Project Info:

Location: Pinellas County, Florida

Role: Prime

Owner: Florida Department of Transportation

Client: Florida Department of Transportation

Construction Cost: $63,603,252

Services:

  • Controlled‐Access Highway (Non‐Interstate) Design
  • Frontage Road Design
  • Prestressed Concrete Girder Bridge Design
  • Pedestrian Crossing Design (At‐Grade)
  • Intersection Analysis/Design
  • Retaining Wall Design
  • Lighting Design
  • Signing Design
  • Sign Structure Design
  • Traffic/Transportation Analysis
  • Utility Coordination
  • Alternatives Development and Analysis
  • Final Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&E)
  • Construction Phasing Plan Development

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is reconstructing US 19 in Pinellas County to upgrade the corridor from a six‐lane arterial to an elevated, six‐lane controlled‐access expressway with two‐lane, one‐way frontage roads on either side. In the first 12‐mile phase of the reconstruction program, Lochner was responsible for the design of the final 1.1‐mile section. FDOT has now awarded design contracts for a further 2.5 miles, and Lochner has been selected as the prime consultant for the 1.5‐mile section from north of SR 580 to Northside Drive.

Lochner is performing all of the roadway, structural, traffic, and lighting design for its 1.5‐mile section as well as overseeing subconsultants in drainage and ITS design and traffic control planning. FDOT has requested a focus on pedestrian safety in the project design. Lochner investigated the construction of a pedestrian overpass, but this was found—particularly due to the right of way acquisition necessary and the high real estate values along the corridor—to be an extremely costly option. In response, Lochner has developed an innovative design for a first‐of‐its‐kind pedestrian thruway, which will allow pedestrians to cross US 19 at grade under an elevated road profile. The 100‐foot‐long, 30‐foot‐wide thruway will provide a wide, bright, safe place for pedestrians to cross at a significantly lower cost than an overpass and with much greater accessibility.

In addition to the reconstruction and widening of the corridor and the construction of frontage roads, Lochner’s design removes the existing signalized intersection at Republic Drive and replaces it with a new U‐turn overpass—a 234‐foot long, two‐span Florida I‐Beam structure. Lochner’s structural engineers are also designing overhead sign structures, MSE walls, ITS camera poles, and temporary sheet pile walls. Lochner is coordinating with seven utility companies to relocate all of the affected utilities, while minimizing impacts to traffic flow.

This section and the adjacent one‐mile section (from Northside Drive to north of CR 95) will be constructed as one project. Lochner is coordinating with the engineering firm for the adjacent section to ensure consistency of design. Lochner is also responsible for a traffic study of all 2.5 miles of roadway to determine the optimal interchange configuration—including the number of lanes and the overpass and ramp locations—for each design segment.

The entire design is being developed within a very narrow right of way in a heavily commercialized area. Lochner is working closely with its traffic control subconsultant to develop a comprehensive construction staging plan that will maintain traffic along the corridor at all times and provide constant access to the driveways of residential and commercial properties.