Fifty-five thousand vehicles traveling on the same road in a single day is a substantial ADT. Tampa's Westshore Interchange, which connects Interstate 275 (I-275) and State Route 60 (SR 60), experiences that traffic level during peak hours.
The ADT is 200,000 and is expected to reach 300,000 in 2045. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the joint venture of Lane Construction and Superior Construction are modernizing the interchange to enhance traffic flow, capacity, and safety.
Busy Neighborhood
Tampa's Westshore Interchange is just east of the Howard Frankland Bridge, which carries I-275 over Old Tampa Bay. The bridge has eight lanes and is 3 mi. long. Tampa International Airport, which averages approximately 635 flights per day and nearly 25 million passengers annually, is just north of the interchange.
In addition to airport traffic and those headed to and from the Howard Frankland Bridge, traffic includes commuters traveling from Pinellas into Hillsborough, westbound traffic from I-4 heading south on I-275, and those traveling to the West Shore business district.
“When a system like the Tampa Westshore Interchange gets overloaded, it affects all of those stakeholders,” Zachary Stringer, FDOT construction manager, told Construction Equipment Guide. “Congestion leads to safety issues, and this interchange is crucial to the area, so it's important that we update it.”
The scope includes the following elements according to FDOT.
• Reconstructing portions of I-275 and SR 60 with updated general-use lanes.
• Constructing the northbound I-275 Express Lanes from the Howard Frankland Bridge to the future Reo Street Bridge (approximately 1 mi.).
• Replacing the existing loop ramp from eastbound SR 60 to northbound I-275 with a new flyover ramp (In a future phase).
• Constructing a new flyover ramp from the Howard Frankland Bridge to SR 60 and the Tampa International Airport (top level bridge).
• Adding a new southbound I-275 entrance ramp from Reo Street.
• Reconnecting local roadways at Reo Street (first phase), Occident Street and Trask Street to improve local access and circulation.
• Enhancing pedestrian and bicycle connectivity through shared-use paths and aesthetic improvements (future phase).
The team is building general-use lanes and express lanes through the interchange and adding capacity to the general-use lanes in areas along 60 and 275. When the future phases are complete, the area will have an additional two express lanes in each direction. As part of the current phase, the team is adding a new crossing over I-275 at one new location and under I-275 at two new locations in future phases where there was previously no way to get across I-275.
“During the first phase, we wanted to focus on getting traffic from the Howard Franklin Bridge that was newly reconstructed up toward the airport and receive the express lanes that come across the Howard Frankland, giving travelers a more efficient route to the airport,” Stringer said.
The team is adding new trails throughout the interchange, though those built during the first phase are on the west side.
“The trails connect to existing trail networks including Cypress Point Park, which excites locals,” Stringer said.
One of the goals of the work is to separate drivers' decisions by distance.
“Currently, we have drivers weaving as they try to get over to their ramps,” Stringer said. “The idea or philosophy behind this job is to make those decision points earlier and separate traffic out into its barrels early on and eliminate the weaves.”
Follow Sequence
Because the team is building around a busy interchange in a crowded area, sequencing was essential.
“A lot of thought had to go into the traffic control plan so that we could shift traffic to free up areas to get access to the work zone,” Stringer said.
He noted that the project's phased design-build approach helped. The work has been segmented into individual work packages, or mini projects, with contractors under the umbrella of the joint venture responsible.
“If one contractor doesn't meet a milestone, it can affect another contractor's work that's adjacent to them,” Stringer said. “There's a lot of coordination that needs to happen.”
It has always been smooth. The contractor for the top-level bridge had to resequence their peers so they could allow the contractor building one of the box culverts on the southwest side of the interchange to complete their work.
“That has been a good mitigation, and I expect we'll have plenty more as the project goes on,” Springer said.
Another challenge the team has faced relates to the utility work. They're building the city's water main, reclaim, and force main, a part of the job entitled Utility Work by Highway Contractors Agreement (UWHCA).
“We're often building in a newly acquired right-of-way that abuts the property owners that we purchased the right-of-way from,” Stringer said. “We have to coordinate very closely with that owner, and the adjacent owner to ensure we sequence our work so that we're not cutting off their service.
“There's been extensive coordination and outreach from the consultant engineering group and inspection [CEI] team The Corradino Group and the contractor and designers with those property owners to get it all coordinated.”
The team also has to have a cure plan for those from whom they bought the property.
“You're potentially damaging the property owner, so it's essential to have a cure plan,” Stringer said. “It's a hypothetical that we base payment on, and if we don't coordinate it with the property owner, it can lead to a sticky situation.”
Construction on the project began in January 2026, and the anticipated completion date is the winter of 2029. At this early stage, Stringer said the project is on schedule. The first phase of the project has a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) of $653 million and is on budget so far.
When the team completes the project, the massive traffic flows will be able to travel through Tampa's Westshore Interchange more safely. The increased capacity will allow drivers to reach their destinations more quickly, something everyone is sure to appreciate. ⣠CEG
