LAND O’ LAKES — New paths are coming to the Suncoast Trail.
The Florida Department of Transportation is building two pedestrian and bicycle overpasses along the trail in central Pasco County, giving walkers and cyclists a safer way to cross two of the area’s busiest roads. Combined, the projects will cost an estimated $18.9 million, and both overpasses are tentatively set to open in the first half of 2027.
Work is already underway on the first overpass, which will carry the trail over State Road 52 on the west side of the Suncoast Parkway. On June 22, FDOT will begin construction on a second overpass, spanning State Road 54.
The SR 54 project will close the trailhead at Touchpoint Drive, on the north side of the highway, during construction, Pasco County and FDOT announced.
“We know. It’s not ideal,” Pasco County said in a June 9 social media post.
While the trailhead is closed, the nearest access will be at the Upper Tampa Bay Trailhead on Lutz Lake Fern Road in Hillsborough County, the county said. Once the work is finished, the post added, trail users will “gain a much safer, smoother way to cross one of the busiest roads in Pasco County. Think of it as the glow-up phase.”
On State Road 52, construction began in January and has already added congestion for drivers entering and exiting the parkway. Two large cranes now flank the interchange.
Two turn lanes onto the southbound parkway — one on each side — have been closed, forcing drivers to make a hard right at the light from the far-right through lane.
FDOT has directed large trucks and tractor-trailers onto a detour: south on Moon Lake Road, east on Ridge Road, then onto the southbound SR 589 entrance ramp.
The trail remains open at the SR 52 site. As of publication, FDOT had not announced closures or detours for the SR 54 project.
For more information on FDOT road projects in Pasco County, visit www.fdottampabay.com/projects/county/pasco.