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Valrico

No quick fixes for Lithia Pinecrest Road

The county feels your pain, but easing it will take time and loads of money.

By LETITIA STEIN
Published June 24, 2005

Years of out-of-control growth created the traffic nightmare on Lithia Pinecrest Road. Now Hillsborough County is trying to crawl out with baby steps.

County commissioners are looking at several options to widen parts of the road and improve traffic flow - all expensive, and none happening soon. Step one: a $2.5-million study to determine what needs to be done. The county will decide in September whether to fund the report for the coming year.

Commutes are likely to worsen before improving.

An accident occurs almost every day on Lithia Pinecrest, county staffers say, a rate that has climbed 44 percent since 1999. In that time, five people have died in accidents between State Road 60 and State Road 39, and at least 501 were injured.

"It's a parking lot disguised as a road," said county Commissioner Ronda Storms, who represents east Hillsborough. "Particularly at 7:30 in the morning, it's very, very difficult to comprehend that this road is not on any plans. It's unfunded."

The county is aware of the problem. Widening Lithia Pinecrest from Lumsden Road to Bloomingdale Avenue ranks 19th among the county's 106 unfunded road projects, followed by the section between Lumsden and SR 60.

This spring, the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce approached commissioners about speeding up the timeline for improvements. The chamber asked for a county report on the status of traffic on Lithia Pinecrest and to fund the detailed study needed to plan improvements.

It would cost more than $150-million to widen Lithia Pinecrest from two lanes to four between SR 60 and FishHawk Boulevard, according to the county staff.

At a community meeting in April, residents expressed mixed views about widening the entire stretch. They were interested in options such as intersection improvements, turn lanes and limiting the trucks allowed on the road.

Some steps already were the works. The intersection at Erindale Drive should have a traffic signal by September. Another is planned for Miller Road. The county is spending $5.5-million to address the confusing intersection where Lithia Pinecrest, Lumsden, Bell Shoals Road and Durant Road come together. In the coming months, the county will hold a public hearing to discuss options with the community.

These amount to minor fixes on a road that has earned a failing label from the county. From FishHawk Boulevard to SR 60, more than 23,000 vehicles travel on Lithia Pinecrest each day - 30 percent more than the road's capacity.

"We need to get this process rolling, because it is a long, drawn-out process," said George May, chairman of the Brandon chamber.

[Last modified June 23, 2005, 01:01:07]