Pinellas County Has One Of The Deadliest Roads In Florida
US 19 spans the entire state of FL. It is one of Pinellas County’s busiest roads, but unfortunately it also holds the title as Pinellas County’s deadliest roads. Between 2020-2022, 94 deaths have been reported on US19 in Pinellas County. Pasco County comes in second with 68 deaths.
Data reporter, Dieter Holger explains that it is important to pay attention and look closely to why these deaths are happening. “Really what it comes down to is human error is the biggest contributing factor as a spokesperson for the department of transportation told us,” he said. “94% of serious crashes involve human error.” Too many families have lost loved ones on this dangerous road.
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According to WFLA, the Florida Department of Transportation is currently working on a 6 year, $240 million project to address the US19 issue. This project is focused on increasing the capacity of the road while decrease the congestion. The plan is to change the current six-lane divided highway to a six-lane controlled access roadway with one-way frontage roads in both directions.
This would run parallel to US 19 between SR 580 and CR 95. They also plan to add an underpass dedicated to pedestrian safety. This would be located between Evans Rd and Republic Dr. There are also plans for a new pedestrian bridge over US 19 at Northside Drive.
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According to FOX 35, Pinellas Country (US-19) is the deadliest, followed by Pasco County (US-19), Broward County (I-95), Orange County (US-1), Brevard County (US-1), and then Hillsborough County (US-41.) Drinking, distracted driving and speeding were the leading contributors to the fatal collisions.