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Bridgework Hits Bump

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By ANGELA DELGADO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 9, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY Construction plans for the Memorial Highway Bridge over Double Branch Creek have been designed, and the commission has approved its replacement.

All systems are a go, but there is one thing slightly delaying the process: 5,031 square feet of property.

Those 5,031 square feet belong to Marion Virginia Neff, who has owned the land since 1973. Memorial Highway cuts through her roughly 4 acres of property. The county is interested in a piece of the land for drainage, said project manager Edward Arnold.

During Thursday's county commission meeting, the board approved and authorized the right to use eminent domain if necessary to acquire the land.

The land is part of the plan to replace the two-lane Memorial Highway Bridge, which was closed in August after Hillsborough County officials discovered its condition had deteriorated. Concrete had chipped away from the bridge's horizontal support beams, and crews believed the river's water could corrode the metal in the beams, Public Works Director Bob Gordon stated in August.

The commission approved repairs of the 27-foot-wide span not long after it closed because certain weather conditions could make the bridge the only emergency evacuation route available for some residents. Less than $200,000 was used for the repairs, and the bridge reopened in October.

The span's replacement is scheduled for completion by 2010, Arnold said.

On June 28, a letter was sent to Neff stating the county had appraised her property and was offering $9,600 for the land. The offer was sent because the project to repair the bridge was in the works before the bridge was temporarily closed, said Theresa Avery, with the county's real estate department.

The county received no response. Another offer will be made before action is taken on the property. The offer will be the "fair market value of what it's appraised at," Avery said.

Senior Assistant County Attorney Dean DiRose said the county would take negotiations into consideration.

Attorney M.B. Adelson, of Sachs & Sax, is representing Neff. He said the county is interested in acquiring the piece of land from the property southeast of Memorial Highway. He said his client would like the county to consider taking the 5,031 square feet from the property northeast of Memorial.

The northwestern portion of land is narrower, Adelson said. With the county taking from that side instead, it will allow Neff to keep the wider part of her property in tact.

DiRose and Arnold said they have not been directly presented with this proposal, but once they do they will take it into consideration. DiRose said many factors play on whether they will approve the proposal: would it work engineering wise; what would the cost be to redesign the project; would it be cost prohibitive?

If all is considered and the property is still needed, Neff will have at least 30 days to respond to the offer before the county can petition to acquire the land through eminent domain, DiRose said. If the county wins the case and land, Neff will be fully compensated on the value of the land, improvements on the land and for any damage done to the remainder of the property, he said.

Reporter Angela Delgado can be reached at (813) 865-1501 or adelgado@tampatrib.com.

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