Express lane construction, new trails added to Pinellas funding list

New connections through corridors in St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park are among new projects that Forward Pinellas is pushing to get funding for. 

The Forward Pinellas board has added 10 new prioritized transportation projects to its list and are now eligible to receive state and federal funding, according to the organization’s Friday press release.

Forward Pinellas will work closely with the Florida Department of Transportation to secure funding for these newly added projects in the coming year.

• Interchange and frontage road construction on U.S. Highway 19 from north of Main Street to north of Curlew Road 
• Express lane construction on Interstate I-275 from the Howard Frankland Bridge to downtown St. Petersburg
• Construction of a new roadway connection along 126th Avenue in Pinellas Park
• Construction of new bicycle and pedestrian crossings along the Pinellas Trail Loop at State Road 60, at SR 580, and at Roosevelt Boulevard, and at 4th Street/Gandy Boulevard
• Construction of new multiuse-trails along the 28th Street corridor in St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park, along the Sunset Point Road corridor in Clearwater and Safety Harbor, along 18th Avenue S. in St. Petersburg, and to fill in the gaps in the Pinellas Trail Loop
• Funding for transit replacement vehicles for the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority fleet
• Funding for transit stop and station improvements along the 34th Street S. corridor in St. Petersburg

Construction of roadway modifications and bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements at the following locations:

• 62nd Avenue N. from 49th to 34th Street in unincorporated Pinellas County
• U.S. Hwy 19 intersections in Seminole, Largo and Dunedin
• 78th Avenue N. from 49th to U.S. Hwy 19 in Pinellas Park
• Belleair Road from Keene Road to U.S. hwy 19 in unincorporated Pinellas County

Forward Pinellas did not respond Monday to a request for additional information.