Gulf Boulevard is looking good with most of the roadway improvements complete. The project is expected to be done about a month ahead of schedule.
CLEARWATER - The three-mile Gulf Boulevard project should be finished at least a month ahead of schedule: Good news for people who live and travel along the roadway where construction has been underway since November, 2007.
Project manager Paul Giuliani said May 8 if everything continues on the current schedule, the work should be complete by the last of June or first week in July. The original contract called for the project to be done by August.
Giuliani attributed the early date to good weather and adjustments made to the construction schedule.
“Good weather was the biggest factor,” he said. “Hurricane season came and went with no issues. And we were able to make some changes in the sequencing of the construction that saved some time.”
The project involves a segment on Gulf Boulevard (State Road 699) between Park Boulevard and Walsingham Road within Indian Shores and Indian Rocks Beach. Improvements included roadway paving, new shoulders with bike and walking paths, a 16-inch reclaimed water transmission main, reclaimed distribution lines, water line upgrades, sanitary sewer upgrades and other improvements.
Pinellas County is in charge of the joint project with the Florida Department of Transportation and Indian Rocks Beach. The contractor is PBS&J Constructors Inc.
All-in-all, Giuliani is pleased with how well the multi-purpose project is taking shape. He said the residents and tourists also seem happy with the improvements.
“They love it,” he said. “The bikers and pedestrians have been really using it (the new bike lanes and walking paths). Before there was no place to walk and it (the road) was a danger.”
The project was not without its problems or “surprises” as described by Giuliani.
“Any time you start digging up a road that’s 50 to 70 years old you are going to find things you didn’t know about,” he said. “There were lots of problems but nothing that couldn’t be resolved.”
He said some of the challenges included construction on the narrow right of way, maintaining traffic flow and maintaining access to houses.
Work that is still on the list to be completed includes paving in some specialized areas, installation of guard rails, painting of crosswalks and other “punch list” details.
Road closures should be minimal for the remainder of the project, he said.
Construction of 28 parking places in Indian Rocks Beach, a last minute addition to the project, is finished. The stripes still need to be painted and a few other things completed before they will be ready to use, he said.
The new PSTA bus stops are done and the pedestrian crossing at Tiki Gardens is finished. New road signs have been installed along most of the project.
The porous asphalt used to provide stormwater management is working well, Giuliani said. The use of the porous asphalt caused some controversy before the project began when the Florida Department of Transportation revised construction plans to remove the curb and guttering due to budget shortfalls.
The sidewalks were constructed from a porous material with perorated pipe underneath that percolates the water away and into the ground.
The water and sewer portions of the project also are ahead of schedule.
All the sewer lines are in and existing lines have been rehabilitated with new liners. All potable water lines have been installed and the reclaimed water lines and service connections are complete.
Ari Gomez, Utilities project coordinator, said residents should receive a post card in the mail advising them of a workshop, which will be scheduled in the near future, to provide information about getting connected to the reclaimed water system.
He said he expected connections to begin around the second week of July. He said when everything is ready, residents will be able to call in and schedule an appointment to get connected. He said inspections take about an hour.
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