S.R. 56 At Mansfield/Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. Gets Dual Left Turn Upgrade 

All approaches to the traffic signals on S.R. 56 and Mansfield Blvd. now have dual left turn lanes. The under-construction Orlando Health Hospital is seen here in the background. 

A major traffic pattern change has just been competed at the intersection of Mansfield Blvd./Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. and S.R. 56, as there are now dual left turn lanes in all directions. This change occurred rather quickly last month and only took a few weeks to finish. 

The change was a requirement of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Pasco County permitting conditions for the new Orlando Health Hospital, being constructed at the northeast corner of the intersection. This means that the hospital paid for and completed the work in advance of its anticipated opening, which is still expected to be sometime in 2026. 

The change was required to help offset and accommodate the additional traffic the hospital is expected to generate at that intersection, which was laid out in Orlando Health’s traffic study, which was submitted in advance of the project for government review. These operational and safety improvements should keep the signal working efficiently long into the future. 

The S.R. 56 intersection with Mansfield/Wiregrass Ranch Blvd.

All of the signals at the intersection had always been designed to accommodate these extra left turn lanes, but they were striped out with paint until needed. The first dual left (from Mansfield Blvd. northbound onto S.R. 56 westbound) was added in 2018 when FDOT contacted Pasco to let the county know that vehicular traffic leaving the schools in the morning was causing backups on Mansfield Blvd., creating a concern — and sometimes long delays — for local residents. 

Safety has always been a concern here as well, as there have been multiple serious crashes involving younger drivers making left turns in front of oncoming traffic under the previous permissive left turn signal. Now, with the dual lefts, all left turns are protected, which means left turns are only permitted with a green arrow, greatly reducing the potential for crashes. 

There’s also still room to add a third through lane in both the westbound and eastbound directions on S.R. 56 in the striped-out area, when needed. 

Meadow Pointe Blvd. Still A Concern 

Meanwhile, safety and efficiency are still concerns with the down stream signal at Meadow Pointe Blvd. and S.R. 56. 

District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman has said that improvements are coming to this intersection as well, an item that the Board of County Commissioners (BOC) passed in July. 

Dual lefts will be added for eastbound traffic on S.R. 56 to turn north onto Meadow Pointe Blvd., which backs up badly during the afternoon rush hour, and dual lefts will be added for northbound traffic on Meadow Pointe Blvd. to turn west onto S.R. 56, which experiences bad back-ups during both the morning and evening rush hours. 

New Rental Units Now Under Construction At MP Blvd. & Beardsley Dr.

Research by Joel Provenzano

The areas outlined in black on the two site maps on these pages are the separated sites of the two new rental communities coming to the northwest and northeast corners of Meadow Pointe Blvd. and Beardsley Dr. The graphic above shows the plan for the northwest corner, which will include a clubhouse and other amenities. (Source: Pasco County)

We’ve seen some recent posts online asking about what might be coming to the intersection of Meadow Pointe Blvd. at Beardsley Dr. Well, the answer is that it is no longer a “might be” question.

It appears that both empty grass lots, one on the northeast corner and the one on the northwest corner of Meadow Pointe Blvd. at Beardsley, are owned by the same property owner — Clearwater Bay Associates, Inc. — and were zoned together. In 2021, the property owner applied for and was approved to be zoned for residential rental units.

The grass lot (12.7 acres) on the northwest corner of the intersection moved forward with a developmental construction permit (applied for in June of this year) with an associated site plan. 

The site plan for the northeast corner.

The other grass lot (11.7 acres) on the northeast corner was issued a permit on Aug. 22, the same day that crews arrived to start work on the site, where there is now a construction trailer. Construction fencing has been erected around both sites.

For permitting purposes, the two developments have been referred to as either Meadow Pointe West or Meadow Pointe East (depending on the side of the road), but the official name of the community is likely to change as it moves forward.

The site plans, designed by Heidt Design, show multiple rental units mixed together and laid out on each side, like rental townhomes with driveways and garages, single standalone units (individual rental houses) with driveways and garages, rental villas (duplexes) with driveways and garages, and rental townhome-style units without driveways or garages. Those units without driveways would have parking spaces like in an apartment complex, as opposed to their own garages. It appears that all of the units will have small, individual fenced-in backyards. All of the units also would be rented via the leasing office.

The start of the construction on the east side.

There will be a total of 99 units on the east side and 82 units on the west side. The clubhouse (which will be located on the west side) is expected to have a leasing office, fitness center, club room and a pool. A crosswalk is proposed to link the two separate parcels for residents on the east side who would have to cross Meadow Pointe Blvd to get to the community’s amenities on the west side. Meadow Pointe Blvd also is proposed to be widened to include left turn lanes. 

At our press time, we did not yet know the timeline for when the construction is expected to be completed.