Counties at odds over Gandy plans

Hillsborough will send Gov. Jeb Bush a letter opposing state plans for a connector, but Pinellas wants a route built.

By SUSAN THURSTON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 28, 2002

The long debate over building a route to connect the Gandy Bridge and the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway is heading north to Tallahassee.

Pinellas officials want the route for hurricane evacuation, but Hillsborough County commissioners agreed Tuesday to send a letter to Gov. Jeb Bush opposing the state's options and asking for a decision on the project before the election.

It's unknown how much weight the letter will carry, but Hillsborough officials hope history repeats itself. Gov. Reubin Askew quashed a Gandy Boulevard plan in 1974.

Bush "needs to be put on the spot," said Hillsborough Commissioner Jan Platt, who led the committee that persuaded Askew to drop plans for a Gandy bypass. "This is something that has been talked about forever. At some point, you have to face the reality that it's an impossible dream."

Most Pinellas County commissioners weren't happy with Hillsborough's decision Tuesday. When Commissioner Bob Stewart heard the news, he pretended to faint.

"What in the world were they thinking?" he said, adding that scrapping the Gandy corridor would be "a disaster."

Commissioner Calvin Harris shook his head.

"Well, so much for intergovernmental cooperation," he said.

Stewart, Harris, Commissioner Karen Seel and commission Chairwoman Barbara Sheen Todd said the road is needed for hurricane evacuation and to make daily commutes easier.

"We're missing a tremendous opportunity of linking the two counties together," Seel said.

Seel could think of only one advantage if the Florida Department of Transportation follows Hillsborough's lead: Maybe some of the unused road money could go to Pinellas.

The DOT is considering two options for connecting the Gandy Bridge and the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway: a four-lane bypass south of Gandy or a four-lane elevated highway along the north side.

It also could do nothing.

Property owners on both sides of the street say building either route would destroy their neighborhoods and reduce the values of homes and businesses. They say the project would force businesses to close and create more noise and pollution.

They question the need for another evacuation route, saying that most people in coastal communities would head north along Interstate 275 instead of east along a bridge subject to flooding.

Hillsborough residents and area business owners voted Aug. 15 to oppose either option. In a letter this week to the Hillsborough commission, they asked the board to set a meeting with the governor and try to push up the state's deadline for making a decision.

"The Florida Department of Transportation has tried for 20 years to shove its plans down our throats," the letter states. "It's time for our legislators and representatives to help us."

The state has said it will pick an option in December, after the general election. Neighborhood leaders argue that would be too late because newly elected politicians won't understand the issue.

Hillsborough commissioners said Tuesday they applaud residents for reaching a consensus. Until recently, people on either side of Gandy were split. Those to the north opposed the elevated highway. Those to the south opposed the bypass.

"Hundreds of people out there are very, very upset," Commissioner Pat Frank said. "This is not a small item with the community."

Hillsborough Commissioner Chris Hart cautioned against taking a stand without Tampa's input, but he supported the letter to Bush. Gandy runs through the city of Tampa, but it is a state road. City officials have not formally weighed in on the debate.

Community leaders remain hopeful that the governor will act on the county's request. They also are adamant that the state spend $23-million promised for improvements along Gandy.

"This thing has been dragging on for 20 years. We're tired of it," said David Gutcher, president of the Gandy Civic Association, which represents about 7,000 residents. "We want a decision now."

Gutcher urged the state to come up with a design that everyone can support. His recommendation: Widen the road from four to six lanes, an option the DOT has said would not solve future traffic woes.

Community activist Neil Cosentino wants an expressway tunnel under Gandy. That option has the support of some residents, but not state transportation officials. They ruled it out because of cost.

The state estimates the elevated highway would cost $311-million, versus up to $277-million for the bypass. The totals include the cost of design, construction and land.

Although the state has no funding for the project, officials hope to start construction in 2009.

-- Times staff writer Lisa Greene contributed to this report.

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