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I-275 Widening from east of SR 60 to downtown Tampa (completed June 2016)

Project Description

Financial Project Number: 258398-5 and 258399-2
Project Limits: from east of SR 60 to the Hillsborough River
Project Length: 4.2 miles
Estimated Construction Cost: $225 million
Contractor: Skanska-Ajax Joint Venture
Start Date: July 31, 2012
Completion Date: June 28, 2016 (approximately 5 months ahead of contract time)

About this Project
The Florida Department of Transportation has completed rebuilding and widening Interstate 275 from east of State Road 60 to the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. This project reconstructed all of the southbound interstate in that area, as well as northbound I-275 from east of State Road 60 to Himes Avenue. [Northbound I-275 was rebuilt from Himes Avenue to downtown in a project that was completed in April 2010.]

There are now four through-lanes in each direction, a flatter roadway (does have the steep humps at bridges over crossroads) to improve sight distance and decrease the chances of accidents, improved interchanges to help move traffic on and off I-275, and a wide median to decrease cost and public impact when future improvements are built.

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Southbound I-275 was put into the permanent alignment throughout the project area with all new lanes open on October 16, 2015.

Northbound I-275 was put into the permanent alignment with all new lanes open on February 9, 2016.
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Traffic Flow
The construction design-build team developed a traffic control plan with just three major traffic shifts to help reduce driver confusion and reduce the time needed to build the project. Still, closures were needed on I-275, the interchange ramps, and streets under and next to the interstate. Most closures were done during night hours as listed below. During peak hours, three lanes in each direction available before construction remained open throughout the life of the project.

Lane Closure Hours on I-275
10:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.

I-275 Corridor Video
A video rendering of what the completed I-275 corridor will look like from the Howard Frankland Bridge to downtown Tampa, including this project section, is available through this link: Click here to view the video.

Please keep in mind that this is an overall artistic view of the corridor; the actual look may differ from the video to what is actually built. Also, some of this work will be done in future projects.