The Pipeline Under FishHawk Promises to Restore the Trail, Not the Trees

The paved trail just east of FishHawk Ranch West closed on October 2 and should stay closed for about six to eight months. That puts the reopening somewhere between April and early June of 2027. When it reopens, Tampa Bay Water's own rules mean the corridor will look different. The project restores disturbed ground "to existing conditions, with the exception of trees," and nothing woody gets replanted over the pipe itself. The longer, paved trail that Hillsborough County once put on its map along this route is now considered unlikely, and county staff have been looking at an unpaved one instead.

So the fence along Fishhawk Boulevard is temporary. The changes to the corridor behind it mostly aren't.

What's closed this week, and until when

These are the closures in place on Fishhawk Boulevard and Boyette Road as of mid-October, according to the South Hillsborough Pipeline updates page.

On Fishhawk Boulevard, the posted detour sends pedestrians to the south sidewalk using the crosswalks at Fishhawk Ridge Drive and Fishhawk Crossing Boulevard. If you're walking east from FishHawk Ranch, cross to the south side at Fishhawk Ridge Drive and come back north at Fishhawk Crossing Boulevard. If you're headed to the Sports Complex from the west, take the same route, then walk back west to the complex entrance. The project has said in writing that barricades on the closed sidewalk keep getting moved. It has asked everyone, including students walking to Newsome High School and Randall Middle School, to stay on the south side while dump trucks, excavators and cranes work around the pit.

Crews work 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, on both Fishhawk Boulevard and Boyette Road. Donneymoor Drive has reopened at Boyette Road now that the trench is past the intersection.

Why a water main needs this much room

The trench is big because the pipe is big. Tampa Bay Water is building a 26-mile transmission main that can carry up to 65 million gallons a day. It runs from the agency's regional surface-water plant in Brandon to Hillsborough County's Lithia plant and on to a new county connection at Balm Riverview and Balm roads. The pipe is 36 to 60 inches across. Garney Construction is managing the build.

The project FAQ gives two reasons for running it past FishHawk. The first is growth to the south. The agency forecasts that by 2045, Boyette will have about a third more homes, Wimauma more than twice as many, and Balm nearly three times as many. The second is that the Lithia plant gets a backup supply line.

The project's cost page, updated in October 2026, puts the total at $523.9 million. The Southwest Florida Water Management District has committed nearly $148 million of the current total. Under the current schedule, the pipeline goes into service at the end of 2028 and restoration continues into the first half of 2029.

On that timeline, the trail behind FishHawk Ranch West should reopen well before the pipe carries any water. The full 26-mile route will still be under construction or restoration for about two more years after that.

The restoration promise has one exception

This is the section to read if you use that trail for its shade.

According to the project FAQ, the contractor rebuilds and repaves damaged roads and replaces curbs, sidewalks and driveways. Trees are handled differently, and the FAQ explains why:

"Tampa Bay Water protects the public's drinking water supply by limiting what can be planted or built over the pipeline, so shrubs, trees or any structures will not be replaced in the permanent easement. Temporary construction easements will be restored to existing conditions with the exception of tree replacements."

That means two kinds of ground along the trail. The permanent easement directly over the pipe stays clear of trees and shrubs for as long as the pipe is there. The wider temporary construction strip gets its grading and surfaces back, but no replacement trees. The FAQ says all trimming follows a certified arborist's advice, and a tree comes out entirely if trimming would kill it. Tampa Bay Water says it aims to remove as few trees as possible and is working with the county on a natural resources permit that includes mitigation on environmental lands.

The clearing is already underway. In late September, crews finished moving gopher tortoises out of the easements east of FishHawk Ranch West and started removing trees and shrubs, a job expected to take about four weeks. That segment begins at Fishhawk Boulevard just east of Hometown Lane and runs south past Watercolor Drive, Quintessa Lane and Lambert Bridge Lane to Boyette Road. The current schedule has a second round of tree and brush clearing starting October 26 on the south side of Fishhawk Boulevard, from east of Hometown Lane to east of Fishhawk Ridge Drive.

The route through this area was chosen with trees in mind. The Osprey Observer reported in 2025 that Tampa Bay Water had approval to explore a new path near FishHawk Ranch West. It would follow an old, unpaved trail through an easement owned by Hillsborough County and the FishHawk Ranch Community Development District, which would mean fewer trees cut, less disruption for nearby homes, and a shorter, cheaper line. At the time, the change still needed easements from the CDD and the county plus approval from county commissioners and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The longer trail on the county map has been scaled back

If the pipe needs a permanently clear strip anyway, a trail on top of it makes sense, and the county saw that early. Hillsborough County's Greenways and Trails Master Plan, approved in June 2024, lists a "South Hillsborough Pipeline Trail Segment A" among its top-tier paved greenway projects. It would run 6.4 miles from Brandon Parkway to Hometown Lane, excluding the Lithia Pinecrest Road stretch. The plan's planning-level cost estimate was $8.90 million to $13.99 million. A trail ending at Hometown Lane would have connected FishHawk to Brandon by path.

The county's Greenways and Trails Committee has since discussed that idea twice, and the second discussion was less hopeful. According to the minutes of its September 10, 2025 meeting, a staff member said the land along the route is owned by the state and managed by the county's conservation lands staff, and that a paved trail alignment "may be difficult to get approved." The same minutes record that Tampa Bay Water's board had told its staff to work with county staff to "co-locate a trail along the South County Pipeline Trail."

By December 10, 2025, the committee's update was more direct, according to the minutes of that meeting:

"Discussed over this summer, neither trail made it into the CIT trail list and are in Tier 2 of the master plan- it is unlikely to move forward with a paved trail. Hillsborough CIP staff met with CELM staff, looking at possibility for unpaved trail in easement."

That is the most recent status the county committee has published. A paved greenway to Brandon has moved from top-tier in the 2024 plan to unlikely. An unpaved trail in the easement is still being studied, with no funding or approval announced. The pipe is going in regardless. Whether the clear strip over it ever becomes a public trail is still being decided between the county and Tampa Bay Water.

The next few months, by date

1. October 24, noon to 3 p.m. The FishHawk Ranch CDD Fall Festival at Park Square, away from the construction corridor.
2. October 26. Tree and brush clearing is scheduled to start on the south side of Fishhawk Boulevard between Hometown Lane and Fishhawk Ridge Drive.
3. Early November. Open-trench work on Boyette Road is expected to reach Wickerwood Court.
4. Into early 2027. Crews began mobilizing near Rhodine Road on October 5 to prepare for microtunneling under Boyette Road, and the project expects tunneling there to continue for about four to six months.
5. Roughly April to early June 2027. End of the six-to-eight-month closure of the FishHawk West Trail, counting from October 2. The project notes that all of its schedules can change.

If you ride mountain bikes, nearby Alafia River State Park posted that its Gravitron, Lost Meadow and Meadows trails closed for repair as of August 5, 2026, with Stardust and the rest of the trail system open. The park is open 8 a.m. to sunset. Check the park's page before you load the car.

Shops along the Boyette Road work zone are open throughout construction. The project's own updates point to Scooter's Coffee, Culver's, Express Oil Change & Tire Engineers and Washed Up, and its Shop Local page lists more businesses along the route in English and Spanish.

For questions about a specific closure, the project team answers at 813-485-6480 or [email protected]. Its contact page also has a sign-up for email alerts.

If the pipeline corridor runs behind your street, buyers will see it, and it's reasonable to ask how a cleared easement and a trail with no reopening date show up when you sell. At Carter Company Realtors, we follow FishHawk projects like this one closely and can show you how nearby homes are pricing while the work goes on. Get Your Free Home Valuation and we'll go through your address with you.