With construction of the new Cypress Creek Town Center underway, talks turn to managing the shopping congestion along State Road 54.  A massive widening project is scheduled to begin Superbowl Sunday night and it’s taxpayers who may have scored on this deal.

The West Florida population boom over the last decade has, more than anywhere, been felt on the roadways, especially in Pasco County.  2006 U.S. Census data shows a 30.6 % increase in their population from 2000 through 2006.  That nearly triples the statewide 13.2 % surge.

With this growth, we find change.  Haulers and yellow construction lights now stand on site of the soon to be the Cypress Creek Town Center along S. R. 54 and 56 West of 75.  As part of the county’s agreement to build, developers had to invest not only in the retail opportunities of the region, but also its roadways.

Developers are shelling out $17 m to widen S.R. 54 from 4 lanes to 6 between I-75 and US-41.  Construction crews will build the new lanes in the now vacant median of the roadway.  The six lanes were in the DOT’s plan but the shopping district speed up the widening project. 

Daytime traffic will not have to worry about construction closures… overnight drivers will intermittently see one lane of two closed from 9 pm to 6am.

And finally, to settle the “which came first”...the chicken or egg, the mall or the congestion?  Developers say they don’t build such malls until there are enough people in the area to support it.

Once again, construction along S.R. 54 begins Sunday night and will not wrap up until January, 2009.  The Cypress Creek Center is scheduled to be completed in the fall of this year.