The Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization board voted Aug. 21 to approve a $121,103.44 task order to complete phase two of the countywide freight transportation plan.

Board members said the work will focus on outreach and stakeholder engagement, inventorying existing freight infrastructure, identifying future freight needs and producing a prioritized freight-implementation plan the MPO expects to present in early April 2026.

Scott Berry, Pasco MPO transportation staff, told the board the task order covers additional public outreach, assessment of existing and anticipated freight infrastructure needs and development of recommended freight transportation improvement projects, operational improvements and freight policies. The task order expires June 30, 2026, though staff said the plan team anticipates finishing by April 1 and presenting it to the board upon completion.

Robert (Bob) Kersey, the project manager who addressed the board during a phase‑1 recap, described phase 1 as an inventory and analysis of existing infrastructure and industrial land‑use patterns and said phase 2 will translate that work into prioritized, implementable recommendations. Kersey said the team mapped industrial land uses and truck volumes, identified “hot spots” where industrial activity and truck traffic cluster, and will use that information to recommend roadway, operational and policy changes to improve first‑/last‑mile connections.

Discussion at the meeting emphasized the need to coordinate the MPO freight plan with Florida Department of Transportation work and with county land‑use decisions so local roads serving distribution centers and warehouses are designed and prioritized appropriately. Board members cited several local corridors — including State Road 52, County Line Road and Shady Hills Road — as areas with growing freight traffic and noted that some freight‑related roadway needs are on county rather than state facilities.

The board approved the task order on a voice vote after a motion and second; the minutes record the motion carried. No roll‑call vote tally was provided in the meeting record.

What happens next: MPO staff said they will continue stakeholder outreach and technical work through the winter and spring, return with draft recommendations for committee and board review, and present the final freight plan to the board in spring 2026.