Putting Brakes On Road Congestion

Over the next five years, almost one-quarter, or 25 percent, of the major roads in Hernando County are expected to be operating below capacity standards - which means there will be more traffic on them than they were designed to handle.

That's the finding of a road performance evaluation and presented to county commissioners at their Thursday Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting.

Road capacity standards are determined using such factors as projected population growth and traffic numbers.

Using an adopted measurement standard, county officials use these projections to plan future roadway improvements.

Currently, for 2008, only 14.8 percent of the county's major roads fall below the capacity standard. Given the projected growth in traffic over the next five years, that should rise to 16.7 percent below standard, according to an MPO report.

The regional road network, consist of almost all the state highways in Hernando County, are operating at 18.4 percent below the standard. By 2013, the regional system is expected to drop to 21.5 percent below.

MPO Chairman David Russell stressed these numbers are fluid and will most likely change as new data surfaces.

And while the capacity numbers are significant, they are not as bad as surrounding counties, he said.

Still, he said the county is prepared to take action now by taking a two-pronged approach - reprioritizing current road projects and using the newest technology.

Russell said a good example of reprioritizing is when the county decided to shift money from other projects within the same impact fee district to pay for widening and right of way acquisition on Elgin Boulevard, which has been deemed one of the top-rated road failures in the county.

The technology would include such things as using devices that would change the timing of traffic lights to adjust traffic flow, he said.

"It's amazing how much some of this is being employed around the state, nation and our county," Russell said.

He said technology can add 15-20 percent to a road's capacity without resorting to expensive widening projects.

The Ayers Road extension also came up at Thursday's MPO meeting.

The county hopes to use that extension to tie into the airport and the Suncoast Parkway. Freight traffic could use the Ayers Road extension and stay off U.S. 41, alleviating congestion.

Russell said the county is considering shifting some of the funds from a section of the County Line Road project to use on the Ayers extension.

These Roads Are Priorities

Here is a partial list of priority projects in the Transportation Improvement Program from fiscal year 2007-09 through 2011-12:

Four-laning County Line Road west from U.S. 19 to Mariner Boulevard

-Four-laning County Line Road from Mariner Boulevard to the Suncoast Parkway

-Four-laning County Line Road east from the Suncoast Parkway to U.S. 41

-Adding two lanes to S.R. 50 from Mariner Boulevard to the Suncoast Parkway

-Adding two lanes to S.R. 50 from U.S. 19 to Mariner Boulevard

-Adding two lanes to S.R. 50 from Lockhart Road to Kettering Road

-Reconstructing two lanes on U.S. 98 (Cobb Road) from Ponce de Leon Boulevard to S.R. 50

-Adding two lanes to S.R. 50 from the Suncoast Parkway to Jasmine Drive-East Jefferson