Construction Could Slow Commutes

CSX crews will have a portion of busy McMullen Booth Road closed for railroad crossing repairs near State Road 590 starting Thursday morning.

A piece of concrete that transitions the railroad to the asphalt roadway intersecting it on McMullen Booth Road is defective and will have to be replaced, said Gary Sease, a spokesman for CSX.

One of the concrete panels was noticeably vibrating as traffic crossed it. Inspectors recently noticed the issue with the line, Sease said.

“Any hard infrastructure we expect a long service life, rail ties; anything related to our railroad, we look for longevity,” Sease said. “And this one just didn’t hold up as long as we anticipated.”

CSX did a major overhaul at the intersection about four years ago. At the time, the road was closed for about three weeks in both directions so crews could install the concrete pads and do other work on the ties and line. CSX and Penny for Pinellas paid more than $700,000 for the project.

Even though McMullen Booth Road sees a high volume of traffic, about 70,000 drivers daily, CSX expected the panel to last at least 10 years.

The work is scheduled to start at 6 a.m. Thursday. The road is scheduled to be closed until 6 a.m. Monday.

Drivers are recommended to take as a detour U.S. 19 from either Drew Street or  State Road 590. There still will be access to the Bayshore Bridge shopping plaza from McMullen Booth Road. The first median opening south of State Road 590 still will be open for use.

Residents with questions can call CSX Railroad at 877-835-5279.

There is road work going on in the Dunedin:

• Crews are replacing water pipelines on Causeway Boulevard. Drilling began on June 13 and is expected to continue through July and August. Click here to view the project summary and map, obtained from the City of Dunedin website.
• Crews are shutting down one traffic lane on Michigan Boulevard and part of Harvard Avenue (entrance to Fisher Field) to improve stormwater drainage in the Dunedin Isles area. Expect traffic to be diverted within the area of Palm Boulevard, Greenway Avenue, Michigan Boulevard and McMullen Avenue. Crews will be putting in a storm drainage pond on the east side of Greenway Avenue, to be completed next October.

Call the city at 727-298-3175