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Letter to the editor

U.S. 19, pleasant? Lo and behold, parts now are

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published October 17, 2007

Motorists traveling north on U.S. 19 in the last couple of weeks have found what longtime residents of Pinellas County once could only imagine: a limited access highway through central Pinellas County.

Rush-hour commutes that were once more stop than go now have a segment through Clearwater and another through Largo where traffic moves swiftly and smoothly, unimpeded by traffic lights or turning traffic.

Motorists northbound on U.S. 19 in Clearwater the morning of Oct. 1 found themselves traveling over newly opened overpasses at Sunset Point and Coachman roads. All lanes were not open, and pavement markings were not completed, but motorists were no doubt grateful for them anyway. Driving through the constantly morphing construction area in the last couple of years has been a test of drivers' skill and patience.

Construction of the overpasses at Coachman and Sunset Point began in 2003, and the $47-million project, which includes new frontage roads for accessing businesses and side streets, is scheduled to be finished by the end of this year.

That won't be the end of construction on U.S. 19, fortunately. Overpasses like the ones that turned U.S. 19 into a limited access highway through parts of Clearwater and Largo are being built now in the Pinellas Park area at 110th and 118th avenues and are planned in future years throughout North Pinellas.

The Florida Department of Transportation's goal is for the full length of U.S. 19 in mid and North Pinellas to one day be limited access - truly the safer, faster road imagined by those beleaguered drivers who used to plaster their cars with a bumper sticker that read, "Pray for me. I drive U.S. 19."

[Last modified October 16, 2007, 21:31:23]