PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – Pinellas County commuters are facing a barrage of orange cones and flashing signs next week as the Florida Department of Transportation rolls out extensive lane closures across nearly every major local thoroughfare. Whether you are crossing the Skyway or navigating US 19, your usual routes will likely look a bit different between May 31 and June 6.
If your evening plans or late-night shift takes you over the Interstate 275 Sunshine Skyway Bridge, expect night lane closures running every single night from Sunday, May 31, through Saturday, June 6. Crews will be blocking lanes starting at 8 p.m. and won’t clear out until 7 a.m. the following morning.
US 19 is going to be heavily impacted, with construction zones scattered from Tarpon Springs all the way down to Clearwater. Up north, daytime commuters will hit delays on US 19 between Tampa Road and Tarpon Avenue, where lanes will shut down from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you are driving US 19 at night, watch out for overnight closures between Main Street and Curlew Road, as well as the stretch from Whitney Road to Drew Street. Both of those zones will restrict traffic from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., Sunday night through Thursday night.
Alternate US 19 isn’t escaping the slowdowns either, and drivers here will have to navigate flagging operations. Overnight work from Wilson Street to Tradewinds Drive will run Monday through Friday nights from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Further north, between Meres Boulevard and Tampa Road, night closures with flags start even earlier, running Sunday through Friday nights from 7:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. There is also a daytime flagging operation on ALT US 19 between East Curlew Place and St. Andrews Drive, scheduled Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Several state roads are shifting into semi-permanent, round-the-clock restricted zones. Eastbound Gulf to Bay Boulevard (SR 60) will have 24-hour lane closures from South Bayshore Boulevard to Dr. Kiran C. Patel Boulevard lasting all the way through the summer. Similarly, eastbound Curlew Road (SR 586) will have lanes locked down 24 hours a day from McMullen Booth Road to Tampa Road until late 2026. If you use the 62nd Avenue South Bridge over Maximo Channel, expect a 24-hour lane closure through the summer, though a temporary traffic signal is in place to let two-way traffic take turns crossing.
For the rest of the county’s major connectors, the schedule splits between daytime and overnight disruptions. East Bay Drive (SR 686) will see night lane closures from US 19 to Belcher Road from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., Sunday through Thursday. Fourth Street North (SR 687) will have night closures from 106th Avenue to north of 119th Avenue during those same nights from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., but switches to daytime closures farther south between Gandy Boulevard and I-275, running Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ulmerton Road (SR 688) will also see daytime closures between 49th Street North and Egret Boulevard from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Finally, westbound drivers on Gandy Boulevard (SR 694) approaching and passing through the I-275 overpass should prepare for night closures from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., Sunday night through Thursday night.
Local transportation officials are urging drivers to plan ahead, leave early, and expect delays on all affected routes.
READ: Hillsborough County Traffic Alert: Lane Closures Scheduled From May 31 To June 6
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