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Unstable sinkhole claims 7 homes By Kevin Weiss kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
Pasco County building inspectors have condemned five additional homes — because of recent destabilization of a sinkhole on Ocean Pines Drive in Land O’ Lakes. Pasco County officials say the sinkhole grew another 30 feet, to a diameter of around 260 feet, after a bank on the western edge—closest to Lake Saxon — collapsed between the evening of Aug. 3 and the morning of Aug. 5. Previously, the sinkhole measured between 225 feet wide to 235 feet wide and approximately 50 feet deep. The recent destabilization may have resulted from seismic vibrations caused by heavy construction equipment operating nearby the site, according to Kevin Guthrie, the assistant county administrator for public safety.
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Ceres Environmental Services, the main debris removal contractor, worked throughout much of the weekend on cleanup and recovery efforts. Besides debris removal and disposal, Ceres will pump and remove contaminated water, and stabilize the sinkhole as needed with granular fill, over the next several weeks.
Land O’ Lakes High undergoes $29 million makeover By B.C. Manion
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bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
When students arrive at Land O’ Lakes High School next week, they’ll see construction crews busy on a $29 million makeover that’s expected to take two years. But, great care is being taken to ensure that students and staff are kept out of the path of work crews, and vice versa, said John Petrashek, director of construction services for Pasco County Schools. During a recent tour of the school, Petrashek and Marc Graham, project superintendent for Walbridge, explained what the project entails and how it has been scheduled to allow the campus to be occupied during construction. “It’s a five-phase project,” Graham said, with areas being walled or fenced off, to allow students, faculty and staff to carry on their activities, while crews work to modernize and reconfigure spaces in the high school.
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Marc Graham, project superintendent for Walbridge, is overseeing the massive makeover of Land O’ Lakes High School. Here, he describes how the company is converting an old stage area in the school’s gymnasium, that was being used for storage, into two classrooms, which will be used for physical education classes.
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Ed McKinney, planning and environmental administrator for the Florida Department of Transportation’s District 7 office, in Tampa, met with more than 30 residents from Pasco and Hernando counties to talk about Tampa Bay Next. The initiative seeks to develop a transportation plan for Interstate 275.
Shaping a vision for transportation in Pasco By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
The next phase in a transportation vision for Tampa Bay took a local turn into Pasco County. More than 30 residents from Pasco and Hernando counties met on Aug. 3 as a “working group” tasked with recommending future transportation decisions. The Florida Kris Hughes, Pasco’s director of planning and developDepartment of Transportation ment, gave an overview of efforts to find solutions to hosted the event at the Myrtle area traffic problems. Lake Baptist Church in Land O’ Lakes. Tampa Bay Next replaces the controverThe Community Working Group session sial Tampa Bay Express project that would was open to the public. It is one in a series have built new toll and express lanes along of meetings in the Tampa Bay region as part about 90 miles of Interstate 275, from of the Tampa Bay Next initiative. A regional Manatee County to Pasco County. meeting in Tampa kicked off the new initiaOne segment of the project remains. tive in May. The state transportation department There are six working groups in total, See VISION, page 11A representing geographic areas of the region.
A discussion on transportation solutions on the State Road 54/56 corridor will begin anew on Aug. 24, with the second in a series of meetings by the Vision 54/56 Task Force. The 17-member, volunteer task force had an organizational meeting in April. The study by the task force members will consider practical solutions to easing congestion, and promoting greater safety and mobility on a corridor that is bursting with new residential and commercial development. This is the second phase of a three-part initiative that began in 2016 with a task force that recommended 11 major highway and transit alternatives, as well as a no-build alternative. Those recommendations will get greater scrutiny in this second phase, with more focus on design and details of potential road projects. Some options under review include designs for elevated lanes, and redesigns at ground level. Some options include dedicated lanes for buses, and others don’t. The entire study includes the corridor, from Bruce B. Downs Boulevard on the east to U.S. 19 on the west. However, the focus currently is on two intersections: Little Road and State Road 54 in New Port Richey, and U.S. 41 and State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes. Representatives from Pasco County Planning and Development, the county’s Metropolitan Planning Organization, Florida Department of Transportation and consultants with AECOM are assisting in the study. A third meeting is planned in 2017, probably in October. At least two additional meetings are planned in 2018, but no dates are scheduled. For information, visit PascoCountyFl.net. WHAT: Vision 54/56 Phase 2 Task Force meeting WHERE: Pasco County Utilities Administration Building, 19420 Central Blvd., Land O’ Lakes WHEN: Aug. 24 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. COST: Free, open to the public