Road revamp drives problems

The already dangerous "four corners" might be more so now with newly narrowed turn lanes.

By BETH N. GRAY, Times Correspondent
Published October 25, 2007

The newly designed turn lanes on Mariner Boulevard north of Spring Hill Drive provide little room, making U-turns difficult.
	[Maurice Rivenbark | Times]

SPRING HILL -- The dirt piles have been leveled, the heavy equipment moved on to other projects and the ubiquitous orange traffic cones have finally disappeared from the intersection of Spring Hill Drive and Mariner Boulevard.

Reconstruction of what is known as Hernando County's "four corners," statistically the most dangerous intersection in the county, is over after more than a year of maddening inconvenience to drivers and local businesses.

But not everyone is happy with the results.

The turning lanes and concrete medians that have been added have meant more U-turns for drivers trying to access businesses along the two busy roads.

That has caused problems for many drivers trying to negotiate the 12-foot-wide turning lanes.

"That's not enough room," observed Ed Ryan, manager for three years of the Shell gas station and convenience store on the Spring Hill-Mariner corner.

"Tractor-trailers are knocking down the curbs," he said. "We have more people making U-turns. Some have to back up to complete the turn."

Added Brian Donnelly, owner of Donnelly's Deli and Catering, a half block from the intersection, on Mariner, "If you have a truck with a (towed) lawn mower, you can't do a U-turn."

Lin Lijin, owner of Taste Good Chinese Restaurant in Mariner Town Square, agreed. "Too tight. It's very dangerous." She said she's nervous about her own U-turns, and she drives a small car.

Charles Mixson, the Hernando County utilities director, acknowledged that the project was a tight fit. "We only had 100 feet of right-of-way (to work with)," he said. "That is pretty tight. That was the tough part. That was our constraint."

Bill Bachschmidt, owner with his wife of DAB Constructors Inc. of Inglis, was the major contractor on the project. He agreed the project had its share of limitations.

"We've got traffic scrunched," he said. "You can't drive a 30-inch peg into a 20-inch hole. We added three lanes to that intersection."

Engineering on the project was contracted to American Consulting Engineering Co. in Land O'Lakes. The firm did not return a request for comment.

The intersection cuts where U-turns are possible meet the design standards established by Hernando County, according to Gregg Sutton, assistant county engineer. He added that he has not heard any complaints about the U-turn lanes.

But just because a spot might be the first place to make a U-turn doesn't mean a driver with a trailer or a larger vehicle should try to make a U-turn there, Sutton said.

"We don't typically design based on recreational vehicles making U-turns on four-lane collector roads," he said.

Sutton said the county is pleased with how the intersection came out. The improvements were needed for both safety reasons and increased capacity.

When county officials examined accident statistics, he said, the intersection was the location of nearly twice as many accidents as the next most-dangerous intersection.

Many of those accidents happened when drivers leaving parking lots tried to make left turns across multiple lanes near the intersection. "There had been an incredible amount of right-angle crashes," Sutton said. "The way you fix that is you put those concrete separations up ... and get (drivers) away from the intersections" to make turns.

"We think that the design and project as constructed achieved the desired goals," he said.

Another complaint from business owners at the busy crossroads was the amount of time construction took, although they said business is picking up now that the work is largely over.

Bachschmidt said the contract gave the firm 490 days for substantial construction and allowed 60 rain days. The only delay of 15 to 30 days, he said, was due to a half-dozen utilities moving underground lines in constricted space and hours allotted.

A lot of the line movement was done overnight, noted utilities director Mixson, so as to minimize local business disruption.

"You can't work all the project at one time," pointed out Bachschmidt, "because you have to keep traffic moving."

He added, "People need to realize it's like a one-story house going to a six-story house while you're living in it. It is bound to inconvenience."

Mixson said the project is now in the punch list phase. Some lane striping needs to be completed, some adjustment to signalization, some repair to damaged curbs, some landscaping restored.

"Our interest," he explained, "was safety, access and fewer crashes." He believes time will show those have been accomplished. Also, Mixson said the project likely will wind up under its $6-million budget.

The business owners agreed the road work was sorely needed.

Said Donnelly, owner of the deli for 27 years, "It was something they had to do.

"The snowbirds are coming down," he said. "They'll like it."

Times staff writer Barbara Behrendt contributed to this report.

[Last modified October 24, 2007, 20:27:24]