward and provide that emergency access.

“The firefighters at Station No. 23 (on Cross Creek Blvd.) that I’ve talked to are very excited about it,” Viera says. “This is something all of New Tampa should celebrate. The Kinnan-Mansfield stalemate literally hasn’t moved even an inch forward in two decades.”

The connection was orignally expected to be completed by the end of the summer, but a finishing date is unclear, due to the coronavirus outbreak. Viera says some final meetings between the City of Tampa and Hillsborough and Pasco counties to put the finishing touches on the agreement have been postponed, and may be rescheduled via phone.

The deal calls for the developer of K-Bar Ranch to pave the connection, while Hillsborough County addresses the design and construction of the remaining infrastructure, which will include an emergency access gate and paths for pedestrians and bicyclists.

“We want to have control over that,” said Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore, a longtime opponent of connecting the two roads to through traffic.

Moore says that while the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has voted to grant access to first responders only, it remains opposed to ever opening to local traffic and that will be codified in an agreement coming before the Pasco County Board of Commissioners in the near future, where it also will vote on the maintenance agreement for the connection.

So, say goodbye to the most infamous patch of untended, overgrown, garbage-infested grass and bushes in our area, as the agreement ends years of bitter fighting between the two counties, with Hillsborough County and Tampa seeking numerous times to connect the road and Pasco County, which at one time wanted was the entity that wanted it connected, refusing to budge in its opposition.

Cross Creek Blvd. & Kinnan St. Getting Better Turn Lanes

cross creek
These left-hand turn lanes onto Kinnan St. on Cross Creek Blvd. will be extended by 400 or so feet to prevent traffic from backing up at the busy intersection (as you can see in the picture, a common sight for evening commuters). Kinnan (below) also is getting a right turn lane onto Cross Creek.

A $5-million, 2-mile long widening project on Cross Creek Blvd. was completed last year, but that’s not the end of the improvements planned for the busy road, as the familiar site of bulldozers and orange barrels are back as you’re reading this issue.

Construction, which is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, is ongoing at one of the busier intersections of Cross Creek, which runs east from Bruce B. Downs Blvd. to Morris Bridge Rd., as revamped turn lanes and signage are now being updated at the corners of Cross Creek Blvd. and Kinnan St., between Louis Benito Middle School and the New Tampa Regional Library.

The intersection improvement is being done by K-Bar developer M/I Homes, as part of the approved K-Bar rezoning last August. The balance of the required transportation improvements for the K-Bar project are related to road construction of the K- Bar Pkwy., including connections at Kinnan and Morris Bridge and the southern collector roadway.

Meanwhile, on eastbound Cross Creek Blvd., two short left turn lanes onto Kinnan St. are being lengthened by approximately 400 feet. Previously, the left turn lanes were roughly half that distance, and often filled by cars, many that spilled back out onto the two eastbound lanes, tangling traffic during high-volume times during the evening rush hour.

Many of those commuters are returning to their homes in the K-Bar Ranch development, as Kinnan is the only road in and out without driving two more miles down Cross Creek to turn left onto Morris Bridge.   

Now that the turn lanes are extended from the corner all the way to the library, the flow of traffic is expected to be smoother.

A right turn lane also is being built on southbound Kinnan, to accommodate morning traffic out of K-Bar Ranch, at the corner of the Cross Creek Center shopping plaza.

The construction will move the existing walkways that cross over Cross Creek Blvd. from the Cross Creek Center to the library side of the road 15 feet or so to the west, or towards the library.

The existing mast arm traffic signal will be replaced at the southwest  corner of the intersection, due to the addition of an additional signal head for the new right turn lane on Kinnan.

On the south side of Cross Creek Blvd., at the entrance to Benito, a Type F Curb (we suggest Googling it to understand what that looks like) will be placed from the inside shoulder to the existing sidewalk on both sides of the entrance.

In addition, new signage will replace the existing signs at the intersection of Cross Creek and Kinnan.