Open House Tonight To Give Residents Peek At I-75/SR 56 Redesign

WESLEY CHAPEL, FL -- The Florida Department of Transportation will host a public open house Tuesday, Feb. 26 from 4 to 7 p.m. to give Pasco County residents a chance to view the DOT's plans to redesign the Interstate 75/State Road 56 interchange.

The open house will be held in the Conference Center at Pasco-Hernando State College, 2727 Mansfield Blvd., Wesley Chapel.

Three construction projects will be presented at the meeting:

* State Road 56 interchange at Interstate 75 from County Road 54 to Cypress Ridge Boulevard -- The DOT wants to convert the interchange from the standard design to a Diverging Diamond Interchange.

* New road construction on State Road 56 from Meadow Pointe Boulevard to U.S. 301.

* Widening State Road 54 from County Road 577 (Curley Road) to County Road 579 (Morris Bridge Road).

To alleviate backups at the busy interchange, the DOT plans to use the innovative diverging diamond design to increase capacity at the I-75/SR 56 interchange between County Road 54 and Cypress Ridge Boulevard.

The DOT says the DDI has been shown to increase safety and mobility at interchanges. Each direction of SR 56 traffic will be shifted to the left side of the roadway to cross the bridge over I-75. The improvements will help to reduce travel time for motorists.

This will be the second Diverging Diamond Interchange in Florida. The first was in Sarasota to ease congestion on University Parkway.

The redesign is expected to cost $33 million and is expected to be completed in late 2021.

There will be no formal presentation. Residents can come at their convenience to view the project display boards, view a video explaining the Diverging Diamond Interchange and speak with project staff.

For questions about the project, residents can contact project manager Mike Kopotic at 813-975-3552 or email Michael.Kopotic@dot.state.fl.us.

To follow the progress of the project, click here.