A troubled road: Oldsmar project still waiting for construction after nearly a decade

OLDSMAR — At first glance, the roughly $60,000 in extra road-project costs the City Council signed off on this month barely registered a blip on the agenda.

But behind those seemingly routine votes is a project that's been anything but — one that's outlasted budgets, blown past construction estimates, survived a failed bidding effort and spanned four mayors and three city managers.

Oldsmar first pursued funding to remake a half-mile stretch of St. Petersburg Drive in 2017. Nearly a decade later, construction has yet to begin.

During that time, the project has secured nearly $2 million in outside funding, gone through nearly $1.3 million in design, engineering and utility work and grown to include a roundabout.

What was originally envisioned as a roughly $3.1 million project that could be completed by 2023 now isn’t expected to be finished until fall 2027 — with construction alone estimated at about $4.42 million.

The effort began with Oldsmar's 2017 application for funding through Pinellas County's Complete Streets program to transform St. Petersburg Drive between Dartmouth Avenue and Bayview Boulevard.

The former section of State Road 580 had become a city street, and officials envisioned turning it into a safer, more attractive corridor for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.

Plans called for narrowing the two travel lanes from 12 feet to 11 feet, replacing open drainage ditches with underground pipes and adding an 8-foot sidewalk on one side and a 10-foot multimodal path on the other. Landscaping, ornamental lighting, improved pedestrian crossings and underground utilities were also part of the plan.

There were safety concerns as well. The city's grant application identified 14 crashes along the corridor from 2012 through 2016, including two that resulted in incapacitating injuries. It also noted that students used St. Petersburg Drive to walk to school.

In 2018, Forward Pinellas, the county's land use and transportation planning agency, selected Oldsmar's proposal as its top Complete Streets priority. The city later received a $984,353 federal Complete Streets grant, according to City Manager Felicia Donnelly, who succeeded Al Braithwaite in 2021. Braithwaite had succeeded Bruce Haddock in 2017.

At the time of its application, the city put the overall project cost at about $3.14 million, including roughly $2.24 million for construction. But with design still incomplete, the application cautioned that costs could "increase or decrease substantially based on bid costs."

The original schedule anticipated utility work through 2022 and streetscape improvements through the 2022-23 budget year.

But the project evolved.

A roundabout was later added at St. Petersburg Drive and Bayview Boulevard, an intersection where the city had identified additional safety concerns.

That addition brought another infusion of outside money.

In December 2023, state Rep. Adam Anderson appeared before the City Council and ceremonially presented Oldsmar with an oversized check representing a $1 million state appropriation for the project's second phase, including the roundabout.

The city celebrated the award on social media, thanking Anderson for "recognizing the community's needs" and saying the project would improve traffic safety and create a more pedestrian-friendly environment.

By then, underground utility work had been completed. Final design followed that winter, and in spring 2024 the city moved toward seeking a construction contractor.

After years of planning, the project appeared ready to be built.

Back to the drawing board

Then the bids were opened.

Although 26 prospective bidders obtained the construction documents, only one company submitted a proposal. The city's engineer had estimated the work would cost about $5.59 million.

The lone bid came in at more than $7.6 million. City officials rejected it and went back to the drawing board.

Officials reduced the scope of the project, and consultant Kimley-Horn and Associates revised the plans before they were sent back through the review process.

Among the casualties were select landscaping and decorative-paver features. The city also revised traffic-control requirements and shortened the anticipated construction period from 14 months to 12 months in an effort to make the project more attractive to contractors.

The changes substantially lowered the projected price.

The engineer now estimates construction will cost about $4.42 million — nearly $1.2 million below the 2024 estimate and more than $3.1 million below the lone bid.

But getting there took additional time and money.

The cost of waiting

On Sept. 3, council members approved two contract changes related to the project: up to another $35,470 for Kimley-Horn's post-design work and a $25,183 increase to a separate contract with Kisinger Campo & Associates for engineering and inspection services once construction begins.

The Kisinger Campo increase raises its contract from $603,772 to $628,955. The amendment updates the firm's rates from 2024-25 to 2026-27 because of the delay in awarding a construction contract.

The city also reworked the firm's staffing plan to lower daily inspection costs as the anticipated construction period was shortened from 14 months to 12 months.

The Kimley-Horn change order was approved as part of the council's consent docket without discussion. The city had originally authorized $35,710 for post-design services, but staff said most of that money was depleted during two years of redesign and review by the Florida Department of Transportation.

All told, Donnelly told The Pinellas Current that Oldsmar has spent $129,987 on design, $438,346 on engineering and $709,999 on utility undergrounding — a total of about $1.28 million.

The Sept. 3 discussion also highlighted another complication surrounding the project: the outside money that helped make it possible.

Mayor Katie Gannon, whose predecessors during the project's lifespan include Dan Saracki, Eric Seidel and Doug Bevis, described St. Petersburg Drive as “one of the most complicated funding structures that we have.”

The various funding sources come with different accounting and compliance requirements, she said, pointing out that even sidewalks on opposite sides of the same road might have to be paid for from different accounts.

"The amount of staff time and compliance after we obtain a grant is unbelievable," Gannon said.

Federal funding can make matters even more complicated, she said, because federal requirements can apply across a project even when federal dollars account for only part of it.

Gannon suggested a different tack for future projects: Keep pursuing grants, but try to limit each project to one when possible.

"Keeping a reasonable funding structure helps us move forward on every aspect of the project," she said, from bidding and construction to paying bills and eventually closing out the project.

Oldsmar ultimately received $1.98 million in outside funding for St. Petersburg Drive — the $984,353 federal Complete Streets grant and the $1 million state appropriation.

Donnelly said the funding has since been incorporated into a single agreement that doesn't expire until June 2028, so the delays have not put the money in jeopardy.

Trying again

Meanwhile, Oldsmar is trying again.

The redesigned project went back out to bid Aug. 7, with proposals due Sept. 22. Donnelly said the city has enough money available to build it if bids come in at or near the engineer's current $4.42 million estimate.

Even as Oldsmar prepares to get that project under construction, the city is looking toward another round of improvements along St. Petersburg Drive.

On Sept. 15, the City Council unanimously approved applying for $150,000 from Forward Pinellas to plan pedestrian and multimodal improvements along the corridor from State Road 580 to Bayview Boulevard. A city walking audit identified missing or faded crosswalks, incomplete ADA-compliant curb ramps, deteriorated and uneven sidewalks and drainage problems.

The planning money, if awarded, would become available in July 2027 without a required local match. The city would then have to secure a separate construction grant, with up to $3 million in federal funding potentially available in 2032. The project has an estimated construction cost of $3.875 million, leaving Oldsmar responsible for at least $875,000 if it receives the full grant and the estimate holds.

The corridor has its own safety concerns. The city identified eight crashes between 2018 and 2023, including one fatality and two serious injuries. The proposed improvements would also close a gap in its pedestrian network.

As for the original project, construction is expected to begin this winter, with completion anticipated by next fall — barring any more delays.