US 98 Dade City Bypass widening project completed, FDOT says

The Florida Department of Transportation reported that all construction activities on the US 98 Dade City Bypass widening project were completed July 22, 2026.

The completed project covers the US 98 segment between 7th Street South and 7th Street North in Dade City. The highway was widened from two lanes to four lanes, adding the roadway capacity and movement the project was intended to provide around the city.

What changed on US 98

FDOT identifies the route as the Dade City Bypass and places the project in Pasco County. The work was delivered through a design-build method, in which design and construction are handled under a combined project approach.

The July 22 milestone marks the reported completion of construction activity within the project limits. It is a completion milestone for the widened segment, not a report that the bypass has newly opened to traffic.

The completed four-lane segment directly serves Dade City and provides the finished widening between the two listed 7th Street intersections. FDOT has not published an independent traffic or crash-benefit measurement with the completion report, so the project’s effect should not be described as a quantified reduction in congestion or crashes.

Growth pressure elsewhere in Pasco County

The roadway milestone comes as Pasco County continues to weigh major development proposals. A July 9 recommendation by the Pasco Planning Commission involving the proposed Two Rivers development included up to 4,047 single-family homes and 2,500 multifamily residences.

The proposed expansion also included 1.3 million square feet of retail space, a 300-bed assisted-living facility, a 480-room hotel and a 35-acre surf park, according to Tampa Bay Beacons.

That planning debate included concerns about water demand, traffic and growth in eastern Pasco County. The Two Rivers proposal is separate from FDOT’s US 98 widening project, but the two developments illustrate the transportation and infrastructure questions accompanying growth in the county.

What the completion report confirms

FDOT’s project information confirms the location, lane expansion, delivery method and July 22 completion date. It does not provide a final construction cost. The completion report also does not establish a separate traffic-performance result or quantify how travel conditions have changed.

For Dade City, the confirmed development is that the US 98 Bypass segment from 7th Street South to 7th Street North has reached the reported end of construction after being widened from two lanes to four.