Interstate 275 (Florida)

Interstate 275
Route information
Maintained by FDOT
Length:	60.696 mi (97.681 km)
Existed:	1973 – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-75 in Palmetto
	US 41 in Rubonia US 19 near Bradenton I-175 in St. Petersburg I-375 in St. Petersburg US 19 Alt. / SR 595 in St. Petersburg US 92 in Tampa I-4 in Tampa US 92 in Tampa
North end:	I-75 in Wesley Chapel
Location
Counties:	Manatee, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco
Highway system
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System Main • Auxiliary • Business Florida State Roads Interstate • US • SR (Pre-1945) • Toll ← US 92 SR 93A →

Old I-275 shield in St. Petersburg

Interstate 275 (I-275) in Florida serves the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, measuring 60.696 miles (97.681 km) in length. The southern terminus is I-75 near Palmetto, just five miles east of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a toll bridge crossing Tampa Bay. The highway passes through St. Petersburg, Florida before crossing Tampa Bay again on the Howard Frankland Bridge and entering Tampa, where it intersects with I-4 in Downtown. After the interchange, I-275 heads due north through the Tampa suburbs to its northern terminus at I-75 in Wesley Chapel.

Interstate 275 and its parent route, Interstate 75, are opposite the normal conventions of freeway routing. Normally, the parent route will go through a metropolitan area while a 3-digit numbered freeway (beginning with an even number) serves as the bypass route; however, in this case I-275 runs through Downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida while I-75 serves as the bypass route.

Route description

On some street maps dating around 1970s — early 1990s, I-275 from I-4 to Downtown St. Pete was referred to as the "Tampa Expressway". In November 2005, The Florida Legislature officially dedicated the Pinellas County section of I-275 as the "St Petersburg Parkway/William C. Cramer Memorial Highway". William Cato Cramer was a St. Pete native who served as a member of the Florida legislature from 1955 to 1971 and helped shape I-275 through Pinellas County.

Just north of the Sunshine Skyway in Gulfport, drivers briefly drive on the left side as the freeway's lanes invert for about 1/2 mile (about 1 km) at the US 19/Pinellas Bayway exit (Exit 17).

Because of a failed effort in the 1970s to convert the Gandy corridor into a freeway, the Gandy Boulevard Interchange is technically incomplete. Two ramps were added in 1979 to eliminate illegal u-turns, but the interchange has not changed since.

The only major interchange on I-275 is with I-4, just north of downtown Tampa. Known locally for years as "Malfunction Junction", the interchange quickly became full of daily rush hour backups due to the sprawling growth of the Tampa Bay area and the lack of capacity that the interchange had. The interchange was overhauled, with wider lanes and some reconfigurations, between October 2002 and December 2006.

Lane configurations

• Between southern terminus and Exit 16 (2 lanes each way excluding the toll plaza)
• Between Exit 16 and Exit 30 (3 lanes each way)
  • Between Exits 22 and 23A (2 lanes each way)
  • Between Exits 25 and 26 (4 lanes each way; however, right lane in both directions is "Exit Only")
• Between Exits 30 and 39, including the Howard Frankland Bridge (4 lanes each way)
• Between Exit 39 and Exit 53 (mostly 3 lanes each way)
• Between Exit 53 and northern terminus (2 lanes each way)

History

Initial construction in Tampa

What would become I-275, which was then called I-75, was first opened in 1962 from the present northern terminus to a diamond interchange at Bearss Avenue. Construction stopped in the area upon completion of this segment and was then stalled for several years thereafter. In the meantime, I-4 was completed from Plant City to 50th St near Ybor City. The portion I-4 that would later become part of I-275, the Howard Frankland Bridge and its short freeway stubs at the bridge's endpoints, opened to traffic about a year earlier. In 1964, the stub of then-I-4 between 50th St (through Malfunction Junction) and Armenia Avenue was completed, with the Malfunction Junction's northern end was a pair of ramp stubs that would later be filled in by then-I-75. In 1965, the I-75 segment from Malfunction Junction to about Sligh Ave was completed. By 1967, the remaining gaps in I-4 and I-75 were filled and open to traffic.

Controversy and repeated delays in Pinellas

Around 1970, plans for the Pinellas County extension of I-75 began. However, the first round of local opposition would lead to the eventual (and repeated) delayment of I-275 through St. Petersburg. The first setback was led by 4th Street business owners and residents who demanded that construction on I-75 be stopped since the bridge was already funneling unwanted traffic onto the corridor; it has since seen many unforeseen business and residential booms, due to the building of the Bridge. At the same time, construction began on I-75 from Roosevelt Boulevard to about 38th Avenue N. By this point in time, I-4 was truncated to Malfunction Junction, allowing the I-75 designation take over the freeway from the junction to 4th Street N. This segment was opened to traffic in 1973, with the gap between Roosevelt and 9th Street filled a couple of years later. Around this time, I-75W was resigned as I-275. After some more local opposition, I-275 meandered down to 5th Avenue N, near downtown St. Petersburg, in 1975.

The original plans called for I-75 to end in Tampa

Probably one of the largest setbacks for I-275 was in the mid 1970s when it was proposed to go through southwest St. Petersburg towards the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Heavy community opposition managed to delay construction for several years. In the end, numerous homes and businesses were destroyed and several churches were relocated. Financial burdens through this part of the project also caused further delays. However, I-375 opened partially to traffic in 1979, with full operation by 1981, and I-175 followed suit in 1980.

With both downtown feeders now opened, I-275 was extended to 28th Street S. However, another round of community revolts delayed the segment of I-275 between 28th Street S and 22nd Avenue S. In spite of this, the stretch was eventually built by 1981. Exit 20 was configured for an anticipated westward expansion to a planned Pinellas Beltway. A freeway revolt killed many of Pinellas County's freeways in the 1970s and (as mentioned above) repeatedly delayed the construction of I-275. In addition, the Skyway Bridge disaster on May 9, 1980, where the freighter Summit Venture took down one of the two spans and killed 35 people, cost the bridge its interstate standards (due to only one of the two-lane spans being operable afterwards) and would not regain it until the opening of the present bridge in April 1987.

In 1982, the segment between 22nd Avenue S and 39th Avenue S was opened to traffic. As mentioned above, the Pinellas Bayway/US 19 concurrency, opened to traffic in 1983/1984, is inverted for about half a mile. The reason to this configuration is unknown, however, to this day, traffic continues to flow smoothly through the interchange with very little congestion. At about the same time this interchange opened, I-275 was complete from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to the southern terminus with I-75 in Manatee County.

With the new Sunshine Skyway Bridge opening in 1987, the final link of I-275 (between US 19 and the bridge) was completed and opened to traffic. The northern toll plaza was originally located north of the approach bridge, but was relocated in 2000 due to a lack of capacity. The original plaza only allowed three lanes while the replacement allows six lanes to flow through, with the sixth lane dedicated for SunPass users.

Reconstruction and other improvements

Like all of the Interstate Highways in the US, I-275 is an aging, yet vital link to the Tampa Bay Area. Major staged reconstruction of the oldest segments began in 1999.

The segment of I-275 between the Veterans Expressway and Himes Ave was widened from four to six lanes in 1974. Additionally, a median barrier was built along the highway from Himes Ave to Downtown Tampa.

Until the 1980s, the Memorial Hwy/Veterans Exwy interchange was only a half diamond and the West Shore Blvd interchange was a full diamond. Both interchanges underwent drastic changes to allow safe, free-flowing movement to and from Tampa International Airport and the Veterans Exwy. Among the improvements, three free flowing exit and entry ramps were added to the expressway from I-275. The exit ramp from I-275 south to the Veterans Exwy northbound was reconstructed and the ramp from Memorial Hwy northbound from Kennedy Blvd onto northbound I-275 was removed, along with the two western ramps onto West Shore Blvd (truncating the West Shore interchange to a half-diamond), in order to deter accidents that were being caused by commuters entering and exiting the interstate from the Veterans Exwy. In addition, connections from I-275 north, to Cypress St were made (though the ramps are under-utilized today). In 2004, the ramp from southbound Veterans Exwy to southbound I-275 was realigned in order to ease congestion on the mainline lanes of the interstate.

I-275 just leaving Downtown Tampa heading south towards Tampa International Airport

In 1984, the Himes Ave exit/entrance was constructed. The exit was originally rumored to supplement a failed redevelopment project in the area during that time. Today, the Himes Ave connection serves as reliever for nearby Raymond James Stadium.

In 1991, following the expansion of the Howard Frankland Bridge, the 4th St N interchange was reconstructed.

In 1994, the two drawbridges on the northern approach to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, dating to the original twin Skyway bridges, were replaced with high-level fixed spans, eliminating bottlenecks caused by openings.

Between 1994 and 1998, I-275 saw very little change, as there were no major projects taking place on the highway. The hiatus ended in 1999, when a much needed, dual-stage, widening project took place between Busch Blvd (State Road 580) and Bearss Ave. The project widened I-275 mainline from four to six lanes, rehabilitated the existing concrete surfaces, and improved interchange flow, lighting, signage, and drainage. The project wrapped up in 2003.

In 2001, the widening project for I-275 between Gandy Blvd and Roosevelt Blvd began. The project increased I-275 from six to eight lanes and existing concrete surfaces were rehabilitated. A reconfiguration of the Roosevelt Interchange (Exit 30) started in 2001 and added access to 118th Ave N at the same interchange. The new connection to 118th Ave N is actually the first phase of a proposed freeway to connect I-275 to the Bayside Bridge (although it is unclear if future segments will be built). All construction in this area was completed by 2002. Reconstruction of I-275 between Roosevelt Blvd and 4th St N quickly followed the above widening project. Lane counts on I-275 were increased from four to mostly six lanes (with some eight lane segments). The Ulmerton Rd and 9th St N interchanges were originally narrow 1959 configurations that caused much congestion in the area.

Additionally, the 9th/MLK St N exit and Ulmerton Rd entrance ramps were situated in the left lane of I-275, causing dangerous weaving patterns. These interchanges were reconstructed into right lane configurations and two new ramps were added from Ulmerton Rd (one leading to 9th St N and one exiting onto southbound I-275. The southbound I-275 exits to Ulmerton and MLK St N were combined into one exit ramp to provide better flow. The MLK St N interchange was shut down for several months as a result of the reconstruction. Lastly, the ramps to/from 118th Ave N were opened to traffic. The entire reconstruction project along I-275 in the Gateway area wrapped up in 2005.

In 2003 Operational Improvements began for the notorious Malfunction Junction in Downtown Tampa. The project consisted of widening mainline I-275 and I-4, along with an array of ramp/bridge improvements, lighting and drainage work, and new signs. The entire project was completed on December 22, 2006 with ITS components installed by March 2007. The renovation of the I-4 corridor through Ybor City finished around summer 2007, almost one year ahead of schedule.

I-275 at Malfunction Junction

As of 2010, work is partially completed on the I-275 reconstruction between Malfunction Junction and the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa. The new northbound (eastbound) lanes are completed from Himes Avenue to downtown. Southbound (westbound) traffic has been shifted on to the original northbound lanes. However, those wishing to exit at either the Howard/Armenia or Himes Avenue exits do in fact continue on the original southbound lanes. Those exiting on Himes Avenue have one dedicated lane on the original southbound lanes. Traffic entering the freeway from Armenia Ave now does so on the original northbound exit ramp. This creates an odd left lane merge situation. However, to help motorists in this effort, the entrance ramp has a dedicated lane from the freeway entrance until just over the Himes Avenue bridge. Traffic heading northbound on Howard Avenue must now turn left onto Green Ave. left onto Armenia Avenue and then right on the entrance ramp in order to get on the freeway. While this setup is temporary, it has seemed to somewhat improve traffic flow in the area as motorists who intend to exit at Howard/Armenia or Himes are now off of the freeway much earlier.

In January 2011, construction began on widening the northernmost segment of I-275 from US 41 (Nebraska Ave) to the I-75 apex from four to six lanes. The project also includes constructing a dedicated flyover ramp over I-75 towards State Road 56. [1] This ramp, along with a new, extended ramp from I-75 to SR 56, opened on August 18, 2011 [2]

On February 4, 2011, a new ramp connecting northbound I-275 to 118th Ave N opened. This project began in July 2009 and involved widening the existing ramp from northbound I-275 to Roosevelt Blvd and is in conjunction with the project to build the Mid Pinellas Expressway, which has suffered numerous delays due to a lack of funding [3].

Increased cost of materials delay I-275 widening project

The staged reconstruction project for I-275 between the Howard Frankland Bridge and Downtown Tampa was supposed to begin in the summer of 2006. Unfortunately, bids received by FDOT for the project came in at $100 million (40%) over the projected estimates. This is being blamed on by the rising cost of asphalt and other materials, which in turn is being partly blamed on the rising oil prices worldwide. As a result, FDOT has commenced with the project in four smaller phases rather than the original, large-scale, two-phase project. Construction began on phase one, the northbound lanes (south of the existing interstate) between Himes Ave and Downtown Tampa, on August 13, 2007 and was completed in April 2010 [4]. Phase two, which includes construction of the northbound lanes from the WestShore area to Himes, was originally scheduled to begin in 2008, but has since been delayed further. The third phase will consist of transferring northbound traffic onto the new northbound lanes, southbound traffic onto the existing northbound lanes, and the construction of the new southbound lanes from Himes to Downtown. Finally, the fourth and final phase will construct the new southbound lanes from the WestShore area to Himes. The entire project was originally scheduled to be completed by around 2013 or 2014 (this is now likely to be delayed until 2015 or 2016) and will cost around an estimated $540 million, which is up from the original $350 million budget.

Other Improvements

Other sections not requiring a full scale reconstruction have undergone improvements.

• Concrete rehabilitation from 62nd Ave N to Exit 17 in Pinellas County. (Complete) 2001-2005.
• Resurfacing from the Howard Frankland Bridge to Himes Ave. (Exit 41C) (Complete) 2002.
• Resurfacing from the US 41 overpass (Exit 53) to the I-75 junction in Lutz. (Complete) 2003.
• Resurfacing from the Howard Frankland Bridge to 4th St N. (Complete) 2006.
• Concrete rehabilitation/bridge upgrade/lighting improvements from Malfunction Junction to Busch Blvd. (Complete) 2007.
• Concrete rehabilitation from 26th Ave N to Exit 23. (completed in 2008).
• Rehabilitation @ Exit 28. (completed in 2008).
• Resurfacing between Exit 17 to the Misner Bridge in Pinellas County (currently ongoing)[5].
• Widening of the northbound exit ramp at Exit 51 in Hillsborough County (currently ongoing)[6].

I-275 in Manatee County

The Manatee County segment of I-275 has not changed dramatically since its construction in 1983, other than a toll plaza upgrade in the late 1990s, and resurfacing of the mainline lanes between the I-75 apex and the US 19 exit. It is unclear if any other improvements are planned at this time.

Exit list

County	Location	Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Manatee		0.000		I-75 south – Naples	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		2.279	2	US 41 – Bradenton, Greater Sun Center
	Terra Ceia	4.656	5	US 19 south – Palmetto, Bradenton	South end of US 19 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
		7.8	8	South Skyway Fishing Pier
Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay (Toll $1.00, $.75 with SunPass)
Pinellas	St. Petersburg
		13.2	13	North Skyway Fishing Pier
		16.956	16	Skyway Lane, Pinellas Point Drive
		17.424	17	US 19 north / SR 682 west (Pinellas Bayway) / 54th Avenue South – St. Pete Beach	North end of US 19 overlap
		19.453	18	26th Avenue South	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		19.702	19	CR 138 (22nd Avenue South)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		20.377	20	31st Street South	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		20.698	21	28th Street South	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		21.680	22	I-175 east (South Bay Drive) – Tropicana Field
		22.413	23A	I-375 east (North Bay Drive) – The Pier, BayWalk	Signed as exit 23 northbound
		22.442	23B	SR 595 (5th Avenue North)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		23.444	24	22nd Avenue North
		24.470	25	CR 184 (38th Avenue North)
	Lealman	25.502	26	CR 202 (54th Avenue North)	Signed as exits 26A (east) and 26B (west) northbound
	St. Petersburg	27.706	28	SR 694 (Gandy Boulevard, Park Boulevard) – Pinellas Park, Seminole	Interchange was originally designed for the formerly proposed Gandy Freeway.
		29.627	30	SR 686 / CR 296 (Roosevelt Boulevard) – Largo, St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport	No northbound exit to CR 296
		30.751	31	CR 803 (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Street North)
		30.933	31	SR 688 west (Ulmerton Road) – Largo
		31.535	32	SR 687 south (4th Street North) to US 92	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Howard Frankland Bridge over Old Tampa Bay
Hillsborough	Tampa	38.289	39A	SR 60 east (Kennedy Boulevard) / Westshore Boulevard	No southbound exit
		38.549	39B	SR 60 west to SR 589 / Cypress Street – Clearwater, Tampa International Airport	Signed as exit 39 southbound
		39.445	40A	CR 587 (Westshore Boulevard)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		40.055	40B	Lois Avenue
		40.639	41	US 92 (Dale Mabry Highway)	Signed as exits 41A (east) and 41B (west)
		40.909	41C	Himes Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		41.978	42	Howard Avenue, Armenia Avenue
		43.303	44	Ashley Drive, Scott Street, Tampa Street – Downtown Tampa
		43.667	45A	Jefferson Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		44.348	45B	I-4 east – Orlando
		44.784	46A	Floribraska Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		45.517	46B	SR 574 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard)
		46.488	47	US 92 (Hillsborough Avenue) to US 41	Signed as exits 47A (east) and 47B (west) northbound
		47.539	48	Sligh Avenue
		48.205	49	CR 587A (Waters Avenue) / Bird Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		49.081	50	SR 580 (Busch Boulevard) – Temple Terrace, Busch Gardens
		50.825	51	SR 582 (Fowler Avenue) – Temple Terrace, University of South Florida
		51.589	52	CR 582A (Fletcher Avenue) – University of South Florida
		52.878	53	SR 678 (Bearss Avenue)
				SR 56 – Land O' Lakes, Tarpon Springs	Northbound exit only
Pasco		60.388		I-75 north – Ocala	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

• Money Troubles Bay News 9 - September 18, 2006.
• No more Malfunction Junction? Bay News 9 - September 8, 2006.
• I-275 plan hits $100M bump. St. Petersburg Times: June 28, 2006.
• When will it be done? I-75 in Lutz WTSP: August 16, 2006.
• Historic Florida Interstate Information
• FDOT GIS data

External links

• Interstate275Florida.com
• Interstate 275 (Florida) page at Kurumi.com
• Tampa Bay Interstates (FDOT)
• Bypass I-275; Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida (Robert V. Droz)