TOWN 'N COUNTRY - The Upper Tampa Bay Trailhead will be missing one element when it opens this summer - an underground crossing at Sheldon Road. The other two underground passages, however, will be ready for foot and bicycle traffic.
The Sheldon Road underpass is "planned for, but we can't say it's a done deal until they give you the funding," said John Brill, spokesman for the county Parks Department.
"It's like anything else. It depends on how many dollars are available and how many projects are applied for. You never know."
Many greenway enthusiasts prefer underpasses to help trail users get to and from the linear parks because they take up less room than overpasses and avoid overhead power lines.
County officials had hoped there would be pedestrian underpasses at Sheldon, Linebaugh Avenue and Waters Avenue. But a lack of federal money has slowed construction of the Sheldon Road project.
Brill said the county has applied to the federal government for money to build the Sheldon Road underpass. However, such projects are handled on a priority basis, and it is impossible to know when, or even if, they will be funded.
"We plan to open the trail at the Sheldon crossing with a light there," Brill said. "It's probably the best we can get at this point. It's not like it's just a line. It does have a light."
