Drivers can scout ahead on FHP site for road tie-ups

A highway patrol site lists problems on state roads by region and will warn motorists of road closings or backups.

By JEAN HELLER

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 29, 2001

How important would it be for a traveler from St. Petersburg to Temple Terrace to know that a three-vehicle wreck had blocked the northbound lanes of State Road 93 at State Road 400?

Those who guessed it wouldn't be important will find themselves caught in the long backup south from Malfunction Junction, that wretched spaghetti pot of roads that forms the intersection of Interstate 275 and Interstate 4.

The Florida Highway Patrol has a new Web site, which opened last week, that lists all the accidents troopers are working everywhere in the state in real time. It would post the Malfunction Junction accident even while troopers were en route.

But visitors to the site might not recognize the trouble spots because the FHP designates roads, including interstates, by their state road numbers. Only those who are familiar with FHP road-speak know that I-275 is also SR 93, or that I-4 is also SR 400.

"It really doesn't matter that it's an interstate," said Lt. Sterling King, an FHP spokesman in Tampa. "With us being a state police agency, we designate roads by their state numbers."

FHP officials say the problem will be fixed -- sort of -- since the Web site's goal is to make life easier for those who drive for a living, as well as for families only headed to the mall.

"Something like that would be great," said Scott Cochrane of New Port Richey, who drives for Averitt Express, a freight hauler, out of Tampa. "Our dispatchers are on the computers all the time. They could log on and tell us if we're heading for trouble. But it won't do much good if they can't identify which road is an interstate and which is U.S. 19."

Capt. David Tripp, a Highway Patrol spokesman in Tallahassee, said Friday that a hot link would be added to the Web site to help motorists translate state roads to their more popular designations.

"I'll be honest with you. I thought it was there already, but it isn't," Tripp said. "We definitely need it. The problem is that all this data is put in from three offices, in Miami, Orlando and Tampa, and they don't have time to make the changes."

Until the link is set up, here is a short list of major highways Web site visitors might find: SR 55 is U.S. 19. SR 93 is I-275. SR 93a is I-75. SR 400 is I-4. And a little farther north, SR 8 is I-10.

The site lists problems by region and also will be used to warn motorists of road closings or backups because of storms and fires. But it covers only state roads and only accidents under FHP investigation.

To check out the Web site, log on to: http://www.fhp.state.fl.us/traffic/

Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Sumter and Polk counties all fall under FHP Troop C. Click anywhere in those counties and the site will take you to the current list of accidents under investigation. The site is updated every five minutes.

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