WEEKI WACHEE, Fla. — Just when some Hernando County residents thought the troublesome road leading to their homes was going to be fixed, the county changed the cost and they couldn’t get the majority of homeowners to agree on the new price.
- Majority of the residents voted in favor to get the road paved
- Cost for the project increased by over 25 percent
- Residents can expect a public hearing on the issue by the end of September
Residents on Hurricane Drive in Weeki Wachee are frustrated that they’re going to have to keep dodging potholes on that road.
“Every time it rains the potholes get a little bigger and more of them pop up,” Tim McDaniels said.
“I find myself driving off to the side of the road to avoid the potholes,” Jennifer Sumner added.
They had hope late last year, the majority of residents voting in favor of an ordinance to pay to get the road paved, sharing some of the costs with the county.
Then in June they got a notice explaining the cost had increased by over 25% band they needed to re-vote.
When they voted in July, it was a 50/50 split, not enough to get the project approved.
Now they’re left wondering why there was an increase to begin with.
“We think the paving would help everyone it’s a very busy road,” McDaniels said.
Scott Herring, The Director of Public Works in Hernando County, told us a combination of losing one of their project managers, other projects they needed to complete, and rising construction costs from current market demands all contributed to the price increase.
Herring said they lost that Project Manager in February, but he says they noticed costs starting to increase before then.
But some residents say they’re not giving up until they see improvement to the road.
“We shouldn’t have had to re-vote in the first place in my opinion,” Sumner said.
The department of public works will be asking commissioners to repeal the ordinance to get the road paved because of the outcome of the vote in July.
They expect a public hearing to be held on the issue by the end of September.
