If you drive Newberry Road, you may have noticed rows and rows of holes in the road, making your drive anything but smooth.
The cause?
Newberry Road is getting a facelift. The holes are just the beginning of a much larger project.
An estimated 1,275 holes have been drilled and partially filled in at the intersection of Northwest 43rd Street and Newberry Road as part of a 3-mile long construction project, said Bianca Speights, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Transportation.
The softball-sized holes, called injection points, were drilled in April to prepare for the September resurfacing of Newberry Road, which was last resurfaced in 1999. The holes ensure the quality of the road and prevent the deterioration of the pavement, Speights said.
“Before you want to resurface ... you want to make sure the road is stabilized,” Speights said.
Speights said each hole is strategically drilled after being identified as an area where past deterioration of the pavement’s surface has occurred. The holes are then individually filled with a potassium-based solution that reacts with the already-present shallow, expansive clay soils found underneath the road.
In addition to decreasing chances of deterioration, the solution also reduces the expansion and contraction of the road, she said.
Dawntavia Davis, a bank teller at PNC Bank, said she drives on Newberry Road at least three times a week during her lunch break.
Even though she finds the presence of the holes strange and doesn't understand why the holes are there, Davis said she does not think they’re detrimental to people while driving.
“People won't die because of them, but as long as they’re getting fixed, I am fine with them,” Davis said.
The stabilization of Newberry Road — before resurfacing in September — costs $206,793, while the entire 3-mile-long construction project costs about $6.2 million, Speights said.
Speights said the 3-mile construction project also includes: stabilizing the roadway east of 43rd Street, adding a right turn lane to the southbound Interstate 75 on-ramp on Newberry Road and repairing sidewalks, ramps and RTS bus stops.
This story is a part of Untold Florida, a WUFT News series built from your questions.