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CORY SCHOUTENHomeowners have braced for years for word that the interstate would expand. Now rumors are reality as houses disappear.
Laura Ragano began hearing the rumors when she and her husband moved into their Laurel Street home in 1965.
The state had completed Interstate 275 a few years earlier, but already there was talk of expansion. Tampa was growing faster than predicted, and word on the street was the Florida Department of Transportation wanted to bulldoze Ragano's neighborhood to make way for more interstate.
Decades passed with no action. Ragano and her husband raised two children. Four years ago, they spent more than $40,000 to remodel their home.
Then, earlier this year, the project resurfaced.
The DOT needs about 200 homes to expand I-275 from the Hillsborough River to the Howard Frankland Bridge. The state has already made offers to most of the homeowners, said DOT spokeswoman Marian Scorza.
The $400-million expansion will start late in 2007 and last until 2012. The department hopes to have the interstate right of way cleared by August 2005.
Ragano said the news was no surprise. She's been expecting it for the better part of 40 years. But still, it was bittersweet.
"On one hand, it's a huge inconvenience," Ragano said. "On the other hand, I'm thrilled to be moving into a new house."
While some residents took the first offer, Ragano and many others hope to negotiate for a better one.
Andrew Diaz, an imminent domain attorney representing Ragano and about 15 other area homeowners, said he sent out his own appraisers and in some cases made counter offers. He said his job is to ensure homeowners are adequately compensated for their troubles.
"You've got people who've been in this area for several years," Diaz said. "Through no fault of their own they're in the way of so-called progress, and being uprooted."
The project will begin with four new northbound lanes constructed one block south of the existing interstate, said Ron Glass, design project manager for the DOT. After the new northbound lanes are completed and while the southbound lanes are widened, traffic will flow in both directions on the new and old northbound lanes. Eventually, the old northbound lanes will become a wide median that could be used for express lanes or a rail system.
The project will also eliminate a series of dangerous curves and dips in the road, Glass said.
Leonel Irizarry can see the logic in improving the interstate. In fact, he says it's a good idea.
But progress comes with a price.
These days, when his father, Juan Irizarry, walks around his neighborhood of 24 years, the 68-year-old sees some changes.
Several houses - the ones that have already been sold - are surrounded by overgrown yards. Others disappear every week, leaving empty lots.
"We're not in a rush to leave," said the younger Irizarry. "Memories are important too."