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New Howard Frankland Bridge will open to traffic in time for Tuesday commute. Here's what to know

By , , and FOX 13 News Staff
Published  March 24, 2025 8:59am EDT
Hillsborough County
FOX 13 News

New span of Howard Frankland Bridge to open

FOX 13's Evyn Moon reports on the new span of the Howard Frankland Bridge opening early Tuesday morning, according to FDOT.

The Brief

    • The new span of the Howard Frankland Bridge will open sometime late Monday or early Tuesday, FDOT says.
    • It will consist of eight lanes – four general use and four express lanes – plus a separate pedestrian and bike path.
    • The new bridge's general use lanes will become the I-275 southbound lanes, and the current southbound bridge will turn into the new northbound lanes.

TAMPA, Fla. - Drivers on both sides of the bay will finally get some relief, with the new Howard Frankland Bridge set to open to traffic by Tuesday morning after years of construction.

What is the Howard Frankland Bridge?

The backstory:

The Howard Frankland Bridge was built in the 1960s and is a major connector between Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. 

What's changing with the new Howard Frankland Bridge?

Timeline:

The $865M project was announced in 2017, with the Florida Department of Transportation beginning work to replace the bridge in 2020.

It will officially open sometime late Monday or early Tuesday, officials said, with traffic flowing in time for the Tuesday morning commute.

The new Howard Frankland Bridge is expected to open to drivers on Monday night or early Tuesday. Image is courtesy of FDOT.

The new Howard Frankland Bridge is expected to open to drivers on Monday night or early Tuesday. Image is courtesy of FDOT.

By the numbers:

The new Howard Frankland Bridge will consist of eight lanes, four general use and four express lanes – two express lanes in each direction – plus a separate pedestrian and bike path.

Engineers say the new bridge is the largest in Florida in terms of total square footage.

The new bridge's general-use lanes will become the I-275 southbound lanes, and the current southbound bridge built in the 1990s will turn into the new northbound lanes.

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"This is one of the busiest, if not, the busiest corridors in Tampa Bay. Approximately 200,000 people use this bridge every day, which is more than all the other Tampa Bay bridges combined. That's the Courtney Campbell, the Gandy and the Skyway," said David Alfonso, a project manager with FDOT. "In early 2026 when fully operational, and that's when the express lanes come online. It will increase capacity by 50%."

What's next:

The entire project isn't quite done yet. Crews plan to demolish the current northbound lanes on the 1960s-era bridge in 2026.

The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Kellie Cowan, Aaron Mesmer and Evyn Moon.

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