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Letter to the editor

Bad tracks close Bryan Dairy

Like McMullen-Booth before it, Bryan Dairy Road is shut down for weeks of repairs.

By EILEEN SCHULTE
Published July 3, 2007

Message to the 50, 000 motorists who travel Bryan Dairy Road every day - and perhaps a bicyclist or two:

Detour ahead. For three weeks.

A 400-foot section of the thoroughfare just west of Belcher Road and east of Starkey Road closed at 12:01 a.m. Friday to make way for repairs to a set of badly deteriorated railroad tracks that cross there.

The closure will affect about 80 businesses in the area and countless commuters.

Drivers' options: Take either Belcher and Starkey roads north to Ulmerton Road. Alternatives for eastbound drivers are 113th Street or Seminole Boulevard north to Ulmerton Road. An alternate route for westbound travelers is 66th Street north to Ulmerton Road.

Officials planned the work for this month because "the kids are out of school and the tourists are gone, " said Meg Korakis, spokeswoman for Pinellas County. There are about 500, 000 fewer people in Pinellas this time of year, she added.

The county has tried to prepare commuters for three weeks for the $620, 000 project, which will largely be financed by Penny for Pinellas funds. More than 15 message boards have broadcast the anticipated detour.

"We adjusted the signal timing at 50 intersections" in the affected area, said Mahshid Arasteh, the county public works transportation director. "We are allowing more green time on Ulmerton Road, for example."

About 80 businesses in the unincorporated section of Pinellas County could be affected.

"We're very worried, " said Ken Terry, manager of the Publix off Starkey Road near Bryan Dairy Road. "We're hoping that if people find it hard to get to our store, they can get to one of our five (nearby) sister stores."

He said Publix officials are "hoping not to lose more than $15, 000 weekly" during the project.

Valpak, at 8605 Largo Lakes Drive, is in the heart of the construction area. It has two buildings: one houses corporate offices and the other is used to print coupons. About 1, 000 people work there.

"I have not heard any complaints, " said Valpak's public relations liaison, Keith Brickell. He lives in Clearwater and faced no traffic jams on his way to work Friday morning. "I checked with employees and management and have not heard any negative feedback."

The closure of Bryan Dairy has been met with much less fanfare than the May closure of McMullen-Booth Road, which prompted predictions of mass traffic jams.

But traffic moved fairly smoothly and the repairs even wrapped up a week early.

County officials are hoping for the same positive outcome but because of the summer rains, they don't hold much hope for an early end to the construction.

Eileen Schulte can be reached at (727) 445-4153 or schulte@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 3, 2007, 00:35:08]