The $16-million for two Ulmerton Road projects will likely go toward design costs and buying rights of way, state transportation officials say.
By LORRI HELFAND, Times Staff Writer
Published August 5, 2005
Last week, Congress earmarked $16-million for two of several road-widening projects planned for Ulmerton Road.
The projects are part of a long-term plan by the Florida Department of Transportation to expand a 12-mile stretch of the busy east-west corridor from four to six lanes from Oakhurst Road to Interstate 275.
The federal transportation bill passed July 29 allocated $8-million to widen one segment of the roadway from Lake Seminole bypass canal to El Centro Boulevard/Ranchero Drive and another $8-million to expand a portion from 38th Street to the interstate.
The Lake Seminole bypass project in Largo is estimated at a total of $24-million and the cost to purchase rights of way for the project is twice that amount. Projected costs for the other plan in eastern Pinellas are about $23.5-million, but right-of-way costs have not been tabulated for that project yet.
Funding to cover construction of both projects has not been obtained. The recent allocations will likely go toward design and right-of-way costs, said Kris Carson, a Transportation Department spokeswoman.
The department plans to purchase rights of way for the Lake Seminole widening project in 2009. The design phase of the 38th Street portion is scheduled in the 2008-09 fiscal year.
Expansion of Ulmerton is a priority on the heavily traveled corridor, Carson said.
"We need to increase the capacity out there," she said. "We need to get cars flowing better."
In 2004, the area of the project carried 52,000 to 61,500 vehicles daily and the eastern Pinellas site carried 42,500 to 88,500 vehicles, according to county Metropolitan Planning Organization traffic counts.
A year ago, the state began widening a 2.4-mile section of Ulmerton and Walsingham roads, from east of Oakhurst Road to 119th Street. The department plans to complete that $16.9-million project by late 2006.
One of the next Ulmerton widening projects on the horizon will span from east of U.S. 19 to east of 49th Street. The plan, which is estimated at $21-million, is slated to begin late 2005 or early 2006.
Around that time, the department also plans to resurface Ulmerton from 49th Street to Roosevelt Boulevard.
Other modifications along the Ulmerton corridor will include sidewalks, street lighting, traffic signals, bridge widening and drainage improvements.
