If you drive mid-Pinellas County you know how bad traffic can be.

  • Master plan calls for change in Gateway area of Pinellas County
  • Gateway Expressway will move traffic from Bayside Bridge to I-275, U.S. 19
  • Focus area of study is Ulmerton Road at 58th Street North
  • LINK: Forward Pinellas

But Forward Pinellas Executive Director Whit Blanton said help is on the way.

"When I got here in September of 2015 we had a work session for the board," Blanton said. "And we said, 'What are the three things that we really need to focus on in Pinellas County to get ourselves right in terms of economic growth, in terms of sustainability, in terms of quality of life?'"

A million dollars has been set aside to study the Gateway area. The epicenter is at Ulmerton Road at 58th Street North -- what is now the ICOT center.

The master plan calls for more of a high-rise business and residential area, and every community that will be impacted by this growth is participating in the plan.

St. Petersburg, Largo, Pinellas Park, the county and Forward Pinellas are doing something that's never been done in urban planning.

"This is unprecedented for Pinellas County," Blanton said. "We've never had this collection of funding from multiple agencies to undertake a multi-jurisdictional master plan of this nature."

For years, drag racers have been using the strip at the Showtime Speedway. Soon your car will be on that parcel of land -- not as a drag racer but part of Tampa Bay's newest interstate.

The Gateway Expressway will move traffic seamlessly from the Bayside Bridge to Interstate 275 and U.S. Highway 19.

The local communities will take it from there, through their complete streets and transit programs.

For example, St. Petersburg is already working to create bike trails and paths connecting to Gateway.

Officials hope it creates a live-work-play space Pinellas County has never seen.