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RON MATUSBay Avenue is bearing the brunt as a widening project closes part of West Shore for a couple of months.
With its modest houses framed by American flags and citrus trees, tranquil Bay Avenue usually has all the trappings of a side street in Mayberry.
Not anymore.
On Tuesday, city transportation officials closed eight blocks of West Shore Boulevard as part of an ongoing widening project, forcing thousands of cars to detour down Bay Avenue and two other neighborhood arteries.
Mayberry has become, well, metro Tampa.
"This is West Shore right here," said Kevin Henderson, 45, as he watched a steady stream of traffic hum past his house on Bay Avenue, including a speeding SUV. "I'm about ready to put a 4-by-4 (board) in the road to create my own speed bumps."
Henderson might as well get used to it: The closure is expected to take at least two months. And that stretch of West Shore averages more than 12,000 cars a day.
On the speeding issue, city officials promised help. By Tuesday afternoon, they had already set in motion a request for Tampa police to beef up enforcement.
"Hopefully, if we get to it early, people will be weary and keep it down," said city construction engineer Don Cermeno.
The $5.2-million widening project began a year ago and is on target for completion in July. When it's done, West Shore will have a third lane between Gandy Boulevard and Prescott Street, along with sidewalks, gutters, curbs and medians.
The closure is needed so workers can replace sewer lines, install stormwater pipes and put in a new culvert.
Signs along West Shore say the closing will continue through April 5, but the city's goal is 60 days, Cermeno said.
For northbound motorists, the detour is east on Bay Avenue, north on Trask Street, then west on Wallace Avenue to West Shore. Southbound motorists are directed down the same route in the opposite direction.
Residents aren't the only ones hoping the work gets done sooner rather than later.
The Kwik Stop convenience store on West Shore and Bay lost 20 to 25 truckers a day when the road work began and all truck traffic to and from Port Tampa was routed down Manhattan and Interbay boulevards, said manager Sabris Saed.
Saed expects to lose another chunk of business during the closure.
The widening of West Shore and new residential developments will make up for it later, he said, "But you can't call Uncle Sam now and say, "We're going to be late on the taxes.' "
- Ron Matus can be reached at 226-3405 or matus@sptimes.com