Page 11 - Florida Sentinel 8-23-19

Local
Concerned Citizen Working With Community Groups For Update On Projects
FDOT’s MLK Blvd. And 26th Street Traffic Light Update
The community attended the College Hill/Belmont Heights Association/Crime Watch meeting on June 20, at the St. John Progressive M. B. Church’s Life Center. The purpose of this meeting was to meet with Florida Depart- ment of Transportation (FDOT) and City of Tampa’s staff regarding reducing the speed limits and adding a pedestrians’ stop light signal on MLK Blvd. and 26th
Street, near the new C. Blythe Andrews, Jr., Library.
Concerned citizen, Gwen Myers has had many conver- sations and emails with FDOT and City of Tampa’s staff. Below is the project’s progres- sion:
• Design is currently under- way by FDOT and expected to be completed no later than January, 2020.
• FDOT to transfer the com- pleted plans and money to the City of Tampa for implemen- tation January, 2020.
• City manages the installation of the traffic signal. (note: traffic signal poles are cur- rently taking almost 6 months for manufacturing and deliv- ery, which cannot be ordered until the design is complete) • City is simultaneously man- aging the design for the side- walk project on the east side
GWEN MYERS
of 26th Street, north of the in- tersection.
• Construction programmed to begin June/July, 2020 with completion before the end of the year, 2020.
Plans In Place To
Reopen County’s Maydell Drive Bridge
Mrs. Myers has also met with residents in other com- munities in the county regard- ing projects for their communities.
The residents of Clair Mel, Delaney Creek, Greenridge, Palm River, Kingston Heights and Winston Park communi- ties were ecstatic to hear the news at their community meeting on August 6th, that the Maydell Bridge will open again.
The Bridge has been closed for the past three years and residents have two en-
trances to get to their resi- dences. When traffic backs up on State Road (SR) 41, resi- dents travel east on SR 60 to 78th Street, which means they have missed their right turn on Maydell Drive to get to their community quickly.
The existing Maydell Drive Bridge and adjacent roadway is a two lane undivided facility with no shoulders and four foot sidewalks. The Maydell Drive replacement bridge structure will accommodate a two lane undivided facility with 11 foot travel lanes, eight foot shoulders, and a barrier separated five foot sidewalk and ten foot trail.
The existing bridge struc- ture was constructed in 1968 and is considered structurally
deficient by the Florida De- partment of Transportation. It is currently closed to vehicu- lar and pedestrian traffic as a result of structural deficien- cies.
The Maydell Drive Bridge provides an important con- nection between the neigh- borhoods south of Palm River and SR 60 to the north. The improvements in this project are needed to address the structural deficiencies of the existing Maydell Drive Bridge and restore local connectivity across Palm River.
Further, the project is also needed to accommodate the wide sidewalks planned for Maydell Drive in the Hillsbor- ough County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s
(MPO) Greenways and Trails Plan.
The design includes key Vision Zero elements such as incorporating enhanced safety and circulation features along the corridor for pedestrians, bicycles and ADA access and use. The design includes a 5- foot sidewalk on east side of the bridge and a 10-foot trail on the west side of the bridge.
Estimated Project Schedule
• Project Development (Plan-
ning) Completion Late 2019 • Design/Land Acquisition Completion Late 2019
• Procurement for Construc- tion Completion Late 2019
• Construction Duration – Mid to Late 2020 to Late 2021
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 11-A