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Know how to get out if hurricane comes

 
Published July 2, 2015

One element of hurricane preparation that shouldn't be left until the last minute is evacuation route planning. For those who live or work in beach communities in particular, it's important to plot a drive plan well ahead of time and share the information with family, friends and co-workers.

Pinellas County Emergency Management has published the latest hurricane evacuation route map for all of Pinellas County to its website. View the map, which can be downloaded and printed, at bit.ly/1CE7V7g.

To browse the county's comprehensive hurricane preparedness and emergency management information, visit pinellascounty.org/emergency/default.htm. And if you're a Twitter user, you can follow @pinellastraffic for real-time updates on countywide traffic and road conditions provided by information gathered from Intelligent Transportation System cameras.

Holiday notes

The state Department of Transportation has announced that there will be no closures along the interstate system during the July Fourth weekend in Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. The DOT will observe a roadwork suspension in observation of Independence Day today and Saturday.

There will be plenty of traffic detours and diversions Saturday evening for Fourth of July celebrations around the county; if you plan to be on the road, give yourself plenty of travel time, leave early and resolve to be patient. In particular, be prepared for the following:

If you're heading to the beach to watch the fireworks, be prepared for slowdowns and lane closures on Gulf Boulevard because of repaving from 105th Avenue to 125th Avenue.

In downtown St. Petersburg, the annual Independence Day fireworks display is scheduled for Saturday evening along the waterfront. While the display is set to start at 9 p.m., the weather is always a factor, so fireworks may begin as early as 8:30 p.m. or as late as 10 p.m. Fireworks will be visible from the Vinoy, Albert Whitted Park, North Straub Park, Spa Beach, and South Straub Park. A kickoff celebration with the Tampa Bay Rays street team and mascot Raymond will be held in North Straub Park from 6 to 9 p.m.

Public parking facilities include the South Core lot at 101 First Ave. S. and Mid Core, 117 Second St. N. Variable message boards will direct spectators to available parking locations. Disabled parking will be in the North Shore ball field lot, 901 North Shore Drive NE and along Beach Drive on the east side (first-come, first-served). If you want to bike to the festivities, bicycle racks are located throughout the downtown area.

In Clearwater, the Memorial Causeway will close from Island Way to Pierce Street from 9 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Detour via the Belleair Causeway.

In Dunedin, the 36th annual Kiwanis Midnight Run will take place starting tonight, into Saturday morning. The event will affect the Dunedin Causeway from Honeymoon Island to U.S. 19 with all races starting on Causeway Boulevard near the east entrance of the Causeway Shopping Center parking lot. The road will be closed from 10 p.m. tonight until 2 a.m. Saturday.

Barricade watch

The following milling, resurfacing and repaving projects in progress by Pinellas County's construction management department are set to be complete (weather permitting) on or about July 10. Expect lane closures and delays at all locations:

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• 54th Street from 52nd Avenue N to 54th Avenue N;

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• 126th Avenue N from 62nd Street to the frontage road

Email Dr. Delay at docdelay@gmail.com or snail mail to P.O. Box 4954, Seminole FL 33775. Follow @AskDrDelay.