Last updated on March 8, 2023
Mehlenbacher Road Project Delayed
We implore State, Pinellas County, Belleair, and Largo officials to take this warning seriously. Mehlenbacher Rd from 632 to 668 is a long-neglected, unsafe, and hazardous roadway.
The deterioration of the road’s surface, the absence of general road maintenance, no dedicated space for pedestrians, and the increase in traffic. Making Mehlenbacher more dangerous as the road continues deteriorating due to official negligence.
Mehlenbacher Rd has a loose, hazardous, grave surface, is narrow at 8′ from the yellow center line to its shoulder, and rutted cracked pavement. Its washed-out, double-yellow center-line hasn’t been painted in years and is nearly invisible, especially at night. The road needs pavement markings to define the roadway path.
No “path of travel” or public access.
It has no shoulder delineation defining the route for safe travel. It has an exposed 36″, dangerous drop-off to a slimy culvert that carries Belleair wastewater—only a foot from the north edge of the road. Because of this its impossible for a person using a wheelchair, walker, or other mobility devices to use Mehlenbacher Rd. Thus, not allowing people with disabilities a “path of travel” or public access.
I’ve lived on the 600 block of Mehlenbacher Rd. in Belleair—a Pinellas County right-of-way road for 21 years. Although we pay Pinellas County tax for the County’s CIP, a portion goes to Belleair for the town’s Capital Improvement Plan. This section of Mehlenbacher has yet to have any infrastructure improvements. Not as much as a street caution sign. The 15 homes on the 600 block of Mehlenbacher aren’t supported and ignored by Belleair, with no county representation concerning these dangerous conditions and the unsafe environment of Mehlenbacher.
Budget constraints from COVID-19 and a decline in the County’s gas taxes are questionable excuses. Project ID# 001976A has been on the books since 2017, maybe even longer. It was to start in the summer of 2019 and be completed in the summer of 2020. It was postponed again with a new starting date of March 2021, with a completion date in November 2021. It has a new start date after October 1, 2022, with construction ending in 2024.
What isn’t questionable is that a tragedy may be preventable or averted with some proactive official responsiveness by the State, Pinellas County, or Belleair.
So again, I pray you to take this warning to heart. Sincerely Mehlenbacher Rd Residents
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