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Project may disturb her grave visits

A proposed three-tiered road at U.S. 19 and 118th Avenue N will aid traffic, but hinder a woman's trips to her parents' graves.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published August 21, 2005

PINELLAS PARK - Francine Gillo loves to sit on the bench under an oak tree near her parents' graves and update them on her life.

"They really aren't there, but they are there," she said. "We like to go visit them and talk to them like they are there."

But in recent years, the visits have lost much of their peace.

With the repeated widenings of U.S. 19 N, the road has come closer and closer to the gravesite at the Calvary Catholic Cemetery, bringing with it blowing horns, catcalls and stolen flowers.

"Now, I don't enjoy nothing," Gillo said.

Things may get worse for Gillo. The state wants to make major changes to U.S. 19 and 118th Avenue N. As part of the proposed $190-million in improvements, there would be a three-tier roadway at that intersection and an elevated road from there to just east of the proposed Roosevelt connector.

Officials with the Florida Department of Transportation discussed the plan Thursday during a public hearing at Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School in Pinellas Park attended by about 55 people. The project would require that the state obtain rights of way from businesses along 118th.

The state says the revamped road will improve safety and increase capacity. Currently, about 50,000 cars a day travel 118th. The state predicts that number will increase to 65,000 daily in 2025.

Some look forward to the project, including Richard Gasperin, who wrote this comment on a form provided by the DOT:

"I look forward to finished construction of the 118th overpass at 49th Street and the U.S. 19 overpass at 118th Avenue," Gasperin said.

Helen Wall also was pleased, writing, "Sounds good. We've been waiting for this. Maybe mass transit next."

Gasperin and Wall will have to wait awhile. The proposal is still in the study stages and the alternative plan is to do nothing. A final proposal will be ready later this year.

The project is not yet funded, but the state and Metropolitan Planning Organization are working on that.

As for Gillo, the improvements will put the graves of her parents just steps from the edge of the road.

"It'll make me not want to go out to my parents' graves," Gillo said. "That's sad."

Gillo and her brother, Joe, say they know their plight will not stop the project. A DOT official at the hearing told them the state will not pay to relocate the graves or build a high wall around the edge of the cemetery to provide privacy for those who wish to visit departed loved ones.

The project, called the 118th Avenue connector, includes several components.

It would be an elevated roadway that would begin at the intersection of 118th and U.S. 19 and it would run eastward to 34th Street N, just east of the planned Roosevelt connector, which is another project.

Also planned as part of the improvements would be access roads on both sides of the elevated road and intersection changes.

At U.S. 19, the proposal is to build a flyover ramp to route southbound traffic from U.S. 19 to the connector. That would require the relocation of the southbound U.S. 19 frontage road to make room for the flyover.

The flyover would pass over an overpass to be built in 2006 as part of a separate project.

The overpass will allow traffic on 118th to pass over vehicles on U.S. 19. When all the work is complete, there would be a three-tier roadway at that intersection.

Another overpass would be built to allow traffic on 118th to pass over traffic on 49th Street N. The express lanes on 118th would pass over cars on 43rd Street N.

[Last modified August 21, 2005, 00:50:20]