CONSTRUCTION MAY RUN THROUGH HOLIDAYS

By STEPHEN HAMMILL

A new wave of paving began Nov. 26 on West Waters Avenue that may continue into the holidays.

The $2.4 million project to re-pave the road will be a 30-day job, said Steve Valdez, Hillsborough County spokesman.
“They (contractors) hope work will be completed before Christmas,” he said. “The contractor shuts down between Christmas and New Year’s. It really all depends on the weather and how things go.”

Valdez also addressed what construction may mean to local businesses leading up to the busy holiday season.
“The roads are in such bad shape now, even with construction, if the road is half-paved it would be in better condition than it is now and since work is being done at night it’s probably not going to adversely affect anybody,” he said.

The work will move westward over the coming weeks. Main construction work is to run from 9 p.m. through 6 a.m. nightly.

Some local businesses are worried, however, about remnats of materials and lane closures during the daytime. Silver Dragon’s Games, 7902 W. Waters Ave., located in Hunters Plaza, sits at the beginning of the new construction. Owner Ryan Michalski started noticing a drop-off in walk-ins shortly after work began. He is most worried about the blocked median strip.
“It’s terrible,” he said. “It’s really slowed things down.”

Bulldozers began removing pavement from the innermost lanes last weekend about a quarter mile west of the Veterans Expressway overpass.