U.S. 19 Construction Project Curbing Local Business

If you polled the average Clearwater citizen, most would probably agree that the latest streamlining of U.S. 19, which encompasses a 2.7-mile stretch from Gulf to Bay to Whitney Road, is a necessary byproduct of the massive increase in traffic in Pinellas County over the past 20 years. 

But if you ask some of the merchants whose livelihood depends on visibility and accessibility in that area, they will tell you the project, which began in November 2009 and is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2014, has been a financial nightmare. 

A phase to add overpass lanes at Gulf to Bay Boulevard starts Monday and is expected to last through July. Traffic will converge into two lanes between Seville Boulevard and Drew Street.

Clearwater Patch recently spoke to a number of business owners along this construction-strewn corridor, and we found that opinions of the project ranged from irritation to frustration. 

“We’re hanging in here, but walk-in business has definitely been affected,” said Jim Towers Jr., owner of appliance and electronics store. “People are afraid to come down here.” 

“I’ve had to put some of my own money into the business, plus we have some big corporate clients, and that’s what’s keeping us going," he added.

A few hundred yards south of the electronics giant at a small, family-owned sub shop that has been in the same location for 30 years, the loss of revenue caused by the project has been nearly too much too overcome. 

“Our entrance was closed, off and on, for three months, and there was a crane right in front of it. Customers blew right by us,” owner Tommy D’Elia said. “One person walked from the car dealer next door because she couldn’t pull in here.” 

“People think it’s too much of a mess down here," he said. "They don’t want to stop.” 

According to deli spokesman Mario Pierluca, the construction, which caused a failure in phone service over the holidays, has severely hurt A&N. “Our walk-in business is down roughly 40%," he said. "We’re just trying to stay afloat … but it looks condemned here.” 

"Construction is good, we understand that," he added. "But for small business owners, it's rough."

For an auto dealer located just north of the Belleair Road intersection, the construction has meant more than just lost revenue. 

Zdravko Talanga, owner of , not only has seen his sales drop significantly, but he has incurred additional expenses due to the project.

“We’ve had nine windshields broken in the last month,” he said of damage caused by flying construction debris. “Last week, I paid $1,700 to clean the cars.” 

Talanga, who has owned the lot for six years, said before the construction began he was averaging $150,000 in sales, or 60 cars, per month. That number has shrunk to about $40,000 and 20 cars, partly because he can't sell the type of cars he wants to.

“I can’t even bring in any high-end cars anymore because they get dirty and damaged," he said. "It’s been tough.”

Like Jim Towers and the folks at A&N, Talanga would like to be compensated for revenue losses caused by the $123.6 million project.

A representative from the state Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the project, says the organization will work with the contractor to pay damage claims, but that is the extent of what the state will do as far as compensating business owners.

“There is no compensation for lost revenue for businesses,” Kristen Carson, spokeswoman for the Florida DOT in Tampa, said by phone. “If something is damaged, we’ll work with the contractor to fix that, but we’ve never had a compensation program for lost revenue.” 

Carson said she is sympathetic to the plight of the merchants in the construction zone, but she also noted that projects are planned and announced well in advance.

“These projects don’t just start overnight," she said. "A lot of these people don’t come to our public meetings or pay attention to our announcements, but we let people know what will be happening in their area ... so they can prepare.”

For longtime property owners in the area, the fact that there will be no additional money provided by the state is a bitter pill to swallow. And even the completion of the project brings no guarantee that business will improve.

"We already know we're going to be on the access road (alongside the overpass), so I don't know what the result of that will be," Towers said.

"The overpass construction is set to begin in June. Is it going to make things better or worse?" Pierluca asked.

But they realize they have few options, especially in this economy.

"I own the business, and I've put a lot of money into it," Zdravko said. "So I have to stick with it. I have no choice."

Towers, who has been in the business for more than 60 years, summed up the situation plainly.

"Business isn’t dead, but it’s definitely injured," he said. "But I've been in it too long to give up.”