It has become the unofficial symbol of Ulmerton Road: the construction barrel.  

Nathan Barfell has lived near the intersection of Ulmerton Road and Starkey Road for a few years and is frustrated with what he sees as a lack of progress in the construction zone.

"I want to see them working on the road," he said. "I don't see...These cones, since I've been here, have been here.  Nothing to do with the road whatsoever as you can tell."

Changing lane patterns and a rough driving surface have complicated the commute here for years, according to Barfell.

"This road will beat you to death," he said. "There's railroad tracks right here.  From there all the way down to almost 19, it's just messed up on both sides and it just rattles you like crazy."

While it may seem like one giant construction zone, FDOT has broken the project into three separate construction zones, each with its own contractor.

  • Zone 1: Ulmerton Road from 34th Street N to I-275 is ahead of schedule.  The expansion from four lanes to six lanes will finish by Thanksgiving.
  • Zone 2: The newest of the three projects is 49th Street North to 34th Street North. That project also widens the road and will remove the Roosevelt Boulevard overpass, replacing it with a standard signalized intersection in preparation for the new Gateway project. Work started here in February and will not finish until the fall of 2017.
  • Zone 3: Seminole Bypass Canal to Ranchero Boulevard, which widens Ulmerton from four lanes to six. Work started three years ago and will finish next spring.