Tampa officials announce all streets impacted by problematic CSX closures will reopen by Saturday
TAMPA, Fla. - Roads across Tampa were blocked at 19 railroad crossings earlier this week, but city officials said all streets will reopen by midnight Saturday.
On Wednesday, traffic was snarled in downtown and South Tampa, and the back-ups occurred again Thursday.
According to Tampa officials, CSX failed to file for proper permits and didn’t stick to their pre-announced schedule for road closures. In fact, officials said, some roads were blocked off where no work was underway.
The closures made it difficult to travel west or east across Tampa’s peninsula. Commutes that would usually take minutes would take over an hour in some cases.
CSX apologized for the miscommunication. They said they coordinated with the state, but not with the city.
On Friday morning, the city announced that the following streets are open:
• W Euclid Avenue between S Gunlock Avenue and S Lynwood Avenue
• W El Prado Boulevard between S Concordia Avenue and W Drexel Avenue
• W Bay to Bay Blvd between S MacDill Avenue and S Ysabella Avenue
• N 20th Street between E 7th Avenue and E 5th Avenue
• W Iowa Avenue S Manhattan Avenue and S Coolidge Avenue
• W Prescott Street between S West Shore Boulevard and Fitzgerald Street
• W McCoy Street between S West Shore Boulevard and S Trask Street
• W Pearl Avenue between S Lois Avenue and S Clark Avenue
• W Swann Avenue between S Fremont Avenue and W Packwood Avenue
• W Cleveland Street from S Willow Avenue to S Dakota Avenue
• W Platt Street from S Dakota Avenue to S Willow Avenue
• N 18th Street between E 7th Avenue and E 5th Avenue
• N Nebraska Avenue between E Cass Street and E Twiggs
• N 19th Street between E 7th Avenue and E 5th Avenue
• N 26th Street between E 7th Avenue and E 5th Avenue
They said the following streets will reopen by midnight Saturday morning:
• W Mississippi Avenue between S Georgia Avenue and S Carolina Avenue
• W Watrous Avenue between S Moody Avenue and S Howard Avenue
• W Morrison Avenue between S Howard Avenue and S Albany Avenue
• W Oklahoma Avenue between S Manhattan Avenue and S Lois Avenue