By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Florida Department of Transportation officials are urging residents to take part in a Chiefland Community Working Group meeting on Thursday, Sept. 14 to learn about an ongoing study of traffic flow on U.S. 19.
The meeting will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Tommy Usher Community Center off State Road 345 in south Chiefland. The public is welcome to attend the meeting.
The agency is conducting a Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study to preserve free-flow traffic conditions on U.S. 19 as the number of cars and trucks increases over time on the four-lane highway.
The Chiefland Community Working Group consists of local citizens who were chosen to provide in-depth feedback that will add another layer of information to the community feedback collected earlier in February 2022 kick-off meetings.
Group members were recommended by the Chiefland City Commission, Levy County School Superintendent, local law enforcement and emergency response officials, the Levy County Commission, Greater Chiefland Area Chamber of Commerce, Nature Coast Business Development Council, and Manatee Springs State Park. The 12 members of the working group will be part of Thursday’s meeting.
The community working group meetings are being held in addition to DOT’s usual public input meetings regarding the PD&E study for U.S. 19.
The Suncoast Parkway toll road is a factor in the study. The parkway currently ends in Citrus County but will eventually connect to U.S. 19 at Red Level, an unincorporated community in northern Citrus County. The connection between the toll road and U.S. 19 will send considerably more traffic through Chiefland, and possibly around Chiefland as well, depending on the new highway design.
In response to questions from reporters, DOT officials have promised that traffic on U.S. 19 will continue flowing into Chiefland from the north and the south regardless of changes that result from the PD&E study. However, they know the day is coming when traffic could be unbearable in Chiefland. They haven’t ruled out a bypass, or some other structure, that could potentially divert high-speed traffic around the city while allowing slower traffic to enter the city business district and take advantage of restaurants, gas stations, and motels. If you have questions about these issues, ask them at the meeting.
The highway won’t be converted to a toll road, DOT officials say, but it will eventually carry toll road traffic. There will never be toll booths on the highway, according to DOT. That’s because U.S. 19 was built as a free highway and will remain that way.
The traffic on U.S. 19 in the northern part of Chiefland often runs at high volume even now. The Chiefland City Commission hasn’t decided whether it wants to pave N.W. 11th Drive to create a backdoor local bypass around U.S. 19 for local residents. If the dirt street was paved, it would provide a shortcut from Wal-Mart and other stores in that area to U.S. 129. Should the paving of NW 11th Dr. be discussed with DOT officials at Thursday’s meeting? Would DOT be willing to help fund the paving project to move more local traffic off U.S. 19?
The agency has already met with residents of the Inglis-Yankeetown, and a community working group from that area, to hear their suggestions and concerns about U.S. 19 and what they want and don’t want to happen to the highway. Chiefland is next in line with the Sept. 14 meeting
Exactly how the highway would be designed and engineered to preserve free-flow traffic conditions hasn’t been decided, according to DOT officials. That’s part of the reason the agency wants to sit down with Chiefland residents to get in-depth feedback from the community on local priorities, concerns, and considerations relative to U.S. 19 and surrounding roadways.
The meeting is open to the public. Residents of Otter Creek, Rosewood, Cedar Key, and Sumner could potentially be impacted by whatever DOT decides to do with U.S. 19. Much of the traffic on State Road 24 comes from those communities. People driving east on SR 24 toward U.S. 19 are accustomed to crossing over the highway on their way to Bronson and Gainesville. Should an overpass be constructed at SR 24 and U.S. 19 to assure free flow of traffic over U.S. 19 for civilian and emergency vehicles?
DOT encourages residents to exercise their right to provide the agency with their opinions on how the highway should be designed and what should be avoided.
Attend the meeting.
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City of Chiefland regular meeting September 11, 2023; Posted September 13, 2023
