One would extend Curley Road. Another would extend Chancey Road and displace homes.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published February 25, 2004
DADE CITY - The County Commission paved the way Tuesday for three major road projects to better channel traffic through the developing pastures of Wesley Chapel.
Commissioners approved plans to build a new southern stretch of Curley Road, making the road a straight shot south from Wells Road to State Road 54, where it would link up with the Meadow Pointe Boulevard extension.
Commissioners also approved a route to repave and extend Chancey Road from Morris Bridge Road to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, although much of the 6.5-mile road would be built by future developers.
And they agreed to repave Boyette Road from Overpass Road to SR 54, adding a center turn lane and a new intersection at SR 54 that would eliminate two sharp curves on Boyette Road.
"You're going to need every single road you can build in this area, because if you don't build them, you're going to have congestion," County Administrator John Gallagher told commissioners at the meeting at the Dade City Historic Courthouse.
Curley Road is lined with ranches, including 1,034 acres owned by Commissioner Ted Schrader's family, that are under contract to developers. KB Home, for one, has proposed about 3,600 homes on the Schrader property and neighboring 1,400-acre Epco Ranch.
The 2-mile, $5.7-million Curley Road realignment would start about a quarter-mile south of the Schrader family's tract. Schrader made the motion Tuesday to approve the four-lane road project.
"I don't believe I would receive any kind of direct benefit," from the extension, Schrader told the Times, explaining why he did not abstain from the 5-0 vote. He said county staffers proposed the new segment to link Curley Road to Meadow Pointe Boulevard and eliminate a dangerous intersection at SR 54, and he said he did not play any part in shaping the project.
Future developments are also in the works along the other two roads commissioners approved Tuesday.
The 2.7-mile stretch of Boyette Road, which runs from Overpass Road to SR 54, is lined with planned subdivisions and a future 144-acre county park. The $6.8-million plan includes repaving the road with one lane in each direction plus a continuous center turn lane, and adding a sidewalk and bike path.
The 6.5-mile Chancey Road project, though approved, was the toughest for commissioners to swallow. One 2,600-foot segment of the east-west road cuts through the Fox Ridge subdivision, displacing 11 homes.
Schrader cast the only vote against that project, saying the county should put more efforts toward widening SR 54 to handle the east-west traffic. Commissioner Pat Mulieri made the motion to approve the project, but said she wasn't "very happy" about it.
"It's definitely going to change the people's way of life," Mulieri said of the residents living along the now rural route. "But it's kind of the way our county's growing."
- Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is hall@sptimes.com
