Tampa officials tout street resurfacing progress, discuss ways to further expand work

Tampa leaders tout progress in street resurfacing

Aaron Mesmer reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - The City of Tampa announced Tuesday it's picking up the pace on some of its long-awaited street resurfacing projects.

During a news conference in South Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor said more streets are being paved in less time and at a lower cost to taxpayers.

"It's the number one issue that I hear about closely followed by congestion and that's a result of the successful growth not only of our city but the entire region here," Castor said.

By the numbers:

City officials say the Tampa Mobility Department has overseen the resurfacing of more than 26 lane-miles from the beginning of the year through April, marking a 25% increase over the first four months of 2024.

City of Tampa news conference on street repaving

Officials with the City of Tampa gave an update Tuesday on progress in the city's ongoing effort to resurface streets throughout the area.

Dig deeper:

The department's efforts got a major boost last September when the city acquired a second paving machine while doubling its paving crew.

City officials are touting their repaving efforts in areas like Palma Ceia Pines, Oak Park, Old West Tampa, Sulphur Springs, South Howard, South Armenia, and South Tampa, among others.

"You'll smell that fresh asphalt smell while you're out there. We like to call that the smell of progress," said Brandon Campbell, the city's director of Transportation Services.

While some of the work is still outsourced to contractors, the city says its increased in-house efforts can save taxpayers up to 50% on each project while speeding up the overall progress.

The City of Tampa acquired a second paving machine in September 2024.

What they're saying:

"We know this is an issue in our community," Castor said at a news conference on Tuesday. "It's an issue for myself, it's an issue for all city employees who drive through our city streets each and every day – and we're addressing it as quickly as we can."

Castor also talked about efforts to come up with funding to further expand repaving, specifically mentioning the All for Transportation penny sales tax approved by Hillsborough County voters in 2018, but later ruled unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court.

Castor said the city had collected about a half billion dollars, but that was reduced to $20 million after the judge's ruling.

"We've seen other locations – not to say that I'm jealous – but other locations throughout the state that have successfully utilized that penny sales tax, and they have projects that they are just waiting to continue to fruition. And I wish we had that problem here in Tampa," Castor said.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor speaks at a news conference on May 27, 2025.

As for deciding which roads get repaved and when, Campbell explained the basics during Tuesday's news conference.

"That starts with pavement conditions," Campbell said. "So it's a data-driven decision process that includes, fundamentally, the condition of the existing roadway. But then, layered on top of that, we want to make sure that our paving crews are getting all across the city as well. We don't want to concentrate on one particular district or one particular area."

More than 800 road cave-ins, which are different and cause more damage than potholes, following last year's hurricanes made the work more urgent.

What's next:

The Mobility Department's upcoming in-house projects include: