City of Oldsmar public works staff told the council on May 29 that the Saint Petersburg Drive Complete Streets project and a roundabout at Bayview are advancing after a prior solicitation returned a single bidder and staff rejected the bid.

Daniel Simpson, the city’s director of public works, said staff rejected the earlier bid and undertook value engineering to reduce scope and cost. He reported the project’s 90% plans are now under review at the Florida Department of Transportation, and staff expects to advertise for bid in the fall with construction planned for 2026.

Funding for the project is layered. Tatiana Childress, director of planning and redevelopment, told council the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) will contribute funds specifically for the north side of Saint Petersburg Drive: $1,770,000 is budgeted for that portion and $1,000,000 is budgeted from CRA for the roundabout. Staff also cited Penny for Pinellas funds and separate state and federal grants for portions of the work. Daniel Simpson said utility adjustments are budgeted within the water/sewer account ($440,000) to address relocations and adjustments during construction.

Simpson described the procurement and estimate challenges: "we bid the project and we decided to reject it because we had 1 bidder," he said, and the city then reduced the scope to improve competitiveness and cost accuracy. Staff also cautioned that federal and state grant requirements can constrain scope changes after a grant agreement is signed.

Why it matters: the corridor project is central to the council’s goal of establishing a downtown corridor and improving multimodal safety and aesthetics; the layered funding and DOT review mean the timeline depends on intergovernmental approvals and successful re‑bidding.

Next steps: staff will complete FDOT review, finalize utility coordination and re‑advertise the project; council will see updated cost and schedule information when bids are received.