The South Shore News & Tribune
Barrels Going, But Not All Barriers
Tribune photo by SUSAN M. GREEN (2008)
Residents have been complaining about the unsightly construction barrels, which have been in place for more than a year.
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Published: June 17, 2008
APOLLO BEACH - At last, things may be happening that will remove the construction barricades around a Tampa Electric Co. power pole on Apollo Beach Boulevard.
But don't look for all barriers to disappear from the community's gateway.
Some residents have been complaining for more than a year about the orange-and-white, barrel-like barricades placed for safety around a pole that was installed in the middle of pavement that motorists use as a cut-through between shopping centers.
County and TECO officials said the pole was placed there in anticipation of Sweet Grass Co., developer of the Bella Sol condominium community, extending the landscaped median at the road's entrance to close off the shortcut. But a snag in negotiations over improvements at the boulevard's intersection with state highway U.S. 41 stalled the median work.
Hillsborough County officials recently authorized intermittent closures of the inside lanes of Apollo Beach Boulevard for three weeks to allow workers to build a landscaped median around the pole. After negotiations with the Florida Department of Transportation, which has a highway resurfacing project under way, the median project and construction of a new left-turn lane were set to start Friday.
The extended median will eliminate the need for barricades around the power pole, but barriers will still be necessary when an additional left-turn lane is built to accommodate motorists heading northbound on U.S. 41, said Kris Carson, Florida Department of Transportation spokeswoman.
How long those barriers, called flex poles, remain depends on how long it takes for the traffic signal at U.S. 41 to be modified to accommodate the new lane, she said.
Sweet Grass is responsible for building the turn lane and U.S. 41 signal improvements for the new lane configuration. But the existing wire that spans the highway won't hold any more lights, Carson said. State standards generally require mast arms to replace span wires, but those are expensive. Carson said state officials agreed to a temporary modification that will support the new signals without installing the mast arm.
Developer Newland Communities will be responsible for additional intersection improvements, including the mast arm, for its Waterset subdivision, Carson said. The timetable for those improvements is triggered by housing starts, and the current construction slowdown makes it difficult to predict.
"You just can't win," said Mary Lou Luce, chairwoman of the Apollo Beach Beautification Committee, whose organization had a welcome sign and landscaping installed at the intersection years ago. "But at least things are happening."
Committee member Susan Veeder has been dogging officials for updates about the barricades since January.
"I call it the Barrel City project," she said last week.
Veeder said the developer's engineer initially told her the welcome sign would have to be discarded to accommodate the new turn lane.
But she and Luce said they will press to have the sign relocated
"We're insisting that the sign be moved back and stay there" at the entrance to the boulevard, Luce said.
Slow-Down Measures Ahead
RUSKIN - Hillsborough County officials are getting complaints about speeders on 15th Street Northeast, which runs north-south between busy Shell Point Road and 11th Avenue Northeast. The section of 15th being targeted for solutions is between Deland Trent Street and Cristelle Jean Drive.
County staff members will hold a meeting to get residents' ideas about traffic control measures, including the possible installation of speed humps. Recommendations will be forwarded to county commissioners, who make the final decisions on traffic control measures.
The meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the South Shore Regional Service Center, 410 30th St. S.E. For information, call (813) 272-5275.
GOT A QUESTION?
Do you wonder why two roads come together as they do? Know about a recurring traffic hazard or bottleneck in your South Shore neighborhood or on your commute? Think you know a way to relieve traffic jams? Call Susan Green at (813) 865-1566 or e-mail sgreen@tampatrib.com with suggestions for "Getting Around."
Reporter Susan M. Green can be reached at (813) 865-1566 or sgreen@tampatrib.com.
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