By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
The Florida Department of Transportation will host its first public meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 15) to gather public input on a traffic flow study for U.S. 19 between Red Level in Citrus County and 140th St. north of Chiefland.
Improving traffic flow could involve building bypasses around communities like Chiefland that have multiple intersections controlled by traffic signals. The traffic lights slow traffic flow. DOT hasn’t made any decisions.
The meeting will take place at the College of Central Florida campus north of Chiefland from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The college is located at 15390 NW Highway 19, Chiefland.
DOT officials said there will be no presentation at the meeting. The agency plans to set up information boards that will allow members of the public to move between boards and ask questions of agency officials.
The agency is interested in possibly building a toll road through Levy County but this particular study doesn’t look at future toll road construction, according to agency officials.
The purpose of this study, according to DOT, is strictly to look at improving traffic flow from Red Level a few miles south of Inglis to 140th Street between Chiefland and Fanning Springs.
DOT is also interested in extending the Suncoast Parkway toll road in Citrus County to U.S. 19 at Red Level. If the toll road were connected to U.S. 19 it would dump toll road traffic on U.S. 19. The heavier traffic would flow to Chiefland and points northward
State law prevents the conversion of U.S. 19 to a toll road. It must remain a free highway. There would be no toll booths on U.S. 19. But nothing prevents the state from connecting the toll road to U.S. 19 and sending toll road traffic north on the free highway.
DOT will also meet with the public online Thursday, Feb. 17 from 6-7 p.m. at a GoToWebinar. People must register for the webinar. It doesn’t have to be an advance registry. They can register while the webinar is in progress.
Agency officials will also meet in person with members of the public on Monday, Feb. 21 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Inglis Community Center at 137 County Road 40 west in Inglis.
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Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt February 14, 2022; Posted February 14, 2022
