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Dr. Delay: New configuration at Roosevelt Boulevard and Ulmerton Road is temporary

 
The closure of the Roosevelt Boulevard flyover, seen in background, has caused traffic delays in the area near the intersection with Ulmerton Road in Clearwater. This view is looking west on Ulmerton Road. [SCOTT KEELER   |   Times]
The closure of the Roosevelt Boulevard flyover, seen in background, has caused traffic delays in the area near the intersection with Ulmerton Road in Clearwater. This view is looking west on Ulmerton Road. [SCOTT KEELER | Times]
Published June 16, 2016

I've been commuting through Ulmerton Road for more than 25 years (the stretch between 49th Street and the connector to Interstate 275). I take the southbound ramp from Roosevelt Boulevard onto eastbound Ulmerton road each morning. You can't imagine my shock, dismay, and disgust on June 3 when I learned that the ramp was closed. Traffic on Roosevelt Boulevard was gridlock. Traffic coming south on the Bayside Bridge onto 49th Street was parked. Eastbound Ulmerton Road was at a standstill beginning more than a mile west of the light at 49th Street. My commute Friday and today was no longer 20-25 minutes; it was nearly 90 minutes!

My only path to work now will be 118th Avenue eastbound. That road is clearly not capable of handling an extra 30,000 or 40,000 cars each morning.

Chris Ingham

Many notes similar to yours have flooded the Doc's inbox in the past two weeks. We shared a sample with the state Department of Transportation and asked for a response that includes information on plans for the affected area and a timeline. Here's what we heard back from DOT spokeswoman Kris Carson:

"Westbound traffic on Ulmerton Road was shifted onto a temporary alignment, south of the current westbound lane between 38th Street and 49th Street. This traffic shift will provide the contractor the space necessary to remove the southbound Roosevelt bridge currently over Ulmerton Road, build new westbound lanes on Ulmerton and a new at-grade intersection of Ulmerton and southbound Roosevelt to the south of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport.

"The current single lane southbound Roosevelt ramp will be replaced with a temporary single left turn lane, at a new signalized at grade intersection onto Ulmerton. Additionally, as part of the traffic shift, driveways on the north side of Ulmerton between southbound Roosevelt and Automobile Drive will have a shared temporary access point that will be marked with blue business signs. When complete (in approximately nine months, weather permitting), the new at-grade intersection will include three left turns lanes from southbound Roosevelt to eastbound Ulmerton. This reconfiguration is in preparation for the upcoming Gateway project which will build a new elevated controlled access roadway that connects U.S. 19 and the Bayside Bridge to I-275 in central Pinellas County."

Barricade watch

•Keene Road is being resurfaced from Belleair Road to Gulf to Bay Boulevard. Milling and resurfacing work will take place overnight from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and is expected to last approximately three weeks. Motorists should be prepared for lane closures and traffic devices delineating active work zones as well as flaggers directing traffic flow through the work zone.

•Work on the east shoulder of East Lake Road between Commercial Drive and Cypress Woods Boulevard to install a northbound, dedicated right-turn lane into the East Lake Community Library is expected to last approximately two weeks. Motorists should be prepared for reduced speed near the work zone.

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Email Dr. Delay at docdelay@gmail.com to share your traffic concerns, comments and questions. Follow @AskDrDelay.