By Tamas Mondovics
Bloomingdale area residents got an update and some much-welcomed detail in connection with the Bloomingdale Avenue and Culbreath Road intersection improvement project. It has been more than five years since the intersection, which by far is considered one of the busiest in the area, received attention during a public meeting hosted by County staff where three alternatives were presented on the proposed upgrade.
According to Hillsborough County Public Works Project Manager Benjamin Kniesly, an onsite meeting with TECO and the contractor, Kamminga & Roodvoets, has been completed to work out the street lighting coordination for the to project to begin this month.
“Residents were excited to see the planned improvements and for the project to finally start,” Kniesly said, but added that the construction will prompt some adjustments on the part of motorists.
According to County officials, the main focus of the $1.4 million project involves capacity and signalization improvements, which they said will include adding an eastbound right turn lane and a second westbound left turn lane on Bloomingdale Avenue, northbound dedicated left and right turn lanes and southbound right turn lane on Culbreath Road into the Campo YMCA south of Bloomingdale Avenue.
A bus bay construction on Culbreath Road, about 600 feet south of the Bloomingdale intersection, is also scheduled to provide bus shelters on both sides of Culbreath Road (northbound and southbound) as well as an area for buses to pull out of the through lanes while loading and unloading passengers. The Bloomingdale and Culbreath intersection improvement, which is just one of at least three local major road projects, is said to be completed by March 2016.
Other nearby road projects include the much more extensive as well as costly Lithia Pinecrest, Durant and Lumsden Roads, intersection improvements, at a cost of nearly $12 million.
The second is the much needed Bell Shoals Road widening, which according to officials consists of widening the roadway from a two-lane, undivided rural road, to a four-lane, divided urban facility.
The project extends approximately 3.1 miles from just south of the Alafia River to north of Bloomingdale Avenue. The corridor will have two 12-ft. lanes for vehicles, a 4-ft. bike lane, and sidewalks in both directions. The proposed design will also include widening the existing bridge over the Alafia River and is promising to also improve the traffic signals at Glenhaven Drive, Rosemead Lane and Bloomingdale Avenue.
For more information about these projects, visit bit.ly/1LHVWtA.
