The I-275 at I-4 Interchange in Downtown Tampa, Florida, has experienced frequent congestion for many years. As a vital connection to Downtown Tampa and Ybor city that serves nearly 200,000 vehicles per day, this major interchange needs safety and operational improvements to provide congestion relief and improve regional connectivity, traffic flow, interstate mobility, and travel time reliability for all modes of transportation. DRMP is serving as the lead designer for this $233 million design-build interchange improvements project for FDOT, District Seven. The project includes the design and construction of six new bridges, eight bridge widenings/modifications, four existing bridge coatings, and two existing bridge railing retrofits. The existing roadway is being widened from 2-lanes to 3-lanes in specific segments, improving existing drainage facilities, and providing complex temporary traffic control plans throughout each phase of the project to minimize disruption for all users. Other project design elements include permitting; signing and pavement markings; lighting; signalization; and intelligent transportation systems. Our team’s innovative alternative technical concept (ATC) includes a new dual-lane flyover bridge to accommodate the I-275 southbound traffic onto I-4 eastbound without needing complex widening. This innovation has numerous benefits to FDOT and the community, including eliminating over 100 detours by performing off-line construction, provides FDOT with the opportunity to add a new I-4 eastbound auxiliary lane to the Selmon Expressway exit east of the downtown interchange, minimizes noise and visual impacts within the community, reduces overall traffic system delay, increases operational speeds, reduces long-term maintenance over the 75-year design life, and improves safety to the traveling public. When completed, this project will improve roadway safety and efficiency for all users, making travel times more reliable throughout the corridor. This route will also continue to serve as one of the main hurricane evacuation routes for the greater Tampa Bay region. |
