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Post Office Access Eased At Tampa International

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 11, 2008

Getting to Tampa International Airport and the post office should be a little easier this morning.

A new ramp for motorists heading west on Spruce Street to the airport will open at 5:30 a.m.

That and other changes will stop drivers from Memorial Highway from veering across traffic to get to the post office. Along with the new ramp, a new left exit to the post office is being added on George Bean Parkway.

"This will allow traffic to be spaced out better, and you won't have to swap lanes," said John McShaffrey, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

S.R. 54 Widening To Be Discussed

South Pasco County commuters will get a chance Thursday to sound off on plans to widen State Road 54 to address growth.

The state plans to widen State Road 54 to four lanes between Curley Road and Morris Bridge Road - a stretch of about 4.5 miles. Officials can't say when the $112 million project will start; it hasn't been funded yet.

A meeting to hear motorists' concerns is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Wesley Chapel.

Meeting Set For East-West Road

Speaking of road meetings, another one is planned for 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday at Freedom High School, 17410 Commerce Park Blvd., to talk about the on-again, off-again East-West toll road and its companion bridge.

City Councilman Joseph Caetano called the meeting to allow New Tampa residents to question city officials after Mayor Pam Iorio tabled the project, saying the tolls would have been too high.

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, meanwhile, is studying whether it can take on the project.

If the road is not built, $23 million set aside for the bridge will be freed up for other projects. Caetano wants city officials to explain about how that money might be used.

Gas Prices Drive Up Van-Pool Demand

The gas price surge has been good for van pools.

Van Pool Services, the company that organizes van pools in West Florida, said van usage has grown 14 percent from last year to 392 customers.

The company charges an average of $50 to $100 a month per customer. In most cases, that's less than what commuters pay to drive to and from work.

"When gas prices hit $3, the phones lit up. When they hit $3.95 and $4, they lit up again," said David Bannar, project manager for the company's Tampa office.

Go to www.tampabayrideshare.org for information.

Veterans Toll Lanes Blocked

Jerry Tidwell of Odessa recently asked why so many outside toll booth lanes on the Veterans Expressway are closed.

"It's always the SunPass lane, and more often than not you end up waiting in line while somebody fumbles around for change," he wrote.

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise says relief is coming, Jerry. Those lanes should start to open by the end of this month and next month.

The toll agency closed them to upgrade the toll lanes to read the new SunPass minitransponder stickers, said Joanne Hurley, a Florida's Turnpike spokeswoman.

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

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