County clears Explorer K-8 road fix to ease Spring Hill traffic

Hernando County commissioners cleared the way for a long-delayed traffic fix around Explorer K-8 School in Spring Hill, approving agreements that let the county take control of a portion of Explorer Boulevard and allow construction inside Duke Energy Florida’s easement area. The plan is designed to keep parent pickup, drop-off and buses inside the campus at 10252 Northcliffe Blvd. instead of backing traffic onto Northcliffe Boulevard, where congestion has frustrated families, staff and nearby drivers.

The board approved a Transfer Agreement with the Hernando County School Board and an Encroachment Agreement with Duke Energy Florida, two steps that resolve the property and utility issues blocking the project. The roadway work will be built and paid for by the Somerset Bay residential development, not by county taxpayers. The fix includes realigning a section of Explorer Boulevard and adding better parent queueing lanes and school bus parking, changes county officials say should make circulation safer and more orderly at the school.

The project has been tied up for years. County records show a Development Agreement with Somerset Land, LLC for Somerset Bay Combined Planned Development Project Phase I was adopted on Nov. 29, 2022, but construction never began. Earlier reporting traced the dispute back to 2006, when Explorer was built and utility and access arrangements were first put in place. At a Dec. 9, 2025 school board workshop, board member Shannon Rodriguez said the district was “basically consummating agreements that started back in 2006.” Duke had also objected in 2023 to parallel driveways in the transition corridor, saying the access changes could affect an encroachment agreement from the original project. By September 2025, the school district was told Duke was willing to accept a revised access plan.

The Somerset developers, Acts 88, LLC and Somerset Land LLC, have pressed the issue for months. In August 2024, Somerset Land sought a 1,560-square-foot piece of Explorer land for a utility easement tied to the school’s existing force main, while also proposing to rebuild the queuing area and add sidewalks, fencing, a gate and a marquee sign. A letter dated Oct. 22, 2024, asked county commissioners to request that the school board transfer Explorer Boulevard to the county. With the latest approvals in place, the county now has the legal framework to start work on a project families have waited years to see move from paper to pavement.