Overnight Lane Closures Hit Cortez Boulevard at Mondon Hill Road as $9.5M Intersection Rebuild Rolls On

Drivers who use US 98/SR 50 (Cortez Boulevard) east of Brooksville will lose lanes overnight for most of next week. The Florida Department of Transportation has scheduled nightly lane closures at the Mondon Hill Road/Spring Lake Highway intersection from Sunday, Aug. 16 through Thursday, Aug. 20, running 8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. It is part of a $9.5 million reconstruction of that single intersection, and the work is not finishing anytime soon: FDOT's estimated completion is spring 2027.

The same week brings a daytime squeeze on the other side of the county. On Monday, Aug. 17, FDOT has lane closures and flagging operations on US 301 at the Withlacoochee River bridge, at the Pasco line, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Where	When
SR 50 at Mondon Hill Rd / Spring Lake Hwy	Nights of Aug. 16–20, 8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
US 301 at Withlacoochee River bridge	Mon., Aug. 17, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
CR 575 east of US 301 (Trilby/Lacoochee)	Closed since March 2; into August

Why they are tearing up that intersection

The Mondon Hill job is small in length and large in cost. It covers just 0.285 miles, and the reason for the price is what goes in the ground: FDOT is replacing the asphalt at the intersection with concrete pavement, which holds up far longer under heavy turning traffic. Construction started May 18, 2026. Watson Civil Construction, Inc. has the contract.

Beyond the pavement itself, the project adds ADA-compliant curb ramps, rebuilds driveways, makes minor drainage and signal changes, and upgrades signing, striping and lighting. Approaches on either side of the concrete section get resurfaced.

This is the same corridor FDOT has been working through in pieces. The repaving of US 98/SR 50 from south of Jasmine Drive to Mondon Hill Road wrapped up on Oct. 22, 2025.

Ridge Manor: four years of US 301 work, and a road still closed

In the far southeast corner of the county, the US 301 (Treiman Boulevard) widening is the biggest active construction job touching Hernando residents. It runs 4.2 miles, from north of Marka Drive up to just south of Ridge Manor Boulevard, and it will turn the highway into a four-lane divided road with medians, paved shoulders and sidewalks. Cost: $87.2 million. Estimated completion: fall 2028.

Two bridges are going over the Withlacoochee River, one for vehicles and one for pedestrians. The existing span becomes northbound-only traffic. A roundabout is being built where US 301 meets Trilby Road/CR 575, and a new traffic signal is going in at US 301 and US 98.

That roundabout is why CR 575 has been closed on the east side of US 301 since March 2. FDOT says the closure holds into August, with local traffic still able to reach CR 575 east of the closure. Hernando drivers heading that way can go south on Burwell Road (Hernando CR 575) from SR 50, which becomes Pasco County CR 575 at Lacoochee Clay Sink Road. The other detour is Cummer Road to Bower Road to CR 575.

County crews: Anderson Snow, Deltona, and a washout

Hernando County's own work at Anderson Snow Road and Corporate Boulevard is still underway. DB Civil Construction got the notice to proceed on July 30, 2025, on a job the county estimated at roughly 12 months. It widens and reconstructs Anderson Snow Road with raised medians, curb and gutter, a southbound left turn lane and a northbound right turn lane, plus a new traffic signal at Corporate Boulevard and resurfacing of Corporate out to the Suncoast overpass. Utility work for the project shut Corporate Boulevard between Anderson Snow Road and Aerial Way for two and a half days in early July.

The funding split: FDOT reimburses up to $5,246,925 through a state grant, with a county match of $1,923,975, for a total agreement of $7,170,900.

On Aug. 4, the county closed part of Whitewater Way in the Suncoast Landing community after a washout eroded material along the drainage side of the road. Drivers there are being routed to Borland Street. Public Works and Utilities crews are watching the road and will repair it as weather allows. In Brooksville, the utilities department's overnight sewer main work on Deltona Boulevard between Freeport Drive and the RaceTrac and Circle K entrances ran July 22 through July 27.

What is next in the pipeline

The nearest new contract is on US 19 (Commercial Way). FDOT advertised the sidewalk project from Applegate Drive to East Trenton Avenue in late July, with bids scheduled to be opened Aug. 26. Along with the sidewalk, that contract covers milling and resurfacing, drainage structures, handrail, lighting, signalization and pavement markings.

Two bigger items are further out. Resurfacing SR 50 from Wiscon Road to Cobb Road is programmed with construction money in the state's FY 2027 work program at roughly $8.1 million. The SR 50 widening from west of Buck Hope Road to west of Jefferson Street, 2.5 miles, remains in design with construction anticipated in 2028.

The one many Spring Hill drivers ask about has no construction funding at all. FDOT is designing the reconstruction of CR 578 (County Line Road) from east of Mariner Boulevard to west of the Suncoast Parkway, two lanes to four lanes divided, with a sidewalk on the north side and a shared-use path on the south. A county agenda item in early August put right of way at about $20 million and construction at roughly $65 million. Until that money appears in the work program, the design sits on the shelf. Statewide, FDOT is also installing connected-vehicle roadside equipment along I-75 and SR 50 under a $4.4 million districtwide contract that began Jan. 5 and finishes in fall 2027.

Closure schedules change with weather and contractor progress, and the state posts current Hernando closures on the FDOT Tampa Bay closures page. County-run road notices go out through Hernando County Public Works.

For more local coverage, visit Hernando County Community Website, follow us on Facebook, and tell us which road is testing your patience by joining the conversation in our Community Forum. You can also read more traffic and roadwork stories in our Alerts section and follow county decisions in Government & Politics.

Header photo: DanTD / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)