Advent Health Meadow Pointe Emergency Room Opens! 

The 13,000-Square-Foot, Freestanding Emergency Room Celebrates Its Grand Opening With A Huge, Free Community Event 

 With Wesley Chapel already known as the largest health care “hub” in Pasco County — with two hospitals open, two or three more (one pediatric) on the way, two major cancer centers, a mental health facility, an assisted living facility with an on-site rehab center and another rehab center under construction — one of the few facilities Wesley Chapel didn’t have was a freestanding emergency room (ER). 

Well, you can scratch that one off your list, too, as the AdventHealth Meadow Pointe ER (AHMP ER) celebrated its Grand Opening with a free community event on Apr. 27. The 13,000-sq.- ft. ER opened to the public two days later. 

I wondered why an ER in Wesley Chapel is a service of AdventHealth Zephyrhills and not the Wesley Chapel hospital, but I was told, “AdventHealth recognizes the growth happening in East Pasco, and while [AHMP ER] is a department of AdventHealth Zephyrhills, patients will have access to our large network of care in Pasco County and beyond.” 

Jannah, photographer Charmaine George and I were proud to be on-hand for the VIP preview, attended by about 100 people, of the new AdventHealth Meadow Pointe Emergency Room (AHMP ER) on Apr. 24, three days before the community Grand Opening event and five days before the AHMP ER actually opened on Apr. 29. 

With beautiful food provided by CBK Catering & Events, the VIP preview was hosted by AdventHealth Zephyrhills (AHZ) president and chief executive officer (CEO) Mike Murrill, who first thanked everyone involved with the planning, building and opening of the new ER, including his AHZ chief operating officer William Villegas, as well as the AdventHealth Office of Design & Construction, HuntonBrady Architects, Kimley-Horn Civil Engineering, the project’s general contractor Robins & Morton, as well as the AdventHealth West Florida division executive team, “including my boss, Jennifer Wandersleben (regional CEO for the West Florida Division).” 

Murrill also noted that, “Pasco County is growing very rapidly and this is just a testament to our commitment at AdventHealth to grow alongside East Pasco County. This ER is a step in that direction to provide convenient, high-quality clinical care to emergency care to our communities. This freestanding ER is 13,000-sq.-ft., with 12 patient beds, two triage rooms, plus imaging and lab services, as well as a pediatric-friendly room “designed to take care of our littlest of patients. All of these elements help us meet the needs of the expanding community we call home.” 

Murrill also introduced Dr. Javier Gonzalez, the Meadow Pointe ER medical director and chief of staff at AHZ. 

“The new Meadow Pointe ER joins our eight other freestanding ERs in the Tampa Bay area and our fifth such location in Pasco County,” Dr. Gonzalez said. “This magnificent medical facility is another testimony to AdventHealth’s unwavering commitment to health services, coverage and quality in our communities. Our ER consists of highly skilled and experienced health care professionals dedicated to providing exceptional medical care. We also have an extensive and dedicated EMS fleet of 25 ambulances and th AdventHealth Air Star One medical helicopter dedicated to critical patient transport across the region.” 

Dr. Gonzalez then introduced Shawn Whited, the operations chief of Pasco County Fire Rescue (PCFR), who said, “For us in the fire service, this is more than just a new building. It’s a symbol of something deeper — a partnership, progress and purpose. Our job as firefighters and paramedics often begins in the most critical moments. Our goal is always the same — preserve life, provide care, and get them safely to the next level of treatment. That’s where AdventHealth comes in. This hospital is more than just a destination as an extension of the care we give in the field. The relationship we have with AdventHealth is one built on trust, coordination, and a shared mission to serve our community with compassion and excellence. We train together, plan together and starting today, we will continue to respond together with greater speed, better tools and renewed commitment to every life that depends on us.” 

Whited closed with, “On behalf of the men and women of Pascal County Fire Rescue, I want to say thank you to Advent Health, to the leadership and the staff of this fine hospital and everyone who made this facility reality. 

We look forward to working side by side with you, strengthening in the partnership and delivering the best emergency care possible to our community. Congratulations on this incredible milestone. And welcome to the neighborhood.” 

The final two speakers before the tour of the AHMP ER began were Mallory Davis, the director of emergency services for AHZ and Andres Sequera, AHZ’s director of mission & ministry, who led those in attendance in a prayer for the new ER and those who are now working there. 

Davis said, “Over the past several months, our staff has undergone extensive training to prepare for the opening of this new location, and we are excited to officially begin starting our community next week. AdventHealth has invested $26 million into this off-site ER. We will open on Tuesday (Apr. 290 with 30 full-time employees. We are grateful the opportunity for to broaden our footprint in Paso County and bring a higher level of care. I’m so proud to work alongside great colleagues, including my CEO colleagues in Pasco County, Shane Bedward from Dade City and Ryan Quattlebaum at AdventHealth Wesley Chapel. We work well together to serve Pasco County as a team and as a network of care.” 

Three days after the VIP Preview event, AHMP ER hosted an amazing, free event to show off the new ER to the local community. 

Despite temperatures that soared well above 90º, an estimated crowd of more than 1,000 people came to enjoy free food and beverages, provided by four hard-working food trucks, free pick-your-own bouquets of absolutely gorgeous flowers from Tampa Bay Posies (left), free fresh fruits and veggies from the AdventHealth “Farm-acy” (which Murrill himself helped give out), face painting, music provided by Miles DJ Productions, and of course, tours of the new AHMP ER. 

It was clear that even though AdventHealth did its usual great job of engaging the community, the organizers of the event seriously underestimated the number of people who would show up. 

During the celebration’s check-in (photo right), attendees were each given a punch card that entitled them to one free entrée with side dishes and a drink from either The Taco Boss (below left) or the Tampa Burger Company, one free dessert item from either Nikki’s Sweet Shop or Pineapple Express and a free bucket of lemonade, plus the flowers and the produce. 

“We printed 450 cards,” said Katie Duncan, the senior marketing manager for AHZ and AdventHealth Dade City (AHDC). “And we ran out of the cards by 2 p.m. (an hour after the three-hour event began).” Attendees could still get the items promised without the cards, but both The Taco Boss and especially, Tampa Burger Co., had long lines throughout the afternoon and ran out of some of their food items. 

Those lines probably also prevented folks (including yours truly) from getting off them to participate in the public ribbon-cutting, which ended up including only Murrill, Davis, AHZ COO William Villegas and Stephen Drake, director of business development for AHZ & AHDC. 

“The place is beautiful,” one attendee told me after taking the tour. “But I gotta go get some ice cream and lemonade.” 

The AHMP ER is located at 5170 Chapel Commerce Dr. For more info visit MeadowPointeER.com. But, of course, in any emergency, call 9-1-1. 

Meadow Pointe II & III Residents Sound Off On Proposed Wrencrest Dr. Gate 

The residents of Meadow Pointe II (MPII) and Meadow Pointe III (MPIII) have been down this road before. A gate went up on Wrencrest Dr., the main thoroughfare through the Wrencrest communities which exist in both MPII and MPIII back in 2020 and Pasco County ended up telling MPII that the gate had to come down because it wasn’t properly permitted. 

The residents of MPIII thought that the discussion of a gate at the entrance to MPII on Wrencrest Dr. from the MPIII side was over, but it clearly was not. 

On Apr. 23, the MPII Community Development District (CDD) hosted a “Neighborhood Meeting” at the MPI clubhouse on County Line Rd. — “a neutral location with a much larger meeting room than the rooms at either MPII or MPIII,” according to MPII CDD district manager Jayna Cooper of Inframark Community Management (at microphone in photo above) — where the idea of erecting a new gate, similar to the one where Kinnan St. in New Tampa meets Mansfield Blvd., also in MPII, was again the main topic of discussion. 

“This is not a CDD meeting,” Cooper told those in attendance as she read the following statement, “Meadow Pointe II’s goal in going through this process is fully focused on safety enhancement and the security of all residents, including in both MPII and MPIII. The goal in submitting an application to the county is to receive approval to construct an emergency gate on Wrencrest Dr. between Blanchard Ct. and Rensselaer Dr. (see photo below) to cut down on the excessive traffic and the speedway this road has become. The road was never intended as a regional framework roadway for regional transportation uses. The policy goal is instead to return its use to as a neighborhood internal roadway we are all paying for as residents while still allowing for emergency access for emergency services.” 

Cooper then introduced Jerry Whited of BDI Engineering, who said, “We did do a traffic study that confirms our findings and proposal that a large volume of the traffic that is coming to the west side of Wrencrest is traffic coming from the MPIII side but also from traffic that is accessing MPIII from outside of the community. It’s being used as a major cut-through for residents who are coming from MPIII who should be accessing Mansfield Blvd. via Beardsley Dr., which is a much more pertinent roadway to be using for this type of vehicular traffic. It is a larger roadway, less narrow and has less pedestrian traffic and no driveways, while there are hundreds of driveways on Wrencrest Dr.” 

Roughly two dozen speakers, mostly from MPII but some from MPIII, were given three minutes each to speak. 

And, while there were a couple of MPII speakers who acknowledged that speeding is happening in both neighborhoods and agreed that installing strategically-spaced speed tables along the full length of Wrencrest Dr. might be just as, if not more effective, most of the MPII speakers mentioned the two MPII Wrencrest residents who were seriously injured and had to be airlifted because of speeders and said that installing the gate was the only real solution to the problem. 

MPII Wrencrest resident Kathy Jimenez read a moving statement written by her neighbor Ray Quinones, who was one of those airlifted after being hit by a car that had passed fellow neighbor Marla Mitchell “doing at least 45 mph” and both expressed sadness over how Quinones had suffered since the accident, writing, “The worst part is the memory loss. Chunks of my life are gone.” 

But, almost all of the MPIII residents who spoke at the meeting said that adding speed tables, narrowing the road and even adding trees along the portions of Wrencrest Dr. with no homes would be a much more effective way to slow down the traffic in both communities. 

In fact, MPIII Wrencrest resident Michael Jenkins said, “It makes no sense to think that the best way to solve the problem is to cut off the community from the main thoroughfare. We can do better than this. The members of the boards of both MPII and MPIII have allowed this to become a spiteful, back-and-forth match between the two CDDs.” 

Updates from the MPII legal counsel were expected to be provided at the MPII CDD Board meeting scheduled for May 7, or two days after this issue went to press, but our phone call to Cooper to ask if the MPII CDD Board would actually vote on the issue at that meeting was not returned before we went to press. 

Even if the MPII CDD Board votes tonight to move forward with approving the gate between the Wrencrest neighborhoods in Meadow Pointe (MP) II & MP III, the final decision would still be in the hands of the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC), which would have to add the vote to a BCC agenda at a future date.

More Mansfield Blvd. Business Updates! 

The smaller dirt mound near Enterprise care rental on Mansfield Blvd. is expected to be home to a drive-through coffee shop & self-storage facility. (Photos by Joel Provenzano) 

If you thought we were done after last issue’s updates about some of the new businesses now open or still coming to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe (and Wiregrass Ranch), guess what? We’ve got quite a few more for you! 

Drive-Through Coffee & Self Storage 

Ever since the end of 2023, when a 400’ long and 25’ tall dirt mound, perfectly shaped like a car jumping ramp, appeared along Mansfield Blvd. in the dirt lot near the new Enterprise car rental place, bets could have been made that more than a few passing motorists probably envisioned what it would be like to take a Dukes of Hazard or Evel Knievel-style jump off the end of it. It was just beckoning. 

Well, if you didn’t do it — and we’re assuming no one did — you won’t get the chance again, as that dirt mound has been whittled away over the past few weeks and is being used to level out the rest of the roughly 21 acres of property owned by Wiregrass Ranch upon which it sits. The property is now being prepared for some new and future developments. 

On the 1.6 acres immediately adjacent to Enterprise, it’s been long rumored that a drive-through coffee shop, specifically Ziggi’s, was going there. That is still a possibility, as site plans for the coffee shop were approved by Pasco back in June of 2023, showing a 1,947-sq.-ft. building, plenty of parking (23 spaces), and a long drive-through lane that could handle a 14-car queue from the window, which would put most Starbucks to shame. 

It’s still not known for sure if Ziggi’s will still be the brand coming, or if what’s shown in the approved plan is what will be built at all. Time will tell after they’re done moving the dirt. Nothing else has been submitted yet for that parcel. 

On the remaining 19.30 acres, there’s only one other development currently being proposed — and it’s likely to be the subject of still more jokes on local Facebook pages — a 102,600-sq.-ft., 3-story self-storage facility on the southern half of the property, furthest away from Mansfield Blvd. (near the school access road). 

Plans for this storage facility were started months ago, but the most recent layout was submitted this month, making it a safe bet that this project is moving forward towards vertical construction. This would be the second self-storage place in Wiregrass Ranch, as a Morningstar storage (located behind the Audi dealership) opened in late 2018. 

On the northern half of the property (closest to Mansfield), no business development plans have yet been submitted to the county, so Wiregrass is likely just making it “pad-ready” for future development with all those bulldozers — where the land is compacted, graded (leveled), zoned & platted, with approvals and utilities ready to go. 

In these cases, specific building permits might be all that’s needed in the future. 

Bay Paws Pet Resort 

Back in our Apr. 16 issue, when we first announced Bay Paws Pet Resort was coming next to Wiregrass Ranch High, construction had not yet begun and building materials were being piled up behind a temporary chain link fence, in preparation for what will surely become a popular place for local pet owners. 

There’s been a lot of progress on the Bay Paws Pet Resort on Mansfield Blvd.

Those materials have now taken shape, and the 15,000-sq.-ft. pet resort is coming together at a fairly brisk pace, with substantial and visible progress being made every week. 

As the sign hanging outside states, Bay Paws will offer boarding, daycare and grooming on site (along with numerous other services). With it being located next to the schools, I’m sure many parents will be dropping off all their children (furry ones included) in one trip. The facility will offer a portal where customers can use cameras to monitor their pets throughout the day. 

In addition to the building, there’s also going to be a generous 17,375-sq.-ft., fenced-in “outdoor turf group play area” and, according to the recently created Bay Paws Wesley Chapel Facebook site, this outdoor area also will include a “state-of-the-art splash pad” (there’s a cute video of what that looks like, with dogs enjoying it, on the Facebook page), like the one at the new Bay Paws location that just opened in Trinity. The page also says that a “Fall of 2024”opening is planned, with the exact opening date still to be announced. 

MH Nail Studio 

Two suites down from the new Enterprise Car Rental, and also in front of Wiregrass Ranch High, is the recently opened MH Nail Studio. While this isn’t the first nail salon in Wiregrass, it is the first one centrally located and closest to all the neighborhoods surrounding Mansfield. 

The inside of the 1,800-sq.-ft. nail studio is a pleasant place to be, nice and bright (while still having soft lighting), with a very airy feeling, not too big or too small, with tall ceilings and everything appropriately spaced apart — MH has a well-executed and modern upscale layout with a welcoming staff. 

Originally planning to open in August, some delays ended up pushing the salon’s Grand Opening to Sept. 12. Owner/operator Rubin Bao said that he lives just outside of Wesley Chapel, but decided to start looking for a location in Wesley Chapel, specifically the Wiregrass area, because he saw it as a developing and expanding area poised for growth. 

Rubin explained that they signed this location in November of 2023 and had permits for construction in April of this year, and have worked diligently since then to get everything ready. Rubin credits his family and friends for helping him out, and getting him quickly past the learning curve of how to start and operate his very first Nail Studio. 

He also credits and appreciates his customers for getting word out about their opening and says that being right near multiple schools has worked out pretty well, as staff from those schools, including one of the principals, has visited and told others about their experience. 

And, since a lot of parents pick up their high schoolers from that plaza/gas station area, many have come in to check it out and decided to get their nails done together. He said it’s typically hard to find parking for about a 15-30-minute window each school day in the afternoon, but the exposure is a great upside! 

When asked if he knew what was coming to the empty suites on either side of his nail salon, Rubin stated that he heard one might be a ramen noodle place. We’ll see! 

Meadow Pointe II To Build On Empty Mansfield Blvd. Lot 

A game plan has been formulated, and preliminary designs are finally moving forward for the large empty grass lot next to the Kids R Kids Learning Academy, on the southeast corner of the signalized intersection for Mansfield Blvd. (photo below) and County Line Rd., directly across the street from the neighborhood CVS Pharmacy. 

This empty lot sits right in the heart of Meadow Pointe II, caddy-corner from the existing clubhouse, and is being planned as additional facilities for the community. 

Justin Wright, the operations manager for Meadow Pointe II, says that, “The plan is to build a multiuse building for Meadow Pointe II. There are no plans [drawings] at this time as we just selected an architect to start the design process.” 

The architect referred to will be Renker Eich Parks Architects, who were selected by community staff in August of this year. They are a local firm from St. Petersburg, who specialize in historic preservation and urban planning, but have done a number of public school and government building design projects, including for USF and the Pasco County School Board. 

According to Wright, the uses of the future space are being specifically envisioned for maintenance operations, meetings and staff office space. The target year for construction to begin is 2025, and the community has currently set aside $900,000 for the building. 

The additional land was purchased by Meadow Pointe II in November of 2018 from Trout Creek Properties for $850,000 (according to appraiser records). The total size of the parcel the community owns on that corner is now 5.32 acres, which includes the existing paved access road and the drainage pond behind (to the east of) Kids R Kids, and part of the wetland to the south. The buildable project area, that most residents see as the empty grass lot next to the signal, will be between 1.5-2 acres of the total 5.32 acres. 

This current proposal might be a relief to many who have seen this lot sit mostly empty for 25 years, except for some rubble/rock piles and the occasional semi-truck that used to park out there. 

The previous major proposal, that caused an uproar with the community residents in 2017-18, even leading to a signed petition against it and the eventual purchase of the property by Meadow Pointe II, was for a 7-Eleven gas station, which ended up going in front of Wiregrass Ranch High instead, at Mansfield and Hueland Pond Blvd., and which opened in 2022. 

Meadow Pointe Residents Ask For Help With ‘Drag Strip’

On Oct. 18, roughly MP 30 residents gathered to ask Pasco County for solutions to traffic problems on County Line Rd. and near the schools on Mansfield Blvd. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

Kyle Molder tried a few years back in 2019 to draw attention to the unsafe crosswalks along County Line Rd. in Meadow Pointe Areas I and II, with minimal success.

But, as time went on, the danger only seemed to grow. In 2020, there was a car crash that killed the driver and led to the speed limit being reduced from 40 miles per hour (mph) to 35 mph, but it didn’t stop the speeding. The sounds of revving engines can be heard in the early hours of the morning, say residents who gathered at an Oct. 18 meeting at the Meadow Pointe I Clubhouse.

Another accident, back in September, involved three cars and, while no one died, it was just another example of County Line Rd.’s local reputation as a “drag strip.” Molder, who is running for Seat 2 on the Meadow Point II Community Development District (CDD), filmed his daughter trying to cross at one of the crosswalks, only to be stuck at the median as cars whizzed by and refused to yield.

According to a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Statistical Report requested by Molder, there have been 37 (FHP only) accidents in 2022 on County Line Rd. between Bruce B. Downs (BBD) and Mansfield Blvds. through Sept. 9. 

With nearly four months to go in 2022 when that report was compiled, the total crash number is already more than in any other year going back to 2016.

This accident on County Line Rd. in Sept. was the latest in a string of speeding incidents that have concerned Meadow Pointe residents who live near the roadway. (Photo courtesy of Kyle Molder).

Molder organized the Oct. 18 safety meeting, and invited Pasco officials to attend, in order to shine a light on what they deem is a public safety hazard, as well as help deal with the traffic on nearby Mansfield Blvd., which is home to a preschool, three public schools and a college.

“The school zones need to be reinforced,” said Alicia Willis, the Vice-Chair of the Meadow Pointe I CDD (in Seat 3), who helped run the meeting.

Venkat Vattikuti, P.E., PTOE, the traffic operations manager for Pasco County, was more than an hour late to the 90-minute meeting but managed to squeeze a lot of good news in a short period of time to the 35 or so residents who attended.

Vattikuti said there is little the county can do about ending speeding. Even after reducing the speed limit on County Line Rd., a study showed that speeding had actually increased. 

“Did we slow them down? No,” Vattikuti said. “We can’t fix the stupids. And we know all those stupids are in our neighborhoods.”

What the county can do, Vattikuti says, is fix the crosswalk issue. Currently, there are 19 crosswalks along County Line Rd. between Bruce B. Downs Blvd. and Mansfield Blvd.

Vattikuti said that is too many. He said the county is recommending consolidating 19 crosswalks into four, each spaced a half-mile apart.

Kyle Molder (left) and Venkat Vattikuti, P.E., PTOE, the traffic operations manager for Pasco County, talk to a gathering on concerned Meadow Pointe residents last month. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

Those crosswalks would have flashing beacons that are activated by pedestrians. According to Vattikuti, studies show that the percentage of drivers yielding at crosswalks goes from 20 percent to 90 percent when there is a flashing light.

Vattikuti said that Pasco County is willing to pay for two of the crosswalks, with the Meadow Point I and II CDDs having to pay for the other two. Once installed, however, the county would maintain all four at no cost to Meadow Pointe.

If Meadow Pointe puts in a request for the enhanced crosswalks, Vattikuti promised they would be installed in early 2023. “That I can guarantee you,” he said.

And, since speed tables are not allowed on County Line Rd. because the roadway exceeds 3,000 daily trips, Pasco is experimenting with raised crosswalks — which would serve nearly the same purpose as a speed table — in New Port Richey. If those prove to be productive, they can be employed on County Line Rd. as well.

Molder said he was pleased with what Vattikuti told the crowd. “I think it will help,” he said. “It’s a good start.”

As for the tangled Mansfield Blvd. school zones, Vattikuti said the county would be installing a 4-way light at Oakwood Preserve, in the hopes that it will break up the congestion. Additional signage already has been installed to help keep the sidewalk free for kids walking and riding to school. 

Because the county did away with courtesy busing within two miles of the schools in that area — which include Wiregrass Ranch Elementary, John Long Middle School and Wiregrass Ranch High, foot and bike traffic in that area has doubled, according to those in attendance at the meeting.

“We have to keep it going now,” Willis told the residents. “Keep emailing. Keep calling. Don’t stop.”

Open For Business

Now that it has opened to traffic, the S.R. 56 Extension is expected to provide a boon to local businesses, as well as create a badly needed 4-lane East-West road crossing Pasco County.

WHEN PLANS were originally made to extend S.R. 56 all the way from Meadow Pointe Blvd in Wiregrass Ranch all the to U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills, they included a lane in each direction.

Wesley Chapel’s growth, however, rendered those original plans moot.

“That wasn’t going to be enough,” said District 2 county commissioner Mike Moore.

So after some creative management and a wealth of cooperation between the Florida Department of Transportation, Pasco County, the City of Zephyrhills and multiple landowners along the proposed extension, the eastward expansion of S.R. 56 officially opened for traffic on July 10 as a freshly-paved, scenic, six-mile, four-lane road winding through pastures, in between trees and alongside ponds, while connecting Wesley Chapel to Zephyrhills.

“It’s a beautiful road,” said FDOT District 7 secretary David Gwynn, against the backdrop of four lanes running into a horizon flanked by nature. “Not just the road, but the surrounding area as well.”

City officials from Zephyrhills, all but one of Pasco’s county commissioners, the media and a number of other local dignitaries were given a sneak preview of the road on July 9, driving it from U.S. 301, through a signalized intersection at Morris Bridge Rd. and past Meadow Pointe Blvd.

Moore said no one was more excited about the extension than he was. The day it opened to everyone (June 10), he says he drove the length of it twice — once for work, and another time to visit his mother, who lives in Zephyrhills. He said the drive cut 15-20 minutes off his typical travel time in that direction, along the two-lane S.R. 54 (which also is in the process of being widened to four lanes).

He also touted the access to Polk County and even Orlando (via I-4) that the extension will provide, allowing residents in the area an alternative route.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Moore said. “I think people are going to love it. I was on Facebook, and I saw a lot of good comments from people who are definitely happy about it.”

In fact, a Neighborhood News Online video about the opening had more than 15,000 views in less than 24 hours, with hundreds of likes and mostly positive comments about the new road on Facebook (search “Neighborhood News”).

Among those who are happy about it is Ann Marie Schumaker, who lives in Zephyrhills but works at Soriano Insurance in Wesley Chapel. “I love the 56 extension,” she says. “Now I don’t have to take the dreaded Meadow Pointe cut-through up to 54 and sit in traffic during rush hour times with all the construction going on to go into Zephyrhills….it saves me 20 minutes every morning and evening on my daily commute to work. Being a single mom and having to make pick-up times is stressful. So, any extra time I can save is great. I’m overly excited. I’ve been waiting so long for this extension to be done.”

The extension is expected to provide an economic benefit to businesses in Wesley Chapel. Residents in Zephyrhills should find visiting the Shops at Wiregrass and Tampa Premium Outlets, as well as the many surrounding businesses in the area, to be a much easier and quicker trek. 

The only option to go from Wesley Chapel to Zephyrhills has been driving on one lane westbound on S.R. 54, which is roughly a 25-30 minute trip in light traffic, and even longer during morning and evening rush hours, especially when the snowbirds are in town in the winter and spring. The new extension will make those jaunts significantly shorter.

Currently, the road remains a nice trip through what District 1 commissioner and lifelong county resident Ron Oakley called “old Pasco.”

It can be enjoyed by bicyclists looking to take advantage of a generous 7-foot-wide bike lane in either direction, as well as pedestrians who can walk along a 10-foot- wide multi-use trail on the south side or a 5-foot wide sidewalk on the north side of the new 56 extension.

The completion of the project gives Pasco County it’s first 4-lane road from U.S. 19 to the west to U.S. 301 to the east, Oakley said. 

“I’ve spent my entire life in Pasco County with only two-lane roads,” he said.

How It Happened

Moore said the county was smart to look ahead and make a deal to extend S.R. 56 with four lanes. He said too many times roads are constructed, only to need widening or other work to accommodate growth 10 years later, when the costs also will be greater.

To get the extension changed from two to four lanes was monumental, Moore said, and no easy feat.  

The BOCC had to approve seven different agreements in 2016 to come up with a plan to repay a $22.7-million loan from the State Infrastructure Bank (SIB), which provides investment funds for surface transportation projects. That loan will be repaid with money from the county, the City of Zephyrhills and via mobility fee surcharges to developers of Wesley Chapel Lakes, Wyndfields, River Landing and Two Rivers Ranch, all of which will eventually have communities along the road.

Most of the $59.7-million total cost (plus another $7-8 million in interest) to build the extension came from FDOT, which contributed $35 million.

Oakley said that the beautiful terrain the extension cuts through previously has only been seen by local ranchers, and that those who are now using the road should enjoy it while they can. In 8-10 years, he said, that definitely could change, as Wesley Chapel Lakes, Wyndfields, River Landing and Two Rivers Ranch are expected to add as many as 10,000 new homes to the corridor. 

Businesses, parks and new schools also are expected as well.

But for now, the extension of S.R. 56 is a scenic convenience.