Proposed budget offers millions to improve U.S. 19

The plan to make U.S. 19 safer and less of a driving headache is poised to make several big strides forward, thanks to about $81.7-million worth of improvements included in the Legislature's proposed state budget for 2002-03.

If the appropriations survive Gov. Jeb Bush's line-item veto, they would range from routine maintenance and resurfacing to safety measures for pedestrians such as adding sidewalks on U.S. 19 in Tarpon Springs.

But by far the most dramatic improvements would be the construction of large overpasses on Sunset Point Road and Coachman Road, both busy intersections where accidents are common. More than 79,000 cars and trucks a day pass over Coachman Road on U.S. 19. At Sunset Point, the average is more than 86,000 vehicles a day.

"It's critically important," said Pinellas County Commissioner Karen Seel, who chaired the U.S. 19 Task Force. "These overpasses will save lives."

The state set aside $42-million for the two overpasses and their accompanying service roads. Work should begin on this project during the coming year and take about 11/2 to 2 years.

The goal is to make the busy stretch of U.S. 19 from Pinellas Park to Tarpon Springs feel more like a freeway by replacing large intersections and their traffic lights with overpasses. Doing that will decrease the congestion from stop-and-go traffic.

"With less traffic lights, the road can handle more traffic," said Brian Smith, Pinellas County planning director. "The objective is to have on U.S. 19 six lanes of traffic that is moving. Then you wouldn't have the congestion you have now."

Besides moving cars more efficiently, overpasses also are safer for drivers because they eliminate the need to stop at traffic signals, Seel said. Highways with free-flowing traffic typically have fewer accidents than ones with numerous, large intersections controlled by stoplights.

Another reason why overpasses should replace traffic signals on U.S. 19, Seel said, is that cars idling at clogged intersections emit more toxic fumes than moving cars.

Eventually, the county would like to build overpasses at the major intersections on U.S. 19 between State Road 580 and Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard, also known as State Road 60. This fall, construction is expected to start on a $26-million project to put an overpass on U.S. 19 over Drew Street and add frontage roads along U.S. 19 as part of the interchange.

After the two overpasses on Coachman and Sunset Point roads, the next intersection to get an overpass would be Enterprise Road, Smith said. That is about three or four years away.

"The handwriting is pretty much on the wall," Smith said. "You will basically have a freeway design from State Road 60 north to (State Road) 580. So five years from now, you won't be stopping at any light."

The state budget also includes $25-million in federal money secured by U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, the Largo Republican who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee. County and state officials have yet to determine how that money will be used on U.S. 19.

Most likely, Smith said, the $25-million will be used for sidewalks, more work on medians and looking into other measures that would make the road safer, such as ways to inform drivers where the congestion on the highway is. The state Department of Transportation and the county will team up to determine how to spend this money and identify where the sidewalks are needed on the road.

Legislators also set aside $1.7-million to build sidewalks on U.S. 19 in Tarpon Springs and $13-million to resurface portions of the highway.

In these tough economic times, county officials are breathing a sigh of relief that these projects survived the budget scalpel.

"Things can disappear on you," Smith said. "Having things stay in the program as you expect is not to be taken for granted."

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