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Workshop Covers Roads

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By RAY REYES, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 26, 2007

PLANT CITY - Improving the roads that run through the rural areas north of Interstate 4 has become a paramount concern because that sector will undergo tremendous growth during the next 20 years, officials said.

There is no shortage of projects.

There is just not enough cash to pay for them.

With budget limits in mind, commissioners convened a workshop on Sept. 17 to identify which road improvement projects in the northeast sector get priority.

After about an hour, the commission had their top three choices in this order: widening Park Road from I-4 to the Sam Allen Road intersection; widening Sam Allen Road from Park Road to State Road 39, also known as Paul Buchman Highway; and finding money to extend Alexander Street from I-4 to S.R. 39.

All three construction projects will be funded through the Florida Department of Transportation. The only question is when.

'In many cases it's going to be decades to get these projects done,' Assistant City Manager Greg Horwedel told commissioners at the workshop. 'There's a lot of costs and no dedicated funding stream to make that happen.'

The projects are in various stages of design and approval. The $2.2 million of improvements on Park Road will begin in 2009, Mayor Rick Lott said.

About $4 million in funding has been approved to design the Sam Allen Road widening but not the $36 million needed for construction, Lott said.

The Alexander Street extension has been designed and rights-of-way acquisition has been funded, but no money has been cleared by the state to pay for the $43 million construction, Lott said.

'That's wishful thinking without any money,' Commissioner Bill Dodson said after the list was finalized. 'All the growth is headed our way, but we're on the tail-end of the funding pipeline.'

Lott, the city's representative on the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Organization, said there are other road projects in the county that are ranked higher and will receive funding sooner than Plant City's requests. The planning organization frequently addresses FDOT on its road improvements wish list, Lott said.

Lott said he will inform the planning organization at its next meeting of the city's top three choices.

'Then I'll continually push and prioritize these work projects' with the planning organization, Lott said.

Don Skelton, the district secretary for the Department of Transportation, said it was a good idea for commissioners to convene the workshop and formulate a list because it gives his agency a clear picture of the city's immediate needs.

'To get transportation projects to the construction phase, you must prioritize,' Skelton told commissioners.

The road improvements ensure the northeast sector will have an adequate road network by the year 2025, officials said. Independent consultants hired by the city have said the 5,000 acres mostly north of I-4 will experience the next surge in population. Historically, the city's growth has been south of the interstate.

In October, the commission expects to review a study on the northeast sector that details projected population growth, land-use maps and transportation data.

Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 865-4433 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

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