By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Chiefland Mayor Chris Jones told a state transportation engineer Monday that many residents in his city are opposed to selling their land for construction of a U.S. 19 bypass road around Chiefland.
“With regards to the bypass, there are a lot of people that definitely do not want to sell the property and actually get rid of it,” Jones said.
Florida Department of Transportation engineer Ryan Asmus said the Project Development and Engineering (PD&E) study is in its first phase and the state isn’t looking at improvements like bypass at this point.
“Mayor, that’s not the plan, but it will probably be at the beginning of next year,” Asmus said.
DOT’s PD&E study is proposing to extend the Suncoast Parkway toll road in Citrus County to U.S. 19 at Red Level, sending toll road traffic north through or around Chiefland.
Asmus appeared at the commission meeting to tell the board the state completed three kickoff meetings in February on the U.S. 19 PD&E study. The study is focused on preserving the free flow of traffic on U.S. 19 from Red Level in northern Citrus County to NW 140th St. north of Chiefland. Later phases of the study will examine U.S. 19 all the way to I-10 in Madison County.
DOT officials in previous meetings confirmed that one of the potential outcomes of the study would be to build a U.S. 19 bypass around cities like Chiefland to preserve free traffic flow on the highway.
A reporter pressed Asmus on whether a potential future bypass around Chiefland would be designed with highway off-ramps to let motorists choose whether to enter Chiefland for food, lodging, and gas.
“At what point will you look at ramps to get the bypass traffic into Chiefland from Chiefland back on the bypass?” the reporter asked.
“To nail it down to a specific date, I would say it’s probably going to be next year when we start to look at those specifics, but now we’re just collecting baseline information and mapping information to move forward to the next steps,” Asmus responded. “We will be coming back to provide updates so that you are aware.”
“Without off-ramps, Chiefland would dry up,” the reporter said.
“Yes sir and those are things that as they are developed, we will work with the commission, we will work with the community, and whatever the preference of the community is, we’re going to support you,” Asmus said.
One resident told Spotlight after the meeting that if there were a best-case scenario, and there probably isn’t one, it would be to allow traffic to flow into Chiefland as it does now on the north and south ends of the city, and a bypass road could be built around the city to allow through-traffic to drive around the city. He said the off-ramps would have signage notifying bypass drivers of food, gas, and lodging facilities in the city.
For the time being, Asmus said, the study is examining culverts along U.S. 19 in the study area, for example, as well as traffic flow levels along the route.
Some residents are confusing the U.S. 19 study with the Northern Turnpike Extension study, which is a separate study examining alternative routes to extend the Florida Turnpike from Wildwood northward. Many of the alternative routes for extending the Florida Turnpike go through Levy County. Residents oppose the toll road passing through their peaceful neighborhoods. The Florida Turnpike Enterprise, a division of the Florida Department of Transportation, is conducting the study.
As if to make things even more confusing, DOT is conducting a third study that proposes to grind up asphalt and resurface U.S. 19 from Chiefland to NW 140th St. north of the city. Existing highway parking on U.S. 19 in Chiefland would be eliminated to allow for a bike-riding trail.
There is yet a fourth dimension to all of these studies. The Florida Turnpike Enterprise would conduct the study extending the Suncoast Parkway in Citrus County to U.S. 19 in Red Level. It’s not clear whether the study has been started.
Assuming all of these changes to U.S. 19 ever occur, the highway would remain a free highway. U.S. 19 would never have toll booths, according to DOT. State law prohibits a free highway from being converted to a toll road, but apparently, nothing prohibits the state from dumping toll road traffic on a free highway and redesigning the highway to accept the higher level of traffic from the toll road.
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City of Chiefland Regular Meeting March 28, 2022; Posted March 30, 2022
