PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — For nearly 30 years, Pasco County has been planning for an extension of Ridge Road that would create a third east-to-west route across the county.
- Project would create another east-to-west route across county
- Estimated cost is about $70 million
- County expects official word in a few months
- More Pasco County headlines
One official is confident that the construction will finally begin later this year.
Resident James Witt says hearing about plans for the Ridge Road extension project has been a regular part of life since moving to a subdivision off Town Center Road.
"We've been hearing delay, delay, delay for 26 years," Witt said.
To give you an idea just how long the project has been in the works, the county says the builder of that development also put in a connection on Town Center Road with the intention of having it connect to Ridge, but that never happened.
Making that link would be step one of phase one: Connecting Ridge from Moon Lake Road to the Suncoast Parkway.
Project Manager Sam Beneck says Pasco County is the closest it has ever been to getting construction started.
"I'm operating as though it's a sure thing," Beneck said.
The extension would eventually reach to U.S. 41, providing an additional east-west route across the county.
Beneck says a shutdown on either of the other two — State Roads 52 and 54 — can cause major headaches for drivers.
"It doesn't just cripple an area, it cripples the entire west side of the county at that point," Beneck said.
If the next steps go according to plan, construction could begin in October.
The county expects official word from the Army Corps of Engineers in September about whether a permit will be issued.
The estimated cost of the project is $70 million.