$752M Selmon Expressway plan to include 4 major projects and community investments

Selmon Expressway improvement project

FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis shares the big changes coming to the Selmon Expressway after a $752 million deal was approved to upgrade over the next six years.

TAMPA - Greg Slater, CEO & Executive Director of the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) said the Selmon Expressway began as a commuter route through Downtown Tampa. 

He said, "What it's evolved into is this vital artery in the city. The growth that we're seeing isn't just in those peak areas. It's in the middle of the day, we're seeing that volume growth."

The backstory:

In 2020, the expressway averaged nearly 131,000 customers a day. This year an average of 250,000 vehicles use it daily.

THEA recently approved the work plan, $700 million of which will go solely towards construction projects. The first is the South Selmon Capacity Project.

He said, "Within those six years we have a full reconstruction of the southern portion of the expressway, including the Hillsborough River bridge, adding a lane in each direction." The project extends to the Gandy Blvd extension. "That project also includes noise walls through the entire corridor. It includes redevelopment of all the underpasses, technology," he said.

Crews will then move on to the Whiting Street project.

He said, "There's more and more things to do in downtown than there ever was." Whiting Street will extend to connect to Meridian Ave. He explained, "And we're taking the ramp out over by Amalie Arena, and so we're adding a new ramp that's going to connect to Whiting Street."

The plan also includes a portion of the East Selmon Capacity Project which spans from the I-4 connector to I-75.

It will fund the engineering phase of adding one local lane to each side of the road. 

A PD&E study will be conducted to examine the capacity of a 10-mile stretch of US 301 from Causeway Blvd. to Big Bend Road. 

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Slater said technology enhancements are also included in the workplan.

"Complete replacement of our camera system to get more camera analytics and AI and those types of things," he said. In addition to wrong-way driving detection. He said, "All of the ramps, if you enter the wrong way will trigger signals which will then trigger flashing lights but also trigger a notification in our traffic management centers."

Plus, pedestrian crosswalk technology near Brorein St. He said, "Equipping the crosswalks at the bottom of our ramps with camera technology and if there's a pedestrian in that crosswalk, it will trigger a sign on top of the expressway that will have a flashing light to let them know that there are pedestrians present in those crosswalks at the bottom of the ramp that they can't see yet."

The construction of community assets are also included. 

"We've got a 12th street park going in over here," he explained, "We've got a Meridian Health Trail we're going to complete the next two phases of. We're going to refresh Meridian Avenue."

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