Major FDOT projects to improve road safety in Tampa Bay area begin

Project aims to make U.S. 98 safer

The Florida Department of Transportation is widening U.S. 98 in Pasco and Polk counties, along with investing $240 million into improving a dangerous stretch of U.S. 19.

TAMPA, Fla. - Pasco and Polk counties have some of the most dangerous highways in the state, with hundreds of crashes each year. The Florida Department of Transportation is investing millions in making roadways safer, from U.S. 19 to U.S. 98.

"Our goal is to have zero fatalities and injuries, serious injuries on our roadway," said Theresa Chestnut with the Project Zero Safety Initiative.

Earlier this year, FDOT announced a $240 million project focused on U.S. 19 – which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found is one of the deadliest roads in the state with hundreds of crashes last year. Now, major improvements to U.S. 98 in Pasco and Polk counties are on the books.

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"This is a huge project. We're widening U.S. 98 in Polk County and in Pasco County," said John McShaffery with FDOT. "In total, it's about 18 miles of widening. We're taking the corridor from a two-lane roadway to a four-lane roadway. So, we're both improving capacity. And we also have construction that's going to make improvements to safety out there on the corridor."

Aside from expanding the highway, they are turning two huge and dangerous intersections into roundabouts, which their studies have shown save lives.

"Signalized intersections are more dangerous than roundabouts. We're putting in a few roundabouts at key intersections along the corridor," said McShaffery. "Traffic is about 25 miles an hour through a roundabout, so if there are any crashes, there's less loss of life, injuries and property damage."

At the public meeting Tuesday night, officials urged drivers to slow down, especially while construction is taking place.

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"We like to take the opportunities at these public meetings tonight to educate our drivers, because many of the crashes are due to driver error," said Chestnut.

These projects are not set to be completed until 2028.

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