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Flyover Bridge's 1st Day Includes Costly Mix-Ups

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 4, 2008

The new flyover bridge at Interstate 75 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard is supposed to make life easier for commuters.

But when it opened July 24, some drivers might have wished they had stayed home. Robert Ottens of North Tampa was one of them.

That morning, Ottens ended up in the left lane and had to cross two lanes of traffic to get to the entrance ramp. That maneuver cost him a $141 ticket for making an improper lane change.
Ottens said that after 14 years of driving in the left lane, it had become automatic to him.

"A little tolerance from our police department would have been nice," he said.

Tampa police ticketed 10 drivers on the flyover's first day. The department said it started giving warnings later on, though.

Gandy Boulevard To Add Color

Hillsborough County is so cash-strapped it's willing to pull out trees and shrubs from roads to save on maintenance costs. That won't happen on Tampa's medians nor on South Tampa's Gandy Boulevard, Mayor Pam Iorio says.

The state is reconstructing two miles of Gandy from Bridge Street to Dale Mabry Highway. The project includes a 30-foot median filled with $163,000 worth of live oaks, palm trees, beach sunflower shrubs, ornamental grasses and other plantings paid for by the state.

Maintenance will be left to the city. Iorio said she considered pulling the landscaping plan to save on maintenance costs but said it's important for city streets to look attractive.

The trees and shrubs will be planted next year. Construction is scheduled through October 2009.

Florida Is 12th-Worst For Gridlock

Florida is the 12th-worst state in the country for gridlock, according to the libertarian think tank the Reason Foundation, which released a study based on 1984-2006 traffic data.

The study calculated states' effectiveness and performance in 12 categories from pavement and bridge condition to traffic deaths, congestion, road maintenance costs and administrative costs.

California ranked worst for congestion. Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming tied for best.

When all categories were tallied, New Jersey ranked as having the nation's worst highway system. North Dakota's was the best; Florida's was 41st. Go to www. reason.org.

TBARTA To Host Open-House Meetings

The region's transportation authority, known as TBARTA, has two open-house meetings this week.

Folks can offer their traffic suggestions (or gripes) in person on Tuesday at the Doubletree Hotel, 4500 W. Cypress St., Tampa; and Thursday at the Largo Cultural Center, 105 Central Park Drive, Largo. Both meetings will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Worse Than Mexico City, Moscow

Leland Smelser of Brandon recently observed that the area where Platt Street intersects Bayshore Boulevard to cross into downtown is one of the "worst downtown street surfaces I've ridden on," including Mexico City and Moscow.

"I keep expecting to break something every time I drive in that area. It's especially surprising that such a rough street runs right beside the convention center."

Got a traffic gripe? Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or at rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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