PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Drivers are frustrated with some new road work that just started on U.S. 19 and Sunset Point Road.

Pinellas County resident Russell Crane said it caught him and other drivers by surprise. 

“I’ve lived near U.S. 19 and Sunset Point Road for six years now. And I never had any problem getting through the intersection,” Crane said. “Then back in February, I noticed that the frontage road was backed up.”

That’s because construction crews closed the U-turn lane and one of the two left turn lanes on the U.S. 19 frontage road at Sunset Point Rd. (The frontage road runs along the main highway and provides entrance and exit ramps, as well as access to businesses and neighborhoods.)

They also closed the U-turn lane at Coachman Road, which is also leading to those backups.

“Rush hour, it could be interesting. The traffic backed up all the way to U.S. 19. So if you’re coming off there, you’re just going to stop,” Crane said.

But Crane’s frustration isn’t just the backups.

And with spring training going on nearby with lots of visitors in town, he says the traffic got even worse.

“This project sat and nothing happened for a month. I think it’s outrageous that they would backup and snarl traffic for that long without doing any work,” Crane said.

FDOT officials say the closures are for a repaving project in that area that’s expected to be completely done later this year.

They estimate the U-turn lanes at Sunset Point Rd to reopen on May 2 and the lanes at Coachman Rd to reopen on May 16.

Another closure at Drew Street and U.S. 19 is now re-opened.

Crane says he hopes work is being done to get the lanes back open as soon as possible.

“It was fine,” Crane said. “And then they did this. And then everything started getting messed up. And it just sat there.

“And traffic was backed up and nothing was being done.”