Howard Frankland Bridge, U.S. 19 To Close For Gateway Project

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — All southbound Interstate 275 travel lanes on the Howard Frankland Bridge from Tampa to St. Petersburg will close from 11 p.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Tuesday, weather permitting.

This closure is necessary for crews to perform overhead sign installation work as part of the Gateway Expressway project.

During this closure, all southbound I-275 drivers needing to cross Old Tampa Bay will be directed to exit the interstate using U.S. 92 West (Dale Mabry South), Exit 41A, continue south on Dale Mabry Highway, west on Gandy Boulevard, then north on Roosevelt Boulevard toward the southbound I-275 entrance ramp.

This closure will not affect northbound traffic on I-275.

Other roadways (Kennedy Boulevard, Memorial Highway, Courtney Campbell Causeway, Bayside Bridge and Roosevelt Boulevard) will remain accessible and provide an additional route while traveling south on Veterans Expressway or exiting the Tampa International Airport.

Advanced warning signs and electronic message boards will assist drivers traveling through the area. Drivers should expect traffic delays and congestion during these detours.

Construction crews are continuing to work on the new span of the Howard Frankland Bridge under construction just north of the existing bridge.

At an estimated construction cost of $865.3 million, the reconstruction of the Howard Frankland Bridge is the most expensive transportation project ever undertaken in Tampa Bay. The 5.8-mile project is expected to be completed by 2025.

See related stories:

• Long-Discussed Reconstruction Of Howard Frankland Gets Underway
• 'Roadwork Ahead' Signs To Be Fixture In Pinellas For Next 2 Years
• 1st Beam Of New Howard Frankland Bridge In Place
• Gateway Project To Close Roads To St. Pete-Clearwater Airport

U.S. 19 Detours

Additionally, southbound U.S. 19 will be closed at Bryan Dairy Road/118th Avenue Monday from 10 p.m. to Tuesday at 6 a.m., weather permitting.

This is also part of the overhead work for the Gateway Expressway project.

All traffic traveling south on U.S. 19 will be detoured to take the Ulmerton Road exit onto southbound Frontage Road, turn right onto westbound Ulmerton Road, then left onto southbound 66th Street North.

Drivers will continue south on 66th Street North, make a left turn onto eastbound Bryan Dairy Road, then make a right turn onto southbound Frontage Road to access to southbound U.S. 19.

Traffic traveling west on Ulmerton Road wishing to access southbound U.S. 19 will be detoured to continue straight through the U.S. 19 overpass until reaching 66th Street North where they will join the same path as the southbound U.S. 19 detoured traffic.

Traffic traveling on northbound U.S. 19 will remain in the current traffic pattern.

Advanced warning signs and electronic message boards will assist motorists traveling through the area.

Gateway Expressway Project

The gateway project is part of Tampa Bay Next, an ambitious plan to modernize Tampa Bay's transportation system by early 2023.

The massive $594.7 million Pinellas Gateway Expressway project includes the expansion of the Howard Frankland Bridge, along with flyovers and elevated toll roads designed to increase safety, add capacity and allow traffic to flow more smoothly on Pinellas County's congested roads.

Residents of Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park and St. Petersburg will feel most of the construction pains. However, the FDOT hopes to reduce the impact by performing the majority of the heavy construction work between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. when traffic is at its lightest.

The biggest tasks being undertaken are the construction of two new four-lane elevated toll roads providing direct access from U.S. 19 to Interstate 275 and from the Bayside Bridge to I-275, but the Gateway Expressway project also encompasses widening I-275, adding express toll lanes in each direction from south of Gandy Boulevard to 4th Street North.

One of the new four-lane toll roads — State Road 690 — is being constructed in the median of the existing 118th Avenue North and then elevated over portions of 118th Avenue North, 49th Street North, 47th Street North, 43rd Street North, 34th Street North, the ramp at 31st Court North and 28th Street North.

The second toll road, State Road 686A, will be a four-lane elevated expressway from the Bayside Bridge to just west of I-275. It will be built primarily in the median of Roosevelt Boulevard between the Bayside Bridge and Ulmerton Road with an interchange at Ulmerton Road. The new toll road will continue south through the old Sunshine Speedway property until it merges with SR 690.

Other projects within the scope of the Gateway Expressway plan include:

• Rebuilding existing Roosevelt Boulevard from the Bayside Bridge to Ulmerton Road as generally two one-way surface roads, including a new access configuration and roads for the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport terminal.
• Repaving 118th Avenue North from U.S. 19 to 31st Court North.
• Repairing or rebuilding sections of existing U.S. 19 and 118th Avenue North, including new ramps and bridges.
• Repaving the eastbound off-ramp from SR 690 to southbound I-275.
• Building a new airport access road in front of St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport parallel to Roosevelt Blvd along with new airport ponds, a new signalized intersection at Terminal Boulevard, and a permanent connection at Fairchild Drive.

Residents interested in keeping track of the progress on the Gateway Expressway project and finding out about upcoming road closures, can sign up to receive email alerts by clicking here.

To stay informed about other Tampa Bay Next projects, click here.