History Lee Roy Selmon Expressway

1 history

1.1 south crosstown expressway
1.2 reversible elevated lanes
1.3 interstate 4/state road 618 connector project
1.4 downtown viaduct widening project

history
the south crosstown expressway

the crosstown expressway southern component of planned system of expressways throughout tampa area 1950s 1970 s, rest cancelled 1980s due financial problems, land acquisition , community revolts. first 6 miles of tollway built in mid-1970s on csx rail line, western terminus @ gandy blvd. @ dale mabry highway, making eastward turn @ platt street/willow avenue, snaking around historic hyde park before ending @ 3/4-mile, 6 lane viaduct, spanning hillsborough river in downtown tampa, ending @ florida avenue. ridership low when opened in 1976, people less willing drive toll road when free roads available nearby. remaining 9 miles of expressway built , opened in stages between 1979 , 1987, expressway extending falkenburg road in 1983 , connecting eastern terminus of i-75 in 1987.

in 1975, contest held determine logo of expressway. 1 entry submitted, picture of pirate jose gaspar title tampa crosstown expressway , on blue background. logo phased out in 2000s. in 2006, interim logo featuring bridge on highway reading selmon-crosstown expressway unveiled never implemented along expressway. in 2008, more permanent logo unveiled, consists of fdot standard toll 618 plates , selmon expressway logo. new logo, replaced previous crosstown expressway logos, reads selmon expressway downtown tampa in purple , 3 ribbons, yellow 1 in middle of 2 teal ones going towards city.

in 2001, city truck equipped hydraulic lift slammed 34th street overpass when vehicle s lift unknowingly raised. accident crippled support beam, had replaced. in 2005, similar vehicle destroyed overhead exit sign @ euclid ave (exit 2) , on month passed before replacement sign (and structure) installed. also, on years there have been few accidents made headlines, vehicles, traveling @ high speeds, crashed 1 of toll plazas.

in 2004, tampa hillsborough expressway authority accelerated planned toll hike increase mainline toll plazas 25 cents , raise 22nd st exit tolls 75 cents original date in 2009 2007. toll hike took effect on january 1, 2007, hike 22nd st ramps going effect in late june 2006.

on september 17, 2010, cash collection on selmon expressway ended in favor of open road tolling. original toll plazas removed , replaced toll gantries similar ones installed on express lanes, allowing free-flowing movement throughout tollway. tollway takes either sunpass or bill you, , customers not have either account billed later use on expressway.

the reversible elevated lanes

the reversible elevated lanes (rel), aimed @ cutting traffic congestion times, envisioned in 1995 tampa hillsborough expressway authority (thea) innovative idea increase capacity along lee roy selmon expressway downtown tampa brandon without acquiring additional right-of-way. instead, elevated, three-lane bridge built on existing median of expressway. planning project began around 1995/1996, final designs/planning not made until later 1990s.

the lee roy selmon expressway , reversible express lanes @ 78th street

construction commenced in 2003 in 2004, portion of elevated bridge collapsed during construction, halting construction year. segment repaired , other piers reinforced when construction resumed in 2005.

in spring 2005, 2 realigned sections of eastbound lanes opened. 1 section between 22nd street , 39th street, other between 78th street , i-75. at-grade sections of reversible lanes follow old alignments. brandon gateway section of elevated bridge opened in november 2005 , gained overwhelmingly positive input commuters. bridge kept open beyond january 2006 (when scheduled close more bridge work) during evening rush hour.

the western end of reversible lanes bridge empties traffic onto reconstructed meridian avenue

on july 18, 2006 @ 6 am, reversible lanes opened westbound morning traffic (only). long lines formed @ brandon gateway in advance many anticipated using new road. however, scene news helicopter snapshots showed handful of drivers ended using new bridge, compared number expected. these findings may blamed partly on lack of advance notification commuters, number of commuters own sunpass transponder, , unrelated traffic incident on ashley drive in downtown tampa. many other questions raised result of low traffic volume along reversible lanes. eastbound direction opened traffic on august 29, 2006 @ 3:30 pm. grand opening celebration held on september 23, 2006, festivities including 5k , 10k run across new bridge.

on november 1, 2006, florida s turnpike enterprise began pilot program thea, known toll-by-plate. program allows occasional commuters utilize reversible express lanes through system of high-resolution cameras (at 78th street barrier checkpoint/gantry) snap photos of license plates. commuter sent bill via mail. thea reports on 500 commuters have signed toll-by-plate program since debut. program s success far may lead future expansion other tolled thoroughfares in florida, such lower level of selmon expressway, , veterans expressway/suncoast parkway. project officially completed in 2007 after 4 years of construction @ cost of $420 million.

level of service upgraded f commuters able travel @ full speed, cutting travel time as 60 minutes per day. elevated lanes project won prestigious 2007 ibtta president s award: innovative toll transportation project in world, along 22 awards engineering excellence , community-friendly design. modern solution prototype eliminating urban traffic congestion , reducing green house gases. on 12 million trips on elevated lanes have been completed no reported accidents.

in june 2009, settlement reached between thea, urs, , other parties, regarding 2004 collapse of elevated lanes , lawsuit followed. thea able obtain approximately $75 million settlement, used pay off debts , fund upcoming widening , rehabilitation project along downtown tampa viaduct.

the interstate 4/state road 618 connector project

this connector between selmon expressway , nearby interstate 4 north, designed filter hazardous cargo away ybor city port of tampa. 39th street interchange (exit 10) permanently closed on may 13, 2010 make way i-4/selmon expressway connector ramps. connector opened traffic on january 6, 2014.

downtown viaduct widening project

in conjunction i-4/selmon connector project, thea widened section of downtown viaduct east of morgan st 20th st 4 lanes (two in each direction) 6 lanes (three in each direction). done strengthen expressway s capacity usage of i-4/selmon connector grows. particular project budgeted @ $70 million, of funds coming settlement between thea , other parties 2004 collapse of elevated express lanes @ 50th st.