Hillsboro County, Fla. (WFLA) – Main roads in Hillsboro County will be closed for the next two months.
On Monday, the crew officially began work at the main stage of the “Progress Village Regional Drainage Project.”
Two drivers raced in a race on the Selmon Expressway in Tampa for social media videos
For up to two months, all Progress Boulevard will be closed from South 78th Avenue to South 85th Avenue.
“That’s ridiculous,” said Willie McNeill, who lives nearby.
On the first day of the closure, McNeill was even more annoyed as the driver detoured his neighborhood.
“This is the area where people live, this is not a highway. Tractor trailers are coming through everything,” McNeill said.
The project has been in the planning stage for years, but county leaders have promoted the project after last year’s hurricane.
“The whole street was completely flooded, meaning it was wastewater,” said neighbor Lydia Rutledge.
Residents say they believe that even storms have caused serious flooding and have worsened in recent years.
“It’s good that they’re doing it, but they should have done it years ago,” Rutledge said.
Crews are installing new storm drains under the road. The project also includes the construction of a retention pond that will help move water from the community.
According to the county website, “The drainage project includes several measures to improve stormwater management in the area, including the installation of new stormwater drains under the progress boulevard and associated Side Street.
“We’ve made the pipes bigger. We have more storage and we did our best we could,” said Pierre Barres, Hillsboro County project manager.
In the meantime, county leaders have been asking residents to be patient, saying the inconvenience is worth it.
“Be patient with us. We are aware of this situation. We will do what we can to get out of it faster,” Vales said.
Progress Boulevard is expected to resume by early October.
The project is expected to be completed by April next year.
