Next door to the Westside Skate Shop on U.S. 19, there are a half-dozen vacant storefronts in a nameless strip mall. Business is down because of construction along the road, the shop’s manager says.
“This is all going to be an overpass, right?” Brent Sowinski says, gesturing to the road outside. “We’re not going to stay here. We’re going to move.”
The stretch of U.S. 19 that runs through Clearwater is steadily changing into an elevated, limited-access highway that funnels traffic along at high speeds without allowing left turns. The transition can be a little painful to watch. Businesses in some spots are moving away or dying out.