At the corner of North Moon Avenue and Brandon Boulevard, the hardest part of this stretch is done. Crews from the South Hillsborough Pipeline have finished the microtunnel under Brandon Boulevard, and restoration of the site has started. A block north, on the same project, North Moon has been closed to through traffic since October 5 and will stay that way through late December.
That handoff is how this project behaves across all of Brandon. A street reopens, and the crews move to the next one on the route, a sequence the project's own schedule carries into 2029.
What the pipe is, and why it runs through downtown Brandon
The South Hillsborough Pipeline is a new water transmission main up to five feet across. It will carry up to 65 million gallons of drinking water a day from Tampa Bay Water's surface-water treatment plant in Brandon south to Hillsborough County's Lithia plant and to a future plant near Balm. The goal is to keep up with rising demand in south-central Hillsborough. In a 2025 release from Tampa Bay Water, the agency said the County picked the route to improve water quality, pressure and service in its western service area.
Brandon carries the pipe because the treatment plant is in Brandon. The written route for Segment A leaves the plant, crosses Falkenburg and Woodberry, runs along Limona, then heads east on Victoria and south on North Moon. From there it goes west on Robertson, south on Parsons past Lumsden, south on John Moore, west on Ronele, south on South Kings, and west on Alafia Boulevard. Then it follows Alafia Ridge Road and Alafia Ridge Loop down to McMullen before turning east toward Lithia.
That list covers a lot of the streets that link downtown Brandon to the neighborhoods south of it. It also shows which streets are off the route. The written route does not include Lithia Pinecrest Road, Valrico Road or Bloomingdale Avenue.
The relay, in order
This is the Brandon segment based on the project's latest notices. The dates are the project's own estimates, and most come with "weather permitting."
| Street or crossing | Status as of October 12, 2026 | What comes next |
|---|---|---|
| Woodberry and Limona at Lakewood Drive | Reopened August 25 after the microtunnel under Lakewood was finished | Open-trench work starts mid-2027, runs east from Falkenburg, and lasts about a year |
| Victoria Street | Closed from just east of North Kings to North Parsons for open-trench work in September | Sidewalk expected to reopen once work moves onto North Moon |
| Brandon Boulevard at Moon | Microtunnel complete, restoration underway | Access to North and South Moon expected by early November |
| North Moon Avenue | Closed between Victoria and Brandon Boulevard since October 5 | Open-trench work through late December |
| Ronele Drive | Open-trench work heading east toward John Moore Road over about two months | El Greco Drive closed at Ronele starting October 5 for about a week |
| South Kings Avenue | Southbound outside lane reopened October 7 | Median restoration later |
| South Moon Avenue | No work yet | Not scheduled to start until late 2027 |
Reading down the right-hand column shows the pattern. Almost every reopening in the middle column comes paired with a next phase. The Lakewood crossing on Woodberry reopened, and the trenching it was preparing for is set for mid-2027. North Moon is the next leg after Victoria. The project expects to reopen the Brandon Boulevard crossing just as the North Moon trench is moving south toward it.
North Moon this fall, in practical terms
North Moon is the closure that matters most to downtown Brandon through the end of the year. The project's September 23 notice gives the details. Crews started at Victoria Street and are trenching south toward Brandon Boulevard in phases. Both sidewalks are closed inside the work zone. Work runs Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
North Moon is still open to local traffic between Victoria and the work zone. For the first month, local access comes in from Morgan Street. That entry point will change as the work moves south, and the project says it will keep access to homes and businesses open the whole time.
The posted detours:
- Drivers take North Knights Avenue, Victoria Street, North Parsons Avenue and Brandon Boulevard.
- Pedestrians going north or south use North Kings, North Knights or North Parsons.
- Students walking or biking to Brandon High School from east of North Moon follow the posted signs south to West Sadie Street, north on North Kings, then west on Victoria.
- Crosswalks near the work zone may close for short periods as crews move south, and the project will post updates when they do.
The October 9 update explains how the two dates overlap. The project expects access to North and South Moon back by early November as the tunnel site is restored, while trenching on North Moon goes on until late December. If you see an October 2 start date for North Moon, that came from the general schedule page. The street-specific notice and the October 9 status both say October 5.
South of downtown, the work has already moved on
The southern end of the Brandon segment is further along. That fits the relay pattern, since parts of it were dug before North Moon was even closed. In September, the Osprey Observer reported that open-cut installation was done on portions of South Kings Avenue, though it did not say which portions. On October 7, the southbound outside lane of South Kings reopened from just south of Ronele Drive to Dali Drive after repairs to a bridge barrier. The project says the median will be restored at a later date.
Ronele Drive is the active street in that area right now. Open-trench work is heading east toward John Moore Road, a stretch the project expects to take about two months. El Greco Drive was set to close at Ronele on October 5 for about a week. During that time, El Greco stays reachable from John Moore Road.
The 2027 leg is already on the calendar
The longest closures in Brandon haven't started yet. After the microtunnel under Lakewood was finished, Woodberry and Limona reopened at Lakewood Drive on August 25. Woodberry is open to through traffic between Falkenburg and Lakewood, and Limona between Lakewood and Bates Street. In the same notice, the project said open-trench work on Woodberry is scheduled to start in mid-2027. Crews will begin at Falkenburg, work east to Limona, and spend about a year on Woodberry and Limona combined.
South Moon Avenue is next after that. Its work isn't scheduled to begin until late 2027, barring unforeseen conditions. The project schedule runs construction through 2028 and puts the pipeline in service at the end of 2028. Final restoration is listed for the first half of 2029. Those are two separate milestones, so the water can be flowing before the last road repairs are done.
Keeping up without checking the site every morning
The project has several ways to get updates:
- Email alerts. Sign up through the project contact page. The same page lists the hotline, 813-485-6480, and [email protected].
- Address lookup. The interactive map lets you enter an address and see the planned route. The project notes that the map doesn't show easements and that the route may still be refined.
- Map apps. Tampa Bay Water says it reports road closures and detours to Waze and Google Maps.
The shops along the barricades are open
Every closure in the table above runs past businesses that are still open. The project's Shop Local directory lists them along the route. Near the Brandon Boulevard and Moon crossing, they include Brandon Meats & Market at 247 W. Brandon Blvd., Arnold Dentistry at 257 W. Brandon Blvd., Value Pawn & Jewelry at 209 W. Brandon Blvd., Parker Pawn at 127 S. Moon Ave., Brandon Medical Center at 122 S. Moon Ave., and Brandon Body Shop at 134 W. Robertson St. The Osprey Observer's October update also names Nothing Like Us Detailing, a locally owned car wash and detailing business just outside the Parker Pawn lot, as one that stayed open through construction.
Businesses on or near the route can send the project a promotion, special offer or event to be considered for the Shop Local page.
If you own a home near Moon, Victoria, Ronele or Woodberry and want to know how this schedule could matter when you list, The Key Is Nikii can go over the timing with you street by street. Request Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll factor in which leg of the route your block is on and when the crews are due.
