This thread will be devoted to the East-West Road in New Tampa

Toll Road Flux Stalls Fix

New Tampa toll road among proposals on today's meeting agenda.

http://media.tbo.com/photos/trib/2008/may/050508nebrucebdowns.jpg
Tampa Tribune photo by SCOTT ISKOWITZ

Bruce B. Downs Boulevard traffic is typical of North Tampa. Possible solutions will be discussed at a meeting today.

By RICH SHOPES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 5, 2008

Updated:

North Tampa's jammed roads might be the leading contender for the region's worst traffic. Thousands of commuters from northern Hillsborough and southern Pasco counties hop into their cars and trucks each morning only to get stuck in gridlock.

Several multimillion dollar road projects are on the table to deal with the problem, including widening Bruce B. Downs and Cross Creek boulevards.

All are expected to come up at a town hall-style meeting this morning organized by Mayor Pam Iorio. None, however, is expected to generate as much discussion as a proposed $155 million, 3-mile toll road that would link New Tampa Boulevard and Interstate 275.

Local officials have been trying to negotiate a deal with Plenary Group, a road developer in Canada and Australia, to build the toll road, maintain it and collect the tolls for 40 years.

As part of the deal, the city would build a bridge over Interstate 75 linking New Tampa Boulevard to Commerce Park Boulevard where the 3-mile road would start.

But an April 18 memo from Plenary threatens to delay the project and cost the city millions.

Plenary officials are seeking several revisions to the deal. Among the most contentious, the company wants to collect tolls for 60 years instead of 40 and wants the city to kick in $6 million to widen New Tampa Boulevard between Bruce B. Downs and the new bridge.

At the same time, Plenary is refusing to back off its proposed toll rate schedule, even though city officials have called it unworkable.

Plenary would charge $1.50 one-way when the road opens a few years from now and increase the tolls 25 cents a year over the next five years until they hit $2.75. Toll increases would be indexed to inflation after that, with most of the revenue going to Plenary to pay the project's debts.

"That's high," Joe Waggoner, executive director of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority, said after reviewing the memo this past week. "We were hoping there might be some flexibility there. If anything, they sound more solid about it."

City officials, meanwhile, aren't commenting, saying they need time to evaluate Plenary's request.

"We really have not had a chance to go over this and analyze this and discuss it in any way," said Steve Daignault, Tampa's administrator of Public Works and Utilities.

Although officials aren't calling the memo a deal breaker, they note Tampa has already invested millions in the oft-delayed project.

The city has kicked in $4 million for land and studies related to the work - money that Plenary is expected to reimburse - and has set aside $12 million to build the bridge. Hillsborough County would pay the remaining $4 million.

Plans for an east-west road have been under way for years. Traffic counts estimate that 60,000 vehicles, mostly from New Tampa and southern Pasco County, travel Bruce B. Downs Boulevard each day. The east-west road would shave an estimated 12 to 30 minutes off commute times.

New Study Causes Delay

Plenary and the expressway authority reached a tentative agreement last spring, and the sides, while still in negotiations, were expecting to start construction last October. The road was supposed to open in 2010.

Then in August, the Federal Highway Administration requested a new $500,000 impact study because it considered the bridge across I-75 as part of the toll road project. Previous impact studies did not include the bridge.

The city refused to pay for the study, leading to a months-long delay until Plenary in its April 18 memo said it would absorb that cost.

That's good news for the city, but now another issue is threatening the project: The developer wants Tampa to chip in to widen New Tampa Boulevard to four lanes. Specifically, it wants the reimbursement owed to Tampa, plus another $2 million due the city, diverted toward the project while Plenary contributes $6 million.

Even if the city accepts Plenary's offer, the project still could be delayed. That's because officials aren't sure whether the widening of New Tampa Boulevard will require a new, broader impact study.

Daignault declined to comment about the widening or other aspects of the memo until city officials review it. The Department of Transportation had no comment until it reviewed the memo. "We just got it," Daignault said Wednesday. "We got it when you got it."

More Discussions With Plenary

Waggoner said he expected several discussions with Plenary over the next few weeks, including over the toll rate.

"We're going to look at this ourselves and talk to the city and the DOT, and go back and forth with Plenary as necessary," he said. "We're going to do our own traffic and revenue analysis and if our numbers are different than theirs significantly, we would be having very hard discussions about what the toll rate is."

The town hall meeting is set for 10 a.m. to noon today at the New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Blvd.

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at or rshopes@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7633.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/05/me-plans-to-ease-gridlock-in-north-tampa-stalled/?news-metro

New Tampa Toll Road Unlikely, Iorio Says

By LAURA KINSLER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 6, 2008

NEW TAMPA - The proposed east-west toll road linking New Tampa to Interstate 275 could be roadkill by July.

"At this point, we just keep putting money into this road, and it may never become a reality," Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio said Monday. "You really have to wonder whether this is a viable project. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise evaluated it and said, 'No, thank you.'"

Tampa spent more than $6 million on studies and right of way in the hope that a private company would step in and build the 3-mile toll road.

Iorio called a transportation summit at the New Tampa Regional Library to provide an update on the toll road and about a dozen other road projects planned to relieve congestion in New Tampa and southern Pasco County. She told officials from the region that the $155 million toll road could soon be on the chopping block for good.

"Right now, this east-west road is not financially feasible," Iorio said. "We need to bring this to closure in the next 30 to 45 days."

Proposed Tolls Cause For Concern

Plenary, an Australian company that designs and builds private toll roads, was selected to partner with the city and Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority on the project. Local officials have balked at Plenary's proposed tolls, starting at $1.50 and rising to $2.75 in the sixth year. Plenary also wants to extend the lease (and tolling period) to 60 years. The original contract called for 40 years.

"It just doesn't seem like a good business deal," Iorio said, "And we owe it to the people out here to tell them if the road is going to be built."

Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan said the county could come up with the final $500,000 needed for additional studies, but Plenary's added conditions made the project nearly impossible to accept.

"I think the majority of New Tampa residents want the road," Hagan said. "But I'm torn as to whether we fish or cut bait. I to see it go down the tank like this."

Without the toll road, city officials are likely to pull the plug on a $23 million bridge over I-75 that would have linked New Tampa Boulevard to Tampa Palms. Jean Dorzback, the city's transportation director, said the bridge was designed to connect neighborhoods and to give residents in West Meadows quick access to Tampa Palms' schools and parks.

Opposition To Bridge Emerges

However, Tampa Palms residents have pressured Iorio to make the bridge project contingent on the construction of the east-west road. They don't want Bruce B. Downs traffic diverted through their neighborhood, especially because their segment of Bruce B. Downs would the last to be widened to eight lanes.

"I think there's a division in New Tampa about the bridge, depending on whether you live north or south of the I-75 interchange," said Bill Martello, president of the Heritage Isles Community Development District.

He reminded the group that after the 2004 hurricanes, many of his neighbors were virtually stranded because portions of Bruce B. Downs and Morris Bridge Road were flooded.

The news wasn't all bad for New Tampa commuters. Florida Department of Transportation District 7 Director Don Skelton told the group that construction on the "flyover" interchange at Bruce B. Downs and I-75 is two months ahead of schedule.

"At this rate, the flyover should be open by late summer," he said.

Construction on the first phase of Bruce B. Downs' widening is scheduled for early 2009. Hagan reassured Tampa Palms residents that the county would find the money for the southernmost segment.

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 865-4844 or lkinsler@tampatrib.com.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/06/me-new-tampa-toll-road-unlikely-iorio-says/?news-metro

I'd say at this point, let the project fizzle out. The THCEA can hope and hope but it will never happen. The construction costs are too high and no one will utilize a toll road that costs a $1.50 to start, only to rise to almost $3.00 in six years. The tolls on the Selmon are high enough at this point.

They need to reallocate funds earmarked for this I-75 bridge and put them toward improvements to BBD

^^
Agreed.

This is the obvious casualty of stupid planning - why isn't the Veterans connected to 275 and on to 75 including this road? Then it would all make sense and could have been done . . .

This is the obvious casualty of stupid planning - why isn't the Veterans connected to 275 and on to 75 including this road? Then it would all make sense and could have been done . . .

Stupid planning? No. Stupid people in Lutz? Yes. There was a connection planned - the residents of Lutz killed it

Indeed. The proposed E/W road would be very handy for me....but not at that toll price. I could use it every day, but I WOULD use it about three times a year. Let it die before more millions are spent on planning.

Steve

Stupid planning? No. Stupid people in Lutz? Yes. There was a connection planned - the residents of Lutz killed it

Yes, it was the crybabies of Lutz that didn't want their "quiet lifestyle" to be ruined. Now look at what Lutz has become...

Those idiots even went all the way to the state to have that plan ousted...and IT WORKED! :bash:

In Lutz's defense they are rural. There is actually very little cookie cutter sprawl in Lutz, it just happens to be surrounded by sprawl so it is generally asscociated with sprawl. Lutz was established in 1913 and tries to keep old, small town charm, so it doesn't shock me Lutz people don't want this. Frankly, it's a shame Lutz has to be surrounded by sprawl because you get an incident like this. Lutz, and many of the families of Lutz, were there long before any of the North Hillsborough/South Pasco sprawl.

This is one of those things where the state should have been the voice of reason, instead of appeasing to a tiny minority against what is clearly in the best interest of the community at large, including Lutz itself (the highway would take significant traffic off of e/w roads through Lutz). Hopefully, some day clearer heads will prevail, and things like this will just get done.

Future New Tampa bridge topic of meeting

By Bill Coats, Times Staff Writer
In print: Friday, August 8, 2008
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NEW TAMPA — The east-west expressway is dead. But its companion bridge is still alive, dangling like a door hinge on transportation maps.

So Tuesday, City Council member Joseph Caetano has planned a public meeting on Tampa's proposal to build a $22-million bridge spanning Interstate 75. It's set for 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday in the media center of Freedom High School, 17410 Commerce Park Blvd.

For 20 years, the bridge connecting the West Meadows subdivision to Tampa Palms was envisioned as a vital accessory to the east-west expressway. But it has a murky future now that the toll expressway has been shelved.

When planned with the expressway, it would have created a high-speed bypass on the north side of Tampa Palms, connecting to I-275. The expressway died in June, cited as being too expensive.

The bridge is different. City officials have nearly all of the $22-million it's projected to cost, plus the permits to begin building it. "It's when, and not if," said Jeanne Dorzback, Tampa's director of transportation planning.

But in May, Mayor Pam Iorio suggested that the money could be switched to the four-laning of Cross Creek Boulevard's eastern half, projected at $19-million. The western half was widened two years ago.

Dorzback said the question of how to spend that money remains in the air at City Hall. She said planners years ago relied on the bridge when they mapped other road improvements and approved New Tampa developments, many now completed.

The bridge creates adversaries on either side of I-75.

On the north side, advocates of the project say the bridge and its approach roads would create a valuable alternative to jammed Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. But on the south, Tampa Palms residents say their neighborhood boulevard would be misused as a bypass highway.

Bill Coats can be reached at (813) 269-5309 or coats@sptimes.com.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/roads/article762748.ece

^The bridge needs built regardless. The Tampa Palms people need to get a clue.

They should just build it... Screw the people. I mean thats what they did in the 60's when they built the interstates....

Maybe they can finally tie in the Vets into the bridge someday. LOL!

They should just build it... Screw the people. I mean thats what they did in the 60's when they built the interstates....
There's a big difference though. Thsoe interstates plowed through dense urban neighborhoods, displacing thousands of people... These plans would displace NOBODY, yet people are bitching...

Indeed, the people bitching over the noise and pollution that cars make should be 110% ignored... if they don't like road noise, traffic and air pollution, then uhh, how about they stop driving automobiles, and stop living in a suburb that is totally dependent upon automobiles?

Or demand rail...
But I think people are just too... whats the word?

Mayor Reconsiders Bridge Over I-75 As Standalone Project

By LAURA KINSLER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 13, 2008

NEW TAMPA - Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio has softened her stance on whether to build a $22 million bridge over Interstate 75 in New Tampa.

Iorio previously said she would not build the New Tampa Boulevard Bridge without the proposed east-west toll road that would have linked Tampa Palms to I-275. Now, her administration is considering moving forward with the bridge as a standalone project.

Councilman Joseph Caetano said the mayor told him she could support the project but only after Hillsborough County widens the segment of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard that includes the I-75 interchange.

The bridge would link Tampa Palms to neighborhoods and shopping centers north of the I-75 interchange so motorists can move around without having to use Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. But that's why many homeowners in Tampa Palms don't want it built. Dozens attended a workshop Tuesday organized by Caetano, who only recently reversed his position on the bridge.

"They think I deserted them," the longtime Tampa Palms activist said. "I didn't desert them. This project was on the books before I ever got elected."

His neighbors worry that without the east-west toll road to I-275, commuters would use the bridge and Tampa Palms Boulevard as a cut-through to avoid driving on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. Some talked of secession from the city. Others called the project a "monstrous" waste of money.

"Why do you have to destroy that side of Tampa Palms to serve other developments when we were never at the table?" resident Warren Dixon said.

Steve Daignault, the city's administrator for public works, said a final decision hasn't been made. Iorio could not be reached for comment.

"The mayor is looking to us for a recommendation on whether to build the bridge," he said.

Transportation director Jean Dorzback made her department's position clear: The city is required to build the bridge. The project was part of a road network required under state concurrency laws that allowed the city to approve several New Tampa developments, such as West Meadows and Arbor Greene. It also was named in annexation agreements for K-Bar Ranch and Grand Hampton, to name a few.

"The city of Tampa is obligated to comply with these contractual agreements," assistant city attorney Julia Cole said.

"We've allowed these developments to occur, but the infrastructure is not there to support them," Dorzback said.

The county is scheduled to let bids for the Bruce B. Downs widening project in February.

"That's a two-year project," Dorzback said. "Ours is a two-year contract, so even if we let bids today, we wouldn't be ready to open before Bruce B. Downs is done."

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 865-4844 or lkinsler@tampatrib.com.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/aug/13/me-mayor-reconsiders-bridge-over-i-75-as-standalon/?news-metro

New Tampa connector idea is back

By Marlene Sokol, Times staff writer
In print: Sunday, October 19, 2008

NEW TAMPA— An east-west highway through New Tampa, dismissed as unfeasible several months ago, is getting another look.

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise is weeks from reporting to city transportation officials about the possibility of a toll road that would connect Bruce B. Downs Boulevard to Interstate 275.

The last such study, in 2005, concluded that tolls could pay for construction, but not maintenance of the 3-mile connector, said turnpike spokeswoman Joanne Hurley.

"In late July, the city contacted the turnpike and asked if we would take a fresh look," Hurley said. "They asked us to see if anything had changed."

In May, Mayor Pam Iorio said the road did not seem viable. The following month the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority echoed that opinion and pulled out of the project.

But the road remains an option as transportation officials contend with ever-thickening traffic on Bruce B. Downs.

In a letter to homeowner Warren Dixon, city public works administrator Stephen Daignault wrote at length about New Tampa's need for alternate roads.

"We must consider all possibilities and alternatives with a possible long-term solution that may include a combination of the East-West Collector, roadway grid system and transit," he wrote.

"The East-West Collector is an option which provides relief to some of the traffic issues in New Tampa. To that end, the city has obtained right of way and is exploring financial options with outside transportation agencies."

Dixon and others in Tampa Palms oppose plans to build a bridge from New Tampa Boulevard to Commerce Park Boulevard, which leads to Tampa Palms Boulevard, passing several schools and parks.

The bridge was to be part of the toll road project. Without the toll road, Dixon says, the bridge will dump too much traffic into the heart of Tampa Palms.

Daignault promised that if the bridge is built, the city "will work to ensure that Tampa Palms Boulevard remains protected from unacceptable levels of service."

Randy Marlowe, a supervisor for the Tampa Palms community development district, said that "at the minimum, there should be no trucks allowed on Tampa Palms Boulevard."

Added community development district consultant Maggie Wilson, "I look forward to working with the city to minimize the detrimental effects."

Marlene Sokol can be reached at 269-5307 or sokol@sptimes.com.


[Last modified: Oct 20, 2008 07:58 PM]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/article861220.ece

WTF??

Turnpike: Okay we'll take a look.

Months later....

Turnpike: This isn't gonna work.

Still, months later...

Turnpike: Okay THCEA, you look at the road, we're outta here. See ya.

THCEA: Okay, we'll take a look.

And...it goes on...

THCEA: This isn't gonna work.

Mayor Iorio: The road is indeed too expensive, we need to pull away from it.

THCEA: Agreed. See ya.

Later still...

Mayor: Okay, lets keep the bridge on the forefront. Everything else...lets scrap.

And now...

Turnpike: Okay, second chance for the road. Let's take a look.






Will this become another useless wheel of mis-fortune?

Seriously, this is becoming like Trump Tower Tampa without the law suits...so far.

Steve

After last month's fiasco with the broken gas line on Bruce B. Downs you think people would be begging the city and county to make an alternative road so they wouldn't have to take this humongously long detour going 15 miles out of the way just to back down the same road about 8 miles. Are people fighting this stupid?

Not only are people fighting it (NIMBYs) but the toll price is outrageous. I think it was going to be over $2 each way after a few years. Handy as an alterante? Yes. Too expensive? Yes.

Steve

^^
Yes, and on top of all that, its too expensive to even build, let alone operate with that high toll. People are already b****ing about the Crosstown being a $2.50 trip the whole route.

Not only are people fighting it (NIMBYs) but the toll price is outrageous. I think it was going to be over $2 each way after a few years. Handy as an alterante? Yes. Too expensive? Yes.

Steve

Well who says it has to be a toll road, can't it just be a surface street that connects up there?
In between Bearse and 56 how many roads connect Bruce B Downs and US 41 or I-275

^^
Again, the road itself is too expensive to build. How else will it get paid off?

Oh I see. Well Govenor Crist should've made a S.R. for that area for his Lets continue our addiction to Oil by accomidating more cars and create jobs thing.

Maybe Crist can stop with his bio-fuels crap and remove 10% ethanol from gas so I can gain back a few mpg's, then we can have more cars....

Oh, but he can't. Crist is now best buddies with Arnie. LOL!

I bet he'll be best buds with the Saudis next...just like our King....George W Bush!

Okay, politics aside, this project constantly resurfacing is driving me nuts already.

I don't care how the road is funded, so long as I don't have to pay for it. I could care less how long people dumb enough to move to New Tampa or Wesley Chapel rot in traffic. They took the cheap way out on housing, and now they're getting what they paid for. I have no interest in essentially 'bailing them out' of their poor choice for a place to live.

I wouldn't either. Lutz, New Tampa, Wesley Chapel all need to stop whining about this and that. If the Vets was allowed to go through back in the day, we wouldn't have this problem. Simple...

I was expecting this...

New Tampa east-west road plan kaput once more

By Dong-Phuong Nguyen, Times Staff Writer
In print: Friday, December 12, 2008

After months of re-evaluation, the east-west road appears dead — again.

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, the state's toll road authority, wrapped up a four-month study last week, which concluded that the project is just too expensive.

The $183-million project has been looked at on and off several times over the past four years.

It was declared dead months ago, but Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio urged the Turnpike Enterprise to crunch the numbers one more time.

"We have to be able to make the project sustain itself and pay for itself," said Turnpike spokeswoman Christa Deason. "It doesn't appear that is going to be feasible for us to do."

It was disappointing news to Warren Dixon, who, along with others in Tampa Palms, opposes plans to build a bridge from New Tampa Boulevard to Commerce Park Boulevard without the east-west road.

Commerce Park leads to Tampa Palms Boulevard, and Dixon says that without the toll road, the bridge will dump too much traffic into the heart of Tampa Palms.

"This region needs a new road," he said. "To go ahead and build the bridge the city proposes without the east-west road will do nothing but turn the streets of Tampa Palms into a commuter route."

Dong-Phuong Nguyen, Times Staff Writer

http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/roads/article932583.ece

I believe that neither the road or the bridge should be built. If the bridge is built by itself, then it will create gridlock in Tampa Palms, plus be a waste of money during the recession. Certainly whatever money that is being set aside for the bridge could better be spent on another road project that needs more attention.

In other words, I'm no longer supporting the bridge. They need to use that money for BBD or something else that will make more sense.

Better yet, I don't think we should build the E/W period. Just propose a good rail system and the problem will be solved. ;)

New Tampa resident won't let up in fight against bridge

By Marlene Sokol, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Monday, February 9, 2009

http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/archive/00055/b4s_dixon020909_55980c.jpg A bridge into Tampa Palms would bring a “parade of horribles,” resident Warren Dixon, 64, says. “Nobody would choose to walk, jog, ride their bicycles or push a baby carriage on Bruce B. Downs.”

TAMPA PALMS — Warren Dixon starts his walks at 5 a.m. so he can go with his wife, a defense consultant who works long hours.

Dixon doesn't work anymore, and maybe that's the problem. At 64, the retired combat pilot and military lawyer is a bureaucrat's nightmare. He has time, money, a law degree — and an issue.

The city government is poised to build a bridge over a highway, carrying traffic into the stately community of Tampa Palms.

Drivers will come from as far as Pasco County. Knowing the gridlocked Bruce B. Downs Boulevard awaits, they will find their way over Interstate 75 to Commerce Park Boulevard until they reach the road Dixon can see from his lanai.

That's Tampa Palms Boulevard — Dixon's walking route.

• • •

Planners use words like grid and connectivity to explain the need for newer, arguably better transportation routes. In New Tampa, officials say the burden is especially great because growth management laws meant to limit sprawl give developers more freedom in older sections of the city.

New Tampa must follow concurrency, which prevents new development from overwhelming existing government services. "And so, when a development comes into being, the transportation requirements are more onerous up here," said Steve Daignault, Tampa's public works administrator.

Tampa Palms, which is one of New Tampa's oldest developments and has homes priced at $1 million, sits in the path of the 1990s building boom. State and regional agencies approved a host of neighborhoods assuming the bridge would be built, Daignault said.

But, in voluminous papers and e-mails, Dixon asks why.

City officials had hoped for an east-west highway connector to Interstate 275, which might have taken some of the bridge traffic. Using a software expression, Dixon calls it "a vaporware road."

Having collected impact fees and needing to satisfy concurrency, officials must do something. In Dixon's view, they are covering their tracks.

In one paper, he asserts that the city is using Tampa Palms Boulevard as a substitute for the east-west highway "because functionaries in the city government, during the time of the approval of the 40-plus subdivisions, did not do their job." He accuses them of "malfeasance in office."

Daignault says it would be unfair to compare the bridge to the east-west highway: One was always written into city plans, the other never received impact-fee money and wasn't a sure thing. Nor does he agree that the east-west road would reduce bridge traffic, as it would pick up a different population of drivers.

The city's position is simple, he said: New Tampa needs a road network, and even Tampa Palms can't stand in the way.

"I'm not a lawyer," said Daignault. "I can tell you that whenever a project is built, the people in the surrounding areas are affected. … It is a city road network that we certainly want to try to provide the maximum use for all of the folks."

Differing agendas

Even among Tampa Palms homeowners angry about the road system, Dixon stands out.

Others have more or less accepted the bridge. They are focusing instead on lower Bruce B. Downs Boulevard near Bearss Avenue, where it bottlenecks.

But Dixon won't let up.

"It's often very useful to have an activist in the community, but we don't control him," said Bill Edwards, president of the Tampa Palms Owners Association.

"Some people would wail and wring their hands and say 'woe is me,' " Community Development District consultant Maggie Wilson said. "Warren says, 'How did it happen, what happened and how am I going to fix it?' "

Edwards and Wilson say fighting the county, which controls Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, makes more practical sense than taking city leaders to task. The county is widening the northern portion, near Pasco County, ahead of the southern leg. That plan will only worsen the bottleneck, they say.

But all agree that the bridge by itself will hurt Tampa Palms.

Dixon predicts a "parade of horribles" affecting apartment dwellers, businesses, schools and parks. "Nobody would choose to walk, jog, ride their bicycles or push a baby carriage on Bruce B. Downs," he said. "And that is essentially what we will have."

A matter of fairness

Dixon is careful to note that the taxing district and homeowners association have their own attorneys.

But he'll help out if needed. And if push comes to shove, "I can always represent my own interests. My wife and I have gone over our finances. We can afford to do that."

He can't get past what he sees as unfairness. It's like this: The city committed to the bridge in agreements with developers north of Tampa Palms, such as West Meadows, yet Tampa Palms will shoulder the greatest share of the burden.

Disagreements arise when city leaders point out that Tampa Palms' developers also paid into the roads network.

Dixon digs through decades-old documents until he finds the word "may," suggesting the city doesn't have to build the bridge, or a traffic count that he says was conducted on a Sunday. (Not true, the county says.)

"Don't you love the machinations?" Dixon asks. "Can't you understand why I am convinced the city is willfully lying?"

He wants the city to widen more of Cross Creek Boulevard, closer to the newer homes. Otherwise, "the negative impact does not fall on West Meadows, it falls on Tampa Palms."

And on his wallet. He and his wife bought their home at the peak of the housing bubble. They paid $60,000 extra, he said, for the rear view of the boulevard.

A federal wish list

Tampa Palms leaders have asked all homeowners to join the campaign to fix southern Bruce B. Downs. They are disappointed that a request for federal infrastructure dollars didn't include southern Bruce B. Downs.

The explanation from county public works spokesman Steve Valdez: The northern part costs a third of the southern portion — $35 million compared to $104 million. The county didn't have enough local matching money to address the southern section.

Still, there are signs officials are paying attention to the outcry from Tampa Palms.

Daignault has assured Tampa Palms leaders that the city will try to lessen the impact on Tampa Palms Boulevard by using speed control devices, and it might delay the bridge until more of Bruce B. Downs is widened.

In county offices, "we hear their concerns," Valdez said. Officials are considering whether they can widen that stretch of road to six lanes instead of eight to speed things up, he said. "We are looking at options."

Marlene Sokol can be reached at sokol@sptimes.com or (813) 269-5307.


[Last modified: Feb 08, 2009 10:33 PM]

^^
Bruce B. Downs? At this point, almost nothing will be included in that stimulus for all of Tampa Bay, let alone Florida. :bash:

The bridge should lead due west to I-275 and not even connect to Tampa Palms Blvd directly. Have a light at Commerce Park and go straight to I-275. If you want to make Lutz mad and connect New Tampa even more...they could connect Sunset Lane to the I-275 interchange. Yeah, I think they should have built the Veterans all the way through like they originally planned.

^^
Yeah, make those whiners pay for whining. ;)

Dixon predicts a "parade of horribles" affecting apartment dwellers, businesses, schools and parks. "Nobody would choose to walk, jog, ride their bicycles or push a baby carriage on Bruce B. Downs," he said. "And that is essentially what we will have."
This has to be the most retarded quote in there, I dare any of those stupid residents to drive down Bruce B. Downs and point our how many bikers, joggers, and strollers are on the sidewalks. If you are lucky you might see 2 people.

Yeah, I think they should have built the Veterans all the way through like they originally planned.
Yea but you know how that happened, residents whined and the same thing is happening now. So residents while bitch now, cancel a road project, and then complain about traffic some years down the road which got canceled due to their own stupidity. Gotta love Florida.

Yea but you know how that happened, residents whined and the same thing is happening now. So residents while bitch now, cancel a road project, and then complain about traffic some years down the road which got canceled due to their own stupidity. Gotta love Florida.

:lol:

County grants final approval for New Tampa bridge
By Tia Mitchell, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Jan 27, 2011 04:25 PM

TAMPA — After nearly two years of delays, a controversial New Tampa road project received the green light Thursday.

Meeting as the Environmental Protection Commission, Hillsborough County commissioners voted 5-1 to clear the final hurdle to construction of a bridge over Interstate 75 linking Commerce Park and New Tampa boulevards.

During comments before the vote, business owners and residents of the Cross Creek area expressed support.

"We need this alleviation of traffic," said Karen DeGiorgio, whose neighborhood stands to benefit from the alternate route to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard that the bridge would create.

The EPC's vote upholds a hearing officer's recommendation in November to dismiss resident Evelyn Romano's appeal. She had argued that the bridge and the additional traffic it would bring through her West Meadows neighborhood would create a nuisance and jeopardize safety.

"Disappointment doesn't quite cover what I feel at the moment," Romano said after the meeting.

With the county's approval, the city of Tampa can proceed with the roadway extension. The project will take roughly two years to complete and is expected to cost about $16 million.

Commissioner Victor Crist, the lone dissenter, argued that environmental concerns Romano and others raised had not been considered. Local rules were being allowed to supersede state laws, he said.

Other commissioners said existing rules didn't give them legal standing to delay the bridge.

"I think our hands are tied," Commissioner Ken Hagan said.

Attorneys for both the city and the EPC have argued that Romano's challenge, initially filed in April 2009, was irrelevant to approving a wetlands permit and that she had no standing to oppose the project.

Once the order is signed, Romano has 30 days to decide whether to take her case to the 2nd District Court of Appeal. She was contemplating her next move Thursday.

She criticized commissioners' decision to limit public comments during the hearing to general statements about support or opposition to the road extension.

Richard Tschantz, director of EPC's legal and administrative services division, had encouraged commissioners to limit comments. He said allowing speakers to explain their position could be seen as introducing new evidence, which was not acceptable at this point in the process.

Tschantz interrupted several speakers when he felt their comments had crossed that line.

Romano said that was unfair and provided proof that residents weren't being heard.

"We were not allowed the ability to present our evidence and our side of it," she said.

Tia Mitchell can be reached at tmitchell@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3405.


[Last modified: Jan 27, 2011 04:45 PM]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/roads/county-grants-final-approval-for-new-tampa-bridge/1147975

Good to hear but they should still build a road further west to I-275 or further, I mean linking to Commerce still won't help too much on Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

Does anyone have a map of exactly where this new bridge would be built?

Let's see if this works.. I still laugh at the arguement that residents won't be able to go for a walk because of this overpass, look at the swampland around it, I'm sure from April to October it's filled with activity! Haha!

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=28.14114,-82.381432&spn=0.010482,0.016544&t=h&z=16

^New Tampa Blvd should have been extended to connect to Sunset Ln, and have a south-only 1/2 interchange with I-275. Then, Commerce should have had a 'T' intersection with that new road.

^^ but that would be too intelligent and easy and would actually alleviate a lot of traffic! And that's just not how we do things.

I remember arguing with some city planner that was in charge of the East/West road back when I lived in New Tampa as to why the Veterans Expressway was never extended to 275. It seemed to me at the time looking at a map that the expressway could have easily traversed from Dale Marbry to 275 and even continued to 75/New Tampa Blvd creating the much needed BBD bypass. I was told though that Lutz was against the extension of the VetEx and that the New Tampa people, well one particular neighborhood, was against the East West Road portion. It always amazes me how people love to complain about traffic but when solutions are offered they scoff at them.

^Yes, a neighborhood of about 300 people killed the Vets extension that would have served tens of thousands of daily commuters. In New Tampa, a similarly laughable number of serial complainers deep-sixed the extension to I-275 a few years back... This has happened many, many times all over the region. None of our politicians have the balls to stand up to these loons and tell them to shut the fuck up unless they have a better plan.

^^
haha, exactly

I say they should still do it...more the reason now that traffic is at a standstill in most of the surrounding area. If they don't like, move further out.

^Yes, a neighborhood of about 300 people killed the Vets extension that would have served tens of thousands of daily commuters. In New Tampa, a similarly laughable number of serial complainers deep-sixed the extension to I-275 a few years back... This has happened many, many times all over the region. None of our politicians have the balls to stand up to these loons and tell them to shut the fuck up unless they have a better plan.

Yes I remember reading about all the expressway plans just for Pinellas county alone. I really believe that the NIMBY's complaints killing those plans are the reason Tampa is in a rut. If there wasn't such a lack of freeways or interconnected comprehensive transit system, the Tampa Bay area could be so much better than what it is today.

The region would definitely be better off if it had the better infrastructure planners have been telling us for years that we needed if we didn't want our own sprawl to choke us.

Furthermore, the public debt we now have would at least have been spent up building up the overall economy, not subsidizing sports franchises and 'urban entertainment' complexes.

Yes I remember reading about all the expressway plans just for Pinellas county alone. I really believe that the NIMBY's complaints killing those plans are the reason Tampa is in a rut. If there wasn't such a lack of freeways or interconnected comprehensive transit system, the Tampa Bay area could be so much better than what it is today.
Exactly Pinellas County should be an example to these idiots who still oppose the road to this day. Our county is a prime example of when the sprawl fills in and the infrastructure isn't there. A mess! Imagine if we constructed US19 the right way originally instead of having to rebuild it at a high cost and for many years a few sections at a time.

^^
& let's not forget that US 19 is happing because I-375 to Clearwater was cancelled.

375 to Clearwater? There is a 375 in St. Pete. What route are you talking about?

Yes I remember reading about all the expressway plans just for Pinellas county alone. I really believe that the NIMBY's complaints killing those plans are the reason Tampa is in a rut.

Tampa itself suffers from NIMBYs - Pinellas, to a large degree, suffers from the fact that every ten feet you get a new jurisdiction that has to approve every decent sized project - and you can almost never do it. Throw in the fact that the county government is incompetent and that Clearwater and St. Pete hate each other and you get a wonderfully planned county.

I think they're was a planned expressway to Downtown Clearwater a while back, maybe that's what he was talking about? :dunno:

An expressway out to Downtown Clearwater is needed though. I highly doubt the businesses would back such a project though.

It's way too late to build an expressway to downtown Clearwater, the cost would be way too high for the cheap ass residents of Clearwater to approve not that they would approve something like that anyways. The only east-west road that has a possibility of becoming a freeway is maybe Ulmerton Rd, that is a stretch. Then for North-South is US19 and maybe McMullen Booth Rd to the end of East Lake road since that was originally supposed to be a toll road anyways the right of way is basically there. Pinellas screwed themselves many years back, its poor road network is going to cost outstanding amounts of money to upgrade and the county is sprawled out, the lack of room to upgrade makes it very difficult. If and I mean IF Pinellas County became important enough and had the money to upgrade the roads it would have some interesting solutions as far as improving roads.

The expressway was planned in the 70s/80s, but was cancelled. After that cancellation, Pinellas & FDOT focused on US 19.

I remember that... Didn't they want to make the CCC an expressway as well, so that people could get to the beach from Tampa without traffic lights?

That would have been smart.

So I live in this area...what surprises me here is how most of the articles are from 2008 and since then, construction costs have come down. I wonder if there is a way to get the city to take a look at the 275 connector since the bridge is now getting built.

^Costs have come way down actually.

So has the state's revenue so it's still a loss.

^^
And gas prices are going up again, so costs will follow in the same direction.

edit

lol, I was being sarcastic. Big time.

If you look at my post history in this very thread, I'm consistently saying the opposite, and make remarks that they should be building even more of a road than this.

I like to throw stuff up like that, just to watch and see the reaction from the whackos. I didn't look, were there any good ones?

Ha, ok, no problem. It was just surprising to see something like that from you but I what I posted still stands though. I still feel the area doesn't get back even a fraction of what we pay in.

However, this guy's response is great. haha!

Rulecaymania Mar 10, 2011 1:17 PM

Absolutely right Jasonhouse! After HSR, the new rule is that if infrastructure isn't profitable, then it doesn't get built. No mention in this article of profitability, or even of private companies building it, covering cost overruns, and operating it, so according to Governor Fraud-emort, this project cannot go forward.

Looks like construction has begun on the over pass. Land is cleared, road signs are up and there are even pilings being put in.

Such a shame that this costly infrastructure won't be properly utilized as a connection between New Tampa and points west via Sunset Lane, because for some reason the community has decided that ignorant NIMBYs should have the final say on planning issues, not the actual planners.

I'm amazed that anyone would even take a planning job here... Who would ever want a job where people with no expertise on the subject get to come in and declare your work null and void, yet you still get the blame when their scheming produces shit results?

Even if it is just an overpass with no road going further west, its still a good thing. It'll take a bit of traffic off Bruce B. Downs, which is great.

Such a shame that this costly infrastructure won't be properly utilized as a connection between New Tampa and points west via Sunset Lane, because for some reason the community has decided that ignorant NIMBYs should have the final say on planning issues, not the actual planners.

I'm amazed that anyone would even take a planning job here... Who would ever want a job where people with no expertise on the subject get to come in and declare your work null and void, yet you still get the blame when their scheming produces shit results?


I noticed Sunset lane on Google Maps back when I first heard about this project. Do you know if there was any indication to even make that connection? It would have been quite the price increase because of the humongous amount of wetlands it would have to go over. The wetlands I believe are also what made the 275 connection not feasible even with tolls.

Edit: I just noticed there now seems to be an abandoned, insanely sprawled out subdivision at the end of Sunset lane. Wow.

^Too expensive to build a key connector through, but not too expensive to prop up tract housing on. Yep, that's Tampa planning for ya.

Who would ever want a job where people with no expertise on the subject get to come in and declare your work null and void, yet you still get the blame when their scheming produces shit results?

Sometimes it is the NIMBYs but very often it is the planners who screw up and leave the residents to deal with it. Who do you think created the environment, along with politicians, where you cannot walk? Why was the New Tampa planned so poorly with only one major road in the first place? They screwed the plan up from the beginning.

If they want to protect the wetlands they could elevate it, even at grade a connector as long as no development occurs on the wetlands really is necessary and wouldn't effect the environment as much as traffic idling on roads nearby.

^Runoff is still an issue.

I don't think that is a fixable issue though.. Even then a roadway is better than developements with runoff. A simple connector would be great, just a 2x2 highway with at least a few elevated sections to allow wildlife underneath then the rest is fenced off, thats probably the best it could get. Too bad the way the idiots of that area allowed development to block off any reasonable means of connecting the Veterans to the interstates.

Source: The Ledger (http://www.theledger.com/article/20110805/NEWS/110809667/1410?p=all&tc=pgall)


TALLAHASSEE | Gov. Rick Scott, who killed high speed rail in Florida earlier this year, is pushing ahead with a major transportation plan that calls for speeding up road projects and relying more on new tolls to help pay for them.

The plan, unveiled by the state's transportation chief at a road-builders conference Friday, also calls for reviving work on controversial new road projects such as the Heartland Parkway in Florida, as well as a parkway stretching across the state from Manatee County. The Scott administration wants to consolidate the groups responsible for approving new roads and look at ways to eliminate "regulatory burdens" to accelerate construction.



More: http://www.theledger.com/article/20110805/NEWS/110809667/1410?p=all&tc=pgall (http://www.theledger.com/article/20110805/NEWS/110809667/1410?p=all&tc=pgall)

Less mass transit, more roads; toll roads that is.

^^
Welcome back Tri/Quad-County Beltway & Heartland Pkwy!

The Heartland Parkway is nothing but a money-grab for a bunch of corrupt politicians.

Story (http://www.lakelandlocal.com/2009/04/the-heartland-parkway-csx-and-mapping-the-interests-of-jd-alexander-and-company/)

I find it stupid that they want more highways when they can't even afford or manage to improve the ones they already have. And with the cost of $3 Billion-$8 Billion (maybe higher since the cost is from 2007), how is a more expensive project suppose to get approved while a cheaper project (High Speed Rail) is denied? And they used the argument about hurricane evacuations when this was being discussed before, but wouldn't improving I-95, I-75, I-4, and the Florida Turnpike make more sense?

This state is so backwards and more and more this dumbf*ck makes these decisions and comes up with BS reasons, I want to leave this state even more. I seriously don't know why the GOP has this anti-mass transit ideology, but it's getting old. FAST!

The article states funding for an expressway in Hillsborough county. What expressway might that be?

if the toll from tampa to jacksonvillle is built it would be good if it didn't go through center of orlando and lakeland

lol... Don't worry, I-4 will be getting the toll road treatment next session too.

Corporate toll roads for everyone!

^^
Ditto, it will happen. We'll have a 20-laned I-4 by 2030, with 4 toll lanes in each direction (overexaggerating, but yes)


Also, don't be surprised if the legislature finally abolishes TBARTA, THCEA, OOCEA, and the other expressway authority as well.

He also said that DOT wants to privatize and outsource as much as possible in the coming years.


This is especially not surprising.

I don't disagree on speeding up road projects but we really need mass transit!! Of course his buddies are going to get contracts on those roads.

I don't disagree on speeding up road projects but we really need mass transit!! Of course his buddies are going to get contracts on those roads.
No never! He's an outsider and businessman, not your typical politician. He would never give million dollar contracts to his friends for campaign donations down the road......


:puke:

^^
:lol:

I'm just waiting for him to announce that he will de-fund mass transit altogether and kill off TBARTA.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/bn9/2013/2/27/new_tampa_roadway_op.html

A transportation upgrade in New Tampa will benefit thousands of drivers beginning today.

A new $13 million project at Interstate 75 and the Bruce B. Downs interchange will help alleviate the heavily traveled area.

The new construction addition is a bridge that moves traffic over I-75, connecting Commerce Park Boulevard with New Tampa Boulevard. It bridge also will act as an East-West connector for Bearss Avenue and State Road 56, keeping that traffic off the interstate.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn will cut the ribbon on the project today.

"(The bridge) has been eagerly anticipated," Buckhorn said in a statement. "And when combined with the widening along Bruce B. Downs, it will give the residents of New Tampa the traffic relief they deserve."

It's not just drivers that will see relief when the roadway opens.

Area cyclists, runners and walkers will be able to use the eight-foot wide multi-use trail on the bridge's north side.

"It is a much nicer route," said Randy Myhre, who owns Oliver Cycle Sports in New Tampa. "You are not constantly crossing the busy cross streets here on Bruce B. Downs."

In addition to alleviating regular traffic the new roadway also is expected to help emergency responders get in and around the New Tampa area faster.

Its an improvement and could be a detour around heavy traffic but regardless you end up back on BBD. The only advantage I see currently is you can bypass the I-75 interchange.

I'm still trying to decipher this gibberish sentence...
It bridge also will act as an East-West connector for Bearss Avenue and State Road 56, keeping that traffic off the interstate.

There's no connection to Bearss Ave, without getting back on BBD. At best, you can get from Cross Creek to Amberly Dr without touching BBD. The new bridge improves access to Freedom High/Liberty Middle and the commercial areas around Palm Springs, but it's not very effective at fixing current local road LOS issues when BBD is still 4 lanes between Bearss and Palm Springs.

That said, the bridge also carries a mixed-use trail over I-75, which is a nice addition to the area.

http://i.imgur.com/bQt2uNy.jpg

I'm still trying to decipher this gibberish sentence...
I missed that.. WTF.. It would be nice if it did!

Something like this would be a proper East-West road.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/3874/tampaeastwestrd1.png