Families driving to Oakstead Elementary and commuters cutting through to Sunlake Boulevard will finally get a traffic signal at one of Land O' Lakes' most crash-prone intersections.

The Florida Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that construction has begun on a $1.4 million signal at the three-way intersection of U.S. 41/Land O' Lakes Boulevard and Lake Patience Road. FDOT classifies the work as a safety project, according to the agency's project page.

Beyond the signal itself, the scope includes roadway resurfacing, new sidewalks, upgraded pedestrian crossings and improved lighting.

Cut-through traffic and school pickup lines have fueled crashes

Lake Patience Road was once a quiet two-lane side road. As homes, townhomes and apartments filled in along the corridor connecting to Sunlake Boulevard, it became a major cut-through for drivers dodging the congested State Road 54 and U.S. 41 intersection at rush hour.

It is also the primary route to Oakstead Elementary School, where pickup and drop-off lines back up twice a day during the school year.

Before the signal project even reached the design phase, FDOT restricted traffic exiting Lake Patience Road to right turns only to curb a pattern of near-daily crashes and congestion at the intersection, as reported by the Tampa Bay Beacons.

New signal follows two others added to the corridor in recent years

The Lake Patience Road light will sit less than half a mile from the nearest existing signal at Bell Lake Road, another heavily used cut-through. It will be the third signal added to Land O' Lakes Boulevard in recent years, following one installed at Sunterra Drive in 2025 after Dayspring Academy opened on the Angeline campus, and an earlier signal at Asbel Road prompted by a Pasco County connector road between the Tierra Del Sol and Asbel Creek neighborhoods.

Lane closures began before the announcement, with no completion date set

Lane closures at the intersection began Monday, a day before FDOT's formal announcement, and ran through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to FDOT's lane closure listings. Motorists should expect continued construction activity and watch for crews and equipment.

FDOT did not provide a timeline for completing or activating the signal. The agency's District 7 public affairs office has not responded to a request for a completion estimate.

Residents can track the project on FDOT's Tampa Bay portal under project number 254677-6-07.