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Plant City intersection to be closed longer than expected

Posted at 10:21 AM, Dec 06, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-06 11:18:46-05

PLANT CITY, Fla. — A busy Plant City intersection will be closed longer than expected because of construction.

The Florida Department of Transportation initially hoped the intersection of Paul Buchman Highway and Sam Allen Road would be ready to reopen by Thanksgiving, but now FDOT is aiming for Christmas.

The area is closed for a wide variety of work, including replacing railroad tracks, relocating utilities and construction that's part of the Sam Allen widening project.

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FDOT chose to shut it down all at once to complete the work instead of multiple times.

“We understand that the detours are rather lengthy, depending on where you are going,” said John McShaffrey, FDOT community outreach manager. “We are working steady and hope to have it open by the end of the year.”

McShaffrey says the project is part of Plant City’s goal to have a circulator around the whole city.