Road work rolls on

LECANTO — Workers on the State Road 44 resurfacing project have hit the ground running.
 

Dave Sigler

State Road 44 resurfacing is rolling right along. The 11 miles of roadway has received its first layer of asphalt and the project is only six weeks under way. The construction project was planned for overnight hours , but instead is also being done during the day.

Buy this photo

The project is barely six weeks old and already the first layer of resurfacing has replaced broken concrete on miles of roadway lanes.
 

D.A.B. Constructors Inc. of Inglis has the $9.5 million contract to resurface 11 miles of S.R. 44 between Stokes Flea Market near Lecanto and County Road 581 in Inverness.
 

It’s the first major roadwork on S.R. 44 since Citrus County’s major east-west thoroughfare was widened to four lanes 15 years ago.
 

State transportation officials said they hoped most of the work could be done at night so that lane closures would not have a significant impact on
traffic.
 

Conrad Campbell, Department of Transportation District 7 construction report manager, said the D.A.B. contract bars work between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. within 600 feet of a signalized intersection.
 

At first D.A.B. was doing the work at night, grinding and repaving two-mile stretches of roadway one lane at a time. When colder weather moved in two weeks ago, the company moved to daytime work.
 

District 7 spokeswoman Kris Carson said workers need temperatures at 45 degrees or higher for the asphalt to settle properly.
 

“The contractor is choosing to do some day work because the temperatures have been so cold at night,” Carson said in an email.
 

The project is scheduled to conclude in July 2013.
 

Along with resurfacing the roadway, the project includes:
 

* Constructing new sidewalks on both sides of S.R. 44 between North Lopp Point, the project’s western boundary, and Tighe Drive near the Lowe’s store in Inverness.
 

* Repairing other sidewalks along the roadway where necessary.
 

* Widening right-turn lanes throughout the project area.
 

* Replacing poles and signals at the West Homosassa Trail intersection with hurricane-resistant poles and signals.

Chronicle reporter Mike Wright can be reached at 352-563-3228 or mwright@chronicleonline.com