The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced on April 3rd that construction has begun on a $15.8 million dollar project to widen 1.3 miles of Cortez Boulevard (SR50). The project will take the current four lanes of Cortez Boulevard between Cobb Road and Buck Hope Road and widen them to six lanes. Additionally, the project includes reconstructing the intersection of Cortez Boulevard and Cobb Road and rebuilding the current asphalt road with concrete.
The FDOT projects construction will be completed in early 2025. Until then, the Department warns that commuters should be prepared for around-the-clock lane closures in the intersection portion of the project and nightly lane closures in other areas. The lane closures will reduce traffic to one lane in each direction.
Overlapping the construction at the intersection of Cobb Road and Cortez Boulevard is the construction of an elevated pedestrian and bicycle bridge, which will cross Cortez Boulevard. That bridge is part of a 3.7-mile segment of a recreational trail currently under construction. The trail will connect the Suncoast Parkway trail to downtown Brooksville and the Good Neighbor Trail.
A real-time map of lane closures and construction statewide is available at https://one.network/us/fl/district-seven.
