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Gornto Lake Road Possibilities Outlined

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By TOM BRENNAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 19, 2007

Updated: 09/17/2007 09:44 pm

BRANDON - Roy Schiro is tired of having to corkscrew about on various roads to get anywhere.

That is why he is avidly embracing Hillsborough County's plans to extend Gornto Lake Road north to State Road 60.

'For me, it will be a godsend,' he said. 'I won't have to go all around to get somewhere.'

Schiro, who lives off Gornto Lake north of Brandon Boulevard, made his comments after county officials unveiled three potential routes to connect Gornto Lake from where it ends in the parking lot of BuddyFreddys restaurant south to Brandon Town Center Boulevard.

The plans call for a four-lane roadway with a median, sidewalks, bicycle lanes and curbs.

Each alternative calls for rerouting Gornto Lake from its path between the elevated lanes of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway and Town Center Boulevard. It would move the intersection at Town Center Boulevard east and require a new traffic signal.

Engineers said the change is to help motorists avoid having to make abrupt maneuvers.

'We need to make it a direct shot, rather than serpentine patterns,' said Reg Alford, the county's project manager.

The differences involve how the road would weave between BuddyFreddys and Hillsboro Memorial Gardens funeral home and cemetery to the west, and a pond and wetlands to the east.

The cheapest alternative is farthest from the pond but would take about 50 parking places from the restaurant and encroach on three planned mausoleums at the cemetery.

The most expensive option call for building a bridge over the pond and wetlands, minimizing effects on businesses.

Evelyn Clites, who lives on Lake Kathy, north of S.R. 60, was concerned about how the project would affect drainage in her neighborhood. Runoff is channeled into the pond and wetlands to the south.

'We certainly don't want any increased flooding,' she said.

Clites and her neighbors also are worried about the increased traffic backing up on the already clogged intersection on S.R. 60. They suggested a double left-turn lane.

'It is a nightmare right now,' she said.

Engineers say the road will be designed as a 'closed system,' with all runoff pouring into newly built retention ponds that won't interfere with existing drainage patterns.

'We have to collect every drop of rain that falls on our new road,' said Richard Arico, project manager for design consultant KCA.

The county has budgeted $12 million for the work, but total cost estimates are running at about $23 million.

The difference is supposed to be picked up by developers in the area, including Westfield Brandon mall, which wants to expand east of its center.

Alford said he would like to start construction by 2009 and it should take about a year to 16 months to build. But the schedule would depend on how much land the county would need to buy and how soon it can be obtained.

Reporter Tom Brennan can be reached at (813) 657-4528 or tbrennan@tampatrib.com.

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