I-275 Lane Closures To Affect Weekend Traffic: Tampa Officials

TAMPA, FL — Drivers in Tampa will need to find an alternate route this weekend because of temporary closures on the Interstate 275 Downtown Tampa Interchange because of planned roadwork by the Florida Department of Transportation, city officials said in a news release.

The interchange will close Saturday at 12:01 a.m. through Monday at 5 a.m.

During this time, crews will put up steel girders for the new exit ramp, which will be a two-lane bridge, from southbound I-275 to eastbound Interstate 4 as part of the Downtown Tampa Interchange (I-275/I-4) project, FDOT said.

The closure comes on a weekend when thousands of people are expected to attend various downtown events on Saturday, including Marco Antonio Solis concert at Benchmark International Arena, a Tampa Bay Sun soccer game at Riverfront Stadium, Beats on the Street at Water Street and Tampa Mimosa Land Music Festival at Curtis Hixon Park, the city said.

Officials encourage those heading downtown over the weekend to use alternative modes of transportation, including the free TECO Line Streetcar, the DASH service, HART buses, rideshare options and rentable scooters.

In addition to the new I-275 south exit ramp, planned improvements include changing the eastbound exit ramp from I-4 into Ybor City/East Tampa by relocating access at 14th/15th Streets instead of 21st/22nd Streets, and widening the existing eastbound I-4 frontage road to two lanes, FDOT said.

The project will also widen the existing single lane ramp from I-4 west to I-275 north to two lanes and add an additional merge lane on I-275 north between I-4 and the Martin Luther King Jr. exit.

It also calls for widening both the two-lane ramp from I-4 west to I-275 south to three lanes and the shoulders on I-275 south between Palm Avenue and Jefferson Street, the department said.

The exit ramp from I-275 south into downtown Tampa will be shifted west.

On Saturday from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., drivers heading north on the interstate should follow I-4 (Exit 45B), exit at Exit 3, turn right on Columbus Drive, left on US 41, left on Hillsborough Avenue, then continue west to re-enter northbound I-275, FDOT said.

From Saturday at 12:01 a.m. to Monday at 5 a.m., only one southbound lane on I-275 from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard through the interchange will be open to traffic, the department said.

Drivers should continue south to Exit 45A and use the temporary ramp to re-enter southbound I-275.

Southbound I-275 drivers who want to access Downtown East-West (Exit 45A) during the closure should exit at 46A, turn right on Floribraska Avenue, left on Tampa Street, and continue south to reach downtown streets, the agency said.

The southbound I-275 ramp to eastbound I-4 will remain open all weekend.

Those traveling on I-4 west who need to access I-275 south or downtown Tampa, on Saturday, from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., should take the I-275 entrance ramp, exit the interstate at Exit 46B, turn left onto SR 574 (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard), left onto Tampa Street, and continue south on Tampa Street to access the southbound I-275 entrance ramp or other Downtown Tampa streets, according to FDOT.