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Construction begins on Gulf Boulevard
By SUZETTE PORTER
| Article published on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007 |
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![[Image]](/content_images/111307_pco-01.jpg) |
| An artist rendering show how Gulf Boulevard will look when construction is complete. |
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GULF BEACHES – Pinellas County staff has been going door to door spreading the news: Construction on Gulf Boulevard begins on Nov. 15.
The project involves a three-mile segment on Gulf Boulevard (State Road 699) between Park Boulevard and Walsingham Road within Indian Shores and Indian Rocks Beach.
When the project is complete, the roadway will have new shoulders with bike and walking paths, a 16-inch reclaimed water transmission main, reclaimed distribution lines, water line upgrades, sanitary sewer upgrades and other improvements.
Pinellas County is in charge of the joint project with the Florida Department of Transportation and Indian Rocks Beach. The contractor is PBS&J Constructors Inc.
PBS&J Constructors will install the reclaimed waterline, add a potable waterline, do sanitary sewer work, reinforce the seawall at the narrows and mill and resurface the roadway.
Construction is expected to be complete by late August 2009.
Paul Giuliani, the county’s project manager, said the first item on the list is improvements to the seawall. Work will begin south of Whitehurst Avenue and run south to the line between Indian Shores and Indian Rocks Beach.
He said workers would construct a 900-foot detour road to shift traffic west away from the construction site. He said during construction one-way traffic with flagmen could be expected. He said construction of the detour road should be finished by Nov. 21, allowing for two-lane traffic through the area.
Giuliani said plans call for the remainder of the work to be done in 1,000-foot segments. Much of the work will take place in the right-of-way.
The first segment will be the southern end of the project, north of Park Boulevard. Construction is scheduled to begin sometime in December.
An informational open house is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 29, 4 to 6 p.m., in the Indian Shores Town Hall Auditorium, 19305 Gulf Blvd.
The project is expected to take 22 months with a completion date in August of 2009.
While each segment is being worked on, Giuliani said one-way traffic would be the norm in the construction areas due to the narrow right-of-way. He said property owners adjacent to the segments would be notified. Residents and motorists also can keep up with the construction schedule on the project’s Web site, www.pinellascounty.org/gulfblvd. Access to homes and businesses will be maintained.
The work is scheduled to take place during the day, but it may be possible that some work will have to be scheduled at night. Giuliani said besides traffic delays, residents could expect to hear construction noise – the sound of pumps, backhoes and loaders, plus beeping sounds signaling that equipment is backing up.
Residents also will notice machinery, pipe and RE Purcell and American Bridge trucks and equipment throughout the project area.
Giuliani said the new potable water line, reclaimed water line and other work would be done as part of the construction within each 1,000-foot segment. He said minor service interruptions to potable water could be expected, however, affected residents will be notified prior to scheduled service interruptions. Interruptions will be kept to a minimum and service restored as quickly as possible, he said.
Giuliani said boil water orders should not be needed since the plan called for the old potable water line to remain in place while the new line is installed. He said the new line would not be put into service until installation is complete and the line is tested.
Reclaimed water service also won’t be available until the project is complete.
Giuliani said although the current project is scaled down from the original due to construction costs, the end result still will be a “very nice looking road” with bike lanes that weren’t part of the original project.
The original project called for a two-lane roadway with curb and gutter, a concrete sidewalk and conventional drainage.
Giuliani said the revised project still results in a two-lane roadway, but instead of curb and guttering, there will be a bike lane and pedestrian path constructed in the 10-foot shoulder area.
The sidewalks will be constructed from a porous material with perorated pipe underneath that will percolate the water away and into the ground.
“DOT designed this (porous walkway) as an alternative due to the budget and feel it will work,” Giuliani said.
He said porous walkways had been installed south Gulf Boulevard, in the Treasure Island area, and there had been no drainage problems.
He said the porous sidewalks would be easier to maintain and that an intensive vacuum cleaning schedule had been planned. He said it may be necessary for workers to remove an inch or so of the material to remove clogged surfaces and resurface from time to time.
He said the alternate drainage method also should be adequate. The original plan had called for the addition of a 3-foot flat concrete curb. A slight slope would convey the water by gravity to the curb and away from the road.
The revised plan will be a painted pervious asphalt surface that will drain much the same way as the porous sidewalks.
Giuliani said as each segment of the road was finished residents would be able to get a better picture of what the final project would look like. When all the segments are complete, a final coating of asphalt will go down.
Residents with questions about the project can call the Pinellas County hotline at 464-4273 or Pinellas County Green Vest representative Darlene Brown at 422-8123, visit www.pinellascounty.org/gulfblvd or talk to the Green Vest representatives that will be on the construction site. After hours emergencies should be reported to 464-4000.
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Article published on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007
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