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U.S. 19 Message Signs to Debut in December
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Published: October 31, 2007
PORT RICHEY, Fla. - PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Drivers along U.S. 19 will see the light soon when state's department of transportation throws the switch on two overhead message boards.
Crews recently put up the "dynamic message signs" on the state highway a bit north and south of the U.S 19-Ridge Road intersection, according to Kris Carson, a spokeswoman for the District 7 Florida Department of Transportation office in Tampa.
The wiring on the signs is being connected and tests are being performed, so it will be December before the message boards are activated, Carson said.
The lighted signs will flash emergency warnings, directions and other information to ease the commute of drivers near the busy intersection.
The message boards use LED lamps so the messages can be changed instantly.
The lighted signs are part of the project to install "smart" traffic signals that adapt more quickly to traffic conditions.
Two dozen of the smart signals are being installed along the section of U.S. 19 from Beckett Way to Beacon Woods Drive.
Eleven closed-circuit television cameras will be mounted alongside the road as well.
Traffic operators sitting in the control room at West Pasco Government Center can swivel and zoom the cameras by remote control to monitor traffic accidents or other problems.
On the section of U.S. 19 north of Beacon Woods Drive, in the Hudson area, to County Line Road, crews will put in another five smart signals, nine cameras and one emergency signal at U.S. 19 and Rhodes Road.
In 2006, Highway Safety Devices, based in Tampa, won the job to install the modern signals, according to Bill Wilshire, DOT's district program manager for Intelligent Transportation Systems.
DOT had accelerated the timetable for second and third phases of the Intelligent Traffic Systems signals to try to smooth some of the traffic snarls on the state highway.
The ITS signals often are called "smart" signals because they have many more computer programs for timing patterns. They replace old traffic lights that can date back 20 years in some instances.
For $6.1 million, the company will do both the second and third phase of the traffic-signal project at the same time.
After installation, DOT will hire another firm to coordinate all the new gear at the control room at the West Pasco Government Center and ensure all the computer systems are operating smoothly.
Peak-hour traffic at U.S. 19 and Ridge especially could still overwhelm the modern signals, Bob Clifford, district planning manager for the District 7 DOT office, predicted in January 2006.
Not even the addition of continuous right-turn lanes will untangle all traffic snarls.
"There's too much traffic going through that point in all directions," Clifford said.
"The solution is an interchange, which at this point is prohibitively expensive," Clifford said at the time.
Like an interstate highway intersection, a bridge would raise U.S. 19 through traffic above Ridge Road, with on and off ramps for access to Ridge or a series of frontage roads.
DOT has been rebuilding several U.S. 19 intersections in Pinellas County into interchanges, the latest phase nearing completion.
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