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Selmon Expressway expansion project
FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis reports on a 4.5-mile stretch of the Selmon Expressway, which is set to be expanded in the coming years.
TAMPA, Fla. - A 4.5-mile stretch of the Selmon Expressway is set to be expanded in the coming years.
The Selmon Expressway.
The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority calls it the South Selmon Capacity Project, ranging from Florida Ave. to MacDill Ave.
It aims to widen the roadway from four lanes – two each way – to a total of six lanes.
The backstory:
"We're going to add another lane in each direction to manage some of the growth. A lot of that will be on the inside of the expressway," said Greg Slater, the Executive Director and CEO of the Expressway Authority.
Slater said that with so much growth in Tampa, the Expressway Authority knew it was time to expand.
"With growth comes traffic. We're seeing backups on the expressway today coming into downtown," Slater said.
Dig deeper:
In 2020, the Selmon Expressway documented nearly 131,000 average transactions a day.
"March 7, we hit a new high; 278,000 transactions on the expressway. Three years ago, when I first got here, the record we hit was 250,000. That is now our average every day," Slater explained.
The $300 million to $400 million project will solely be funded through toll revenue. In addition to lane expansions, the plan includes safety upgrades and new features for the community.
"We're going to replace 12 bridge decks in that corridor; we're going to rebuild the expressway infrastructure," Slater added. "Rebuild all of the underpasses. We have 14 underpasses in South Tampa, and they will have newly refreshed pedestrian infrastructure and pedestrian features."
The Expressway Authority also wants to upgrade drainage infrastructure, add sound walls near residential areas and construct a dog park under the Bay to Bay overpass.
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"We want to carry that look and feel on Gandy Blvd., that blue and white roadway all the way through South Tampa, peaked by a signature bridge we have in Tampa over the Hillsborough River," Slater said.
Additionally, it will work with the City of Tampa to build out the Riverwalk West to Bayshore Blvd.
"If you look at the Expressway today, and all of the function, it's transformed from a commuter road to this vital artery in the city all day every day," Slater said.
What's next:
The Expressway Authority is working to nail down a contractor to complete the work, and Slater believes construction will begin next spring at the downtown end.
The Source: FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis collected the information in this story.
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