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The Catholic Diocese is hosting a conference Monday morning at the Tampa Convention Center for approximately 3000 participants.  Watch for extra volume downtown.  Registration begins at 7:00am.

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A recent AAA member survey on fuel prices and vacation travel intentions suggests that we may travel closer to home this year especially if gasoline reaches $3.50 per gallon, the peak summer price projected by the U.S. Dept. of Energy.

According to the AAA Travel Pulse™ report, one-third of AAA members (34%) indicate they would consider altering vacation plans to travel closer to home if the price of gasoline reaches $3.25 per gallon.  Nearly one-fifth (19%) said they would consider altering their plans if gasoline reached $3.50.  However, three in ten members (28%) indicate they won’t change their vacation plans no matter how much gasoline costs.

Significantly more members who are retired and not working at all (41%) indicate they would consider altering their vacation plans to travel closer to home if gasoline reaches $3.25 per gallon.

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Watch for lane closures along northbound I-75 from Big Bend Road (Exit 246) to two miles north of Gibsonton Drive (Exit 250) between 10 p.m. Thursday (January 31) and 6 a.m. Friday (February 1).  Crews will be installing a Dynamic Message Sign over the highway near mile marker 252.

Two of three lanes will also be closed two miles north of Gibsonton Drive, Exit 250.

Also, traffic will be paced for lengthy durations of up to 30 minutes on the northbound I-75 corridor between midnight and 4 a.m. Friday morning.  Law enforcement officers will lead the paces and entrance ramps within the pacing area will be closed until the front of the traffic pacing operation passes the entrance ramp.

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With construction of the new Cypress Creek Town Center underway, talks turn to managing the shopping congestion along State Road 54.  A massive widening project is scheduled to begin Superbowl Sunday night and it’s taxpayers who may have scored on this deal.

The West Florida population boom over the last decade has, more than anywhere, been felt on the roadways, especially in Pasco County.  2006 U.S. Census data shows a 30.6 % increase in their population from 2000 through 2006.  That nearly triples the statewide 13.2 % surge.

With this growth, we find change.  Haulers and yellow construction lights now stand on site of the soon to be the Cypress Creek Town Center along S. R. 54 and 56 West of 75.  As part of the county’s agreement to build, developers had to invest not only in the retail opportunities of the region, but also its roadways.

Developers are shelling out $17 m to widen S.R. 54 from 4 lanes to 6 between I-75 and US-41.  Construction crews will build the new lanes in the now vacant median of the roadway.  The six lanes were in the DOT’s plan but the shopping district speed up the widening project. 

Daytime traffic will not have to worry about construction closures… overnight drivers will intermittently see one lane of two closed from 9 pm to 6am.

And finally, to settle the “which came first”...the chicken or egg, the mall or the congestion?  Developers say they don’t build such malls until there are enough people in the area to support it.

Once again, construction along S.R. 54 begins Sunday night and will not wrap up until January, 2009.  The Cypress Creek Center is scheduled to be completed in the fall of this year. 

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MacDill Avenue will be closed from La Salle Street to Main Street from 9 p.m. Friday (February 1) to 5 a.m. Monday (February 4).  Traffic will be detoured using Spruce Street, Himes Avenue, Cypress Street, and Gomez Avenue.

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Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Celebrations will take place across the region to honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Two parades to note include:

TAMPA: MLK Jr. Blvd between 22nd Street and Nebraska Avenue - Watch for closures between noon and 4p.m.  Alternates include Hillsborough Avenue (but watch for emergency construction at 15th Street) and Columbus Drive.

ST. PETERSBURG: Watch for closures along MLK Jr. Street, 3rd Avenue South, and Central Avenue beginning at 1p.m.  Alternates include 4th Street, 4th and 5th Avenues.

Enjoy!

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If you typically use 50th street in Hillsborough County… expect closures at the end of the month.

Beginning Monday, January 28th, the 50th Street on-ramp to the Crosstown Expressway Eastbound will be shut down for approximately one month.  This work begins the second phase of the deck panel replacement project on the expressway.

Motorists who need to head east should use the on-ramps at 39th Street or Highway 301 as an alternate.

Also, don’t forget, only one lane is getting through along the Crosstown between 50th Street and the 78th Toll Plaza for roadway repairs. 

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The Florida Department of Transportation’s contractor began work Monday, January 14th on Gandy Boulevard from east of the Gandy Bridge to Dale Mabry Highway.  Attached are the details related to this project:

Project Objectives
- The project involves converting Gandy Blvd. from the existing five lane highway with a center turn lane to a four lane divided highway with a 30 foot wide median. To accommodate the new 30 ft wide median between the Selmon Expressway and Bridge St., the existing curb and sidewalks will be removed and moved back approximately 15 feet on both sides of the current roadway. Sidewalks will run from Dale Mabry to Bridge St. on both sides of the roadway.
- A shared-use path will be constructed on both sides of Gandy between Bridge St. and the Friendship Trail.
- The area between Dale Mabry and the RR crossing (just west of the Selmon ramps) will be resurfaced.
- This project will also replace existing span wire traffic signals with new mast arms and count-down pedestrian signals at Westshore Blvd. and at Manhattan Ave.
- Manhattan intersection improvements include double left turns in all directions and dedicated right turn lanes from northbound Manhattan Ave. to eastbound Gandy, eastbound Gandy to southbound Manhattan Ave., and westbound Gandy Blvd. to northbound Manhattan Ave.

Hours of Operation:
Lane closures are permitted from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Project Information:
Project Completion:  Contract time is 730 days. 

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There will be night traffic impacts on southbound I-75 in various locations from I-275 to U.S. Highway 301 between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday (January 15-17) nights.  Crews will be installing Dynamic Message Signs over the highway in four locations.

Two of three lanes will be closed at any of the following locations:
* South of Fowler Avenue, Exit 265;
* South of I-4, Exit 261;
* South of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Exit 260; and
* South of the Crosstown Expressway, Exit 256.

Also, traffic may be paced for lengthy durations of up to 30 minutes throughout the southbound I-75 corridor between midnight and 4 a.m. these nights.  Law enforcement officers will lead the paces and entrance ramps within the pacing area will be closed until the front of the traffic pacing operation passes the entrance ramp.

Motorists are advised to seek alternate routes to avoid delays.

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Pictures and eyewitness accounts from the I-4 multi-vehicle crash continue to file into our newsroom.  As the fog has settled it is just now that all of the victims have been transported to local hospitals and we begin to grasp the magnitude and severity of the devastation. 

Our sympathies go out to the families of those involved or killed in this horrific crash.  Sincere thanks as well to the brave officials and medical teams who walked on foot with flashlights to help victims when emergency equipment could not get to the scene.  With tragedy, we find hope in the efforts and unity of a community ripped from the quiet slumbers of nightfall to a scene too sureal and sad for script.

Officials expect to remain on-scene for much of Wednesday.  As of Thursday morning, all East and Westbound lanes of I-4 remain shutdown indefinitely between the Polk Parkway Westbound and US-27 .  Heavy volume is being reported on the secondary roadways throughout Polk County.  Officials are urging anyone who does not have to be in Polk County today to avoid the area.

Officials from the Polk County Sheriff’s office have released the following alternate information:

For those who are traveling from the Northern portion of Orange County to points west, please utilize State Road 50

For those who travel in the central area of Polk County, please utilize Highway 17-92 (please use extreme caution as the traffic volume has significantly increased as a result of the crash.)

For those who are traveling in the southern portion of Polk County, please utilize Highway 60

Motorists should use extreme caution.  Smoke and fog are expected to increase as nightfall approaches.  Stay with TBO.com for the latest developments on this I-4 disaster.  To follow overnight progress, tune into News Channel 8 for live traffic reports beginning at 5 a.m.

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Kids… check this out… a chance to spread a positive message and earn a little cash:

For the 64th consecutive year, the annual AAA Traffic Safety Poster Program will award students — grades K-12 — for creatively displaying various traffic safety messages. The national competition will award 54 prizes totaling $18,600.

The program aims to reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities by educating students on important traffic safety issues. 

“Traffic and pedestrian crashes are the number one cause of death for children ages three to 14,” said Leticia Messam, manager of Traffic Safety programs at AAA Auto Club South. “The poster contest encourages students to become more knowledgeable about traffic safety issues and their impact on society.”

Students are asked to design posters that support the following safety themes designated for their grade division:
Primary (Grades K-2):  Pedestrian and Child Passenger Safety (i.e. Proper use of booster seats, night time visibility, etc.)
Elementary (Grades 3-5):  Getting to School Safely (i.e. Helmet use, interacting with motorists, obey your AAA School safety Patrols, etc.)
Junior High (Grades 6-8):  How to be a Good Passenger (i.e. Buckle-up, don’t distract the driver, dangers of using a cell phone, etc.)
Senior High (Grades 9-12): Safe Teen Driving (i.e. Alcohol awareness, distracted driving, aggressive driving, etc.)

All contest entries for students in Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, and West and Middle Tennessee must be submitted to AAA Auto Club South, Attn: Traffic Safety, 1515 N. Westshore Blvd., Tampa, FL 33607 by January 25, 2008 to qualify for judging. 

The judging criteria for posters will be based on the relationship of the entry design to traffic safety practices, the originality of how the idea is expressed in the design, and the visual and creative impact of the design. 

High school students also have the option to present a poster, graphic arts electronic submission, or an audio/visual public service announcement of one to two minutes. The message should caution drivers to avoid the many dangers facing teen drivers today. PSA entries must be submitted in DVD format only. Schools must submit only one PSA per DVD.

The top entrants nationally in each of the four grade-level divisions will win the Grand Award: a $2,000 Visa Gift Check each for three Senior High winners and a $1,000 Visa Gift Check each for the three winners from grades K-8. In the second category of awards, Regional Awards, the states are broken into four regional groups.  First, second, and third-place prizes will be awarded for each region with $300, $200, and $100 Visa Gift Checks respectively.

For complete contest entry rules or to request an entry form, log on to AAA.com/trafficsafety and click on the link for the AAA National School Traffic Safety Poster Program.

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Beginning Tuesday night, construction crews will close I-75 at Bruce B. Downs for six nights as part of their ongoing roadway reconstruction project.  Three pairs of girders will be raised into place above the interstate during this time.  The closures will be in effect from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.  Drivers should anticipate stopped and slowed traffic along both I-75 at Bruce B. Downs in these overnight hours.  The entire project is scheduled for completion in the Spring of 2009.

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Drivers along US 19 in Pinellas County… be advised of the following traffic pattern shift noted by FDOT:

The contractor for the Florida Department of Transportation will shift traffic to a new pattern on northbound US 19 north of the 49th Street overpass Sunday, January 6th starting at 9:00 p.m.

Motorists traveling northbound on US 19 who want to travel east on 110th, 118th or 126th avenues will use the business access lanes which are the right two lanes.

Motorists traveling northbound on US 19 who want to travel west on 110th or Brian Dairy Road will use the thru traffic lanes which are the left two lanes.

Variable message boards will assist motorists with the new pattern.  This traffic pattern is necessary to build the new bridges on US 19 northbound over 110th Ave. and 118th Ave.  Theses bridges are expected to take approximately one year to build.

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Officials remain on-scene for an extended investigation of a fatal crash in Spring Hill, Hernando County.  The Eastbound lanes of Spring Hill Drive are closed at Kass Circle where the accident occurred.  Drivers should plan for delays in the area.  Local detours are in place.  A good alternate for the morning rush is Eastbound Spring Hill Drive to Southbound Cobblestone Drive to Eastbound County Line Road, which parallels Spring Hill Drive.

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Warm wishes to you and your family this holiday season.  I hope all of your homes and hearts are filled with love, joy, and peace.

Lots of luck in 2008 too!
Safe Travels.

Alicia

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