PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Starting this week, all drivers traveling on U.S. Highway 19, between State Road 580 and County Road 95, should be alert for a new traffic pattern in Pinellas County, a news release from the Florida Department of Transportation reports.
A permanent traffic configuration is closing median openings on U.S. Highway 19 at Estancia Boulevard, Winding Creek Boulevard/Curlew Avenue, Boy Scout Road, Royal Boulevard, Riviera Drive/Via Granada, Northside Drive, 297th Avenue and Congress Avenue as crews begin reconstruction work along the project limits.
Anyone needing to access the side streets or businesses will have to drive along the highway to the next signalized intersection.
Drivers coming northbound can make a U-turn or left turn at Republic Drive/Hammock Pine Boulevard or at SR 586 (Curlew Road).
Southbound drivers can make a U-turn or left turn at Republic Drive/Hammock Pine Boulevard or at SR 580 (Main Street).
"Motorists should allow extra travel time as traffic delays may occur on all roadways during this closure," FDOT leaders say in the release. "Business, residential, and emergency vehicle access will be maintained. Drivers are advised to use caution when traveling through the work zone and remain alert for pedestrians and construction workers."
FDOT's contractor Johnson Brothers Corporation is making improvements to the highway by changing the existing six-lane divided highway to a six-lane controlled access roadway with one-way frontage roads in both directions – parallel to US 19 – from SR 580 to the north of CR 95/CR 39.
New interchanges will also be added just north of Boy Scout Road and at SR 586 to help traffic flow along the corridor.
"The $243 million interchange and roadway improvements project is estimated to finish in 2029," FDOT leaders explain in the release.
For more information on this project, visit FDOTtampabay.com.
