Construction plans along U.S. 19 raise concerns from business owners
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Coming with a $242.6 million price tag, plans for new interchanges and roadway improvements along U.S. Highway 19 are drawing concerns from business owners between State Road 580 and County Road 95 in Clearwater and Palm Harbor.
According to the Florida Department of Transportation, the project will transform the existing six-lane divided highway into a six-lane controlled access roadway with one-way frontage roads in both directions. Officials are planning to add an interchange midway between SR-580 and SR-586 – also known as Curlew Road – just north of Boy Scout Road.
"This interchange will accommodate U-turn movements between northbound and southbound frontage roads and serve as a pedestrian crossing," the department says on a webpage outlining the project.
In addition to the interchange, pedestrians will have a dedicated underpass between Evans Road and Republic Drive. This appears to be the biggest point of contention for business owners, who oppose any road construction that may harm their livelihoods.
Rendering of U.S. 19 construction
FOX 13 spoke with the owner of Maple Lanes Bowling Center, which sits immediately to the south of where the underpass is planned. John LaSpina said he's concerned about the effect construction will have on his business.
"Think about the options people have to come and play a game that I sell, to have the car repaired, to have any of the services that our neighbors on this side do. It’s really a difficult thing because people have options and if they don’t want to come on this frontage road, they’ll go somewhere else," he said.
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Chicago-based contractor H.W. Lochner is leading the project. In an online project overview, the firm explains that FDOT requested a focus on pedestrian safety in the project design.
"Lochner investigated the construction of a pedestrian overpass, but this was found—particularly due to the right of way acquisition necessary and the high real estate values along the corridor—to be an extremely costly option," the firm says. "In response, Lochner has developed an innovative design for a first‐of‐its‐kind pedestrian thruway, which will allow pedestrians to cross US 19 at grade under an elevated road profile. The 100‐foot‐long, 30‐foot‐wide thruway will provide a wide, bright, safe place for pedestrians to cross at a significantly lower cost than an overpass and with much greater accessibility."
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However, opponents worry the underpass could become a "drug alleyway" among the homeless population and become a safety concern among residents. In an op-ed published Monday on Florida Politics, Republican state senator Ed Hooper, who represents the area, called on Governor Ron DeSantis to stop the project before it begins. He called the improvements a waste of taxpayer dollars that would be better spent otherwise.
FDOT SAID a new interchange at SR-586 will also be added so that U.S. 19 traffic will travel uninterrupted as it passes over SR-586. New ramps will provide access to new frontage roads and SR-586.
Additionally, a new pedestrian bridge over U.S. 19 is planned at Northside Drive. Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2023 and be completed more than six years later, in the fall of 2029.