FDOT removes Pinellas Bayway toll booths to ease traffic

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Drivers will soon be able to save some time on the Pinellas Bayway.

The Florida Department of Transportation is removing the toll booths on the Pinellas Bayway in an effort to improve traffic flow, safety and congestion for drivers heading to and from Pinellas County’s southern beaches.

Drivers will still pay to use the Bayway, but tolls will continue to be collected electronically. FDOT said removing the toll plaza is expected to reduce slowdowns at the old booths.

“The goal is smoother traffic, of course. Safety, smoother traffic and less congestion,” said Kris Carson with FDOT. “If we can get that toll booth, that big gantry out of there, make it more electronic, people can get through there easier.”

Cedric Robinson, owner of The Deck Bar and Grill on the Pinellas Bayway, said tolls have made some drivers hesitant to travel through the area.

“Tolls always kind of make people a little apprehensive about going to certain places,” Robinson said.

He hopes removing the booths will mean fewer slowdowns on the road and potentially more drivers stopping at businesses along the Bayway.

“That’s kind of what you’re looking for. So you don’t have that slow down, that stop,” Robinson said.

FDOT plans to have the booths removed and the project completed by this fall.