TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online
Gunn Highway Growing To 4 Lanes Near Sickles High
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: June 2, 2008
Updated: 06/02/2008 12:26 pm
Odessa, Keystone and Citrus Park drivers are getting a peek at what Gunn Highway will look like this fall, but for now the more important concern is dodging the traffic cones.
Beginning June 8, Hillsborough County will shift traffic on Gunn between Sickles High School and Hixon Road to allow workers to tear up the old highway and construct two northbound lanes.
The $16 million project, which will continue through summer, will expand two-lane Gunn to four lanes with a center median from South Mobley Road to Hixon.
About 24,000 drivers use that stretch of Gunn Highway daily.
"This has always been a real bottleneck for people in the Northwest," said Steve Valdez, a county spokesman.
Chill Out
In another sign that drivers can't leave home without bringing their home, Ford is introducing a refrigerator as a $760 option on the 2009 Ford Flex SUV.
It is a refrigerator with its own compressor to create chilled liquid to circulate around an insulated compartment.
The device, which can hold seven 12-ounce cans, is installed into the armrest. It can lower the temperature of a drink by 41 degrees in 2
Now you can keep your lunch chilled, talk on the cell and watch TV from a car. Next, we'll be asking for dishwashers.
I-4, I-275 Lanes To Close
Two road projects will close lanes on parts of Interstate 275 and Interstate 4 this week.
Cars will be funneled into one lane on northbound I-275 between Howard Avenue and Scott Street between 11:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. The Scott Street exit ramp will be closed. The closures run through Thursday.
Lane closures also will occur on I-4 westbound between McIntosh Road and Country Road 579 for road resurfacing.
Slowing Down Saves Money
Most drivers know properly inflated tires can improve vehicle fuel efficiency. The U.S. Department of Energy offers another gas-saving tip that's perhaps not as well known:
Slowing down on the highway saves money. Generally speaking, the faster you drive over 60 mph, the more gas you burn. The rule of thumb is that every 5 mph over 60 is like paying an extra 20 cents per gallon. The study was based on fuel priced at $3.72 per gallon, so the loss is even higher now.
If readers have other gas-saving tips or stories about how they're coping with high gas prices, please send me an e-mail.
Turn Signal Blues
Cyndee Dornblaser of Seminole Heights recently asked whether a turn signal could be added on Hillsborough Avenue at Central Avenue. Rush-hour is especially tricky.
"Making a left turn onto Central Avenue sometimes takes three or four lights. I keep wondering why we have a turn lane on both the east and west sides but no turn signal," she wrote.
Sorry, Cyndee, but Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kris Carson said no plans exist for a turn arrow. Also, she said, the intersection was studied in 2004 and 2006 and found "no problems with vehicles making the westbound, left turn and minimum delays and backups."
Editor's note: Earlier versions of this report contained an error. In those versions, the beginning date of the Gunn Highway lane shift and its location were incorrect. Also, the time of the lane closures on I-275 was incorrect.
Got a traffic gripe? Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or rshopes@tampatrib.com.
TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us
