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INVERNESS, Fla. — A recent study shows that Citrus County is behind when it comes to road repairs.
About 600 miles of roadway are classified as very poor, with another 350 miles in poor condition. But plans are being made within local government to make necessary repairs.
“I’m just glad that they’re paying attention to Beverly Hills, in general,” said Ashanti Negron.
For 11 years, Negron has called Beverly Hills home. It’s also where she owns her salon, Bobbi Pinz.
“In the last three years since COVID, people have been migrating here in droves,” said Negron. “People are moving from South Florida, they move from up north, so we have more traffic.”
That traffic, she says, is noticeable from outside her shop. With the local roadways taking a beating.
For 11 years, Ashanti Negron has called Beverly Hills home. She has noticed the traffic and road issues. (Spectrum News/Calvin Lewis)
“Some of these side roads really get neglected,” Negron said. “What happens is you get big fissures in the side. The main road looks nice and everything’s done new. But then you go off into the side street and if that’s where your house is, then you’ve got a dip. It would be nice if they went into that a little more.”
Negron is not the only one noticing, either.
Citrus County recently completed a road study. It analyzed data collected by new software developed by engineering consultant Mott McDonald.
Citrus County maintains 1,844 paved miles of road every year. That data shows almost 600 miles of roads are classified as very poor. Another 350 miles fall into the poor category.
“The roads don’t seem bad when you’re driving through the county,” said Citrus County Commissioner and Chair Diana Finegan. “But when you get into some of our residential areas, you’ll find that much road work is needed.”
Finegan says repairs are already being made. This new software, she says, will also be accessible to residents to see which roads may be next on the list.
“They’ll be able to go online, look at how much money the board has put aside for regular servicing for the year and they can see which roads are coming up,” she says.
It’s good news for residents like Negron, who says she embraces the repairs and the traffic that may come with it.
“It’ll be good,” she said. “And more people is always better, to me. But I did grow up in Manhattan!”
The recent data shows the county is carrying a road repair backlog of more than $700 million. Funding, Finegan says, will be coming from the American Rescue Plan Act.
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Calvin Lewis
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