RIVERVIEW, Fla. — The Florida Department of Transportation said part of Bloomingdale Avenue will be closed in Riverview while crews work on improvements to U.S. 301.
“The growth is making it worse," said Devin Austin, about traffic near this intersection. “You have cars trying to leave target and the apartments and then the grocery store, it’s just a whole big debacle, it’s really busy around rush-hour.”
The work will start Friday, January 21 and closures will happen around midnight. FDOT's contractor Ajax Paving Industries will be replacing the asphalt with a durable concrete surface.
The work at the intersection of U.S. 301 and Progress Boulevard/Bloomingdale Avenue will be done in phases and is expected to be completed within 70 days.
FDOT said the first phase of work will reduce the number of travel lanes on U.S. 301 and will completely close a section of Bloomingdale between 301 and Robert Tolle Road for 14 days, weather permitting.
During the closure, drivers will detour around the work zone using Providence Road, Gornto Lake Road, Lumsden Road, Boyette Road, and Bell Shoals Road.
FDOT said other roads like Duncan Road, Riverview Drive, S. Kings Avenue, John Moore Road, and Bryan Road may be used as alternate routes if needed.
Access to businesses, residents and emergency vehicles to be maintained. Advanced warning signs and electronic message boards will assist motorists traveling through this area. Motorists should anticipate significant traffic delays and congestion on all nearby roads during this closure.
"The $21.3 million design-build project is repaving U.S. 301 between Lake St. Charles Boulevard and Progress Boulevard/Bloomingdale Avenue in Hillsborough County. In addition to repaving the roadway and intersection improvements, this project is adding a sidewalk along the east side of US 301 and widening the northbound I-75 on-ramp from US 301. This improvement project is expected to finish by early 2023," FDOT said in a release.
FDOT Spokesperson Kris Carson said the work needed to be redone because of all the growth and traffic.
“We have to resurface this area quite a bit, more frequently than we would other intersections because there’s so much traffic that goes through here. Concrete is more durable and there’s less maintenance so the plan was to go ahead and get this area to go put down with concrete," she said. "This is a pretty big job, it’s over $20 million and we’re just asking for a lot of patience for the safety of our workers and motorist out there, we are going to have some congestion and closures out there so we just need everybody to slow down and have patience and follow the detours please.”
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