Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway

The Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway Shield

The new THCEA shield/logo for the Selmon Expressway. Unvield in 2003, this logo is gradually replacing the outdated Jose Gaspar Crosstown shields along the expressway.

The Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway 5 miles out of Downtown Tampa and the elevated highway (Note: This was the bridge in 2005. The Westbound direction has since opened)

*The Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway is a fifteen mile limited access toll road in Hillsborough County, Florida, It connects the bedroom community of Brandon with downtown Tampa and the southern Tampa peninsula, near MacDill Air Force Base. The expressway was named after famed and respected football player and local hero Lee Roy Selmon in 1999.
*The expressway was supposed to be part of an multi-expressway system that failed in the 1970s due to heavy local opposition and financial burdens. The original designation for the expressway was State Road 449, but was switched to State Road 618, which remained a secret designation until the early 2000s, when it began popping up on maps and atlases.
*In 2004, a portion of an elevated bridge, aimed at increasing capacity along the expressway during rush hour, collapsed. The incident sent shockwaves throughout the Tampa Bay area and quickly eroded the public's trust in the construction of the bridge and furthermore, the local expressway authority that owns the tolled facility. The director of the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority, Pat McCue, was fired because of his role in the mess and the lack of engineering experience that he had. In addition, the authority itself nearly faced extinction by the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise.

The Crosstown Expressway System

The Selmon Expressway originated from a killed expressway system called the Crosstown Expressway System. The expressways were planned during the 1950s/60s/and 70s. However, the system fizzled out due to financial burdens, land acquistion issues, and community revolts.

The South Crosstown Expressway

*What is known today as the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway was originally called the "South Crosstown Expressway", which was originally designated as State Road 449. The original name can still be seen on many maps and atlases.
*Original routings had the expressway north of its present route, beginning around Bay-to-Bay Blvd and following a CSX rail line to Cass St, and then cutting through central downtown, and ending around 50th St. In addition, there were plans to connect what is today, Ashley Dr to the expressway. However, this plan was thwarted probably due to the development in downtown. Instead, the route was shifted south, taking the expressway through southern downtown.
*Construction commenced on the South Crosstown Expressway in 1974, beginning around Gandy Blvd at Dale Mabry Hwy and traveling along a CSX rail corridor through Palma Ceia. The route then made an eastward turn at Platt St/Willow Ave as it snaked it's way through historic Hyde Park. Construction ended with a 3/4 mile-long, six-lane viaduct that spanned the Hillsborough River in the southern portion of downtown and stopped at Florida Ave (Exit 6A). A pair of ghost ramps were built at the viaduct's east end so that the expressway could easily be extended. The initial six miles of the South Crosstown Expressway opened in 1976.
*Construction commenced on an extension in 1979 due to the immense population growth in Brandon and the horrendous amount of traffic on State Road 60 (Adamo Drive). The extension opened in 1981 and extended the downtown viaduct through the southern vicinity of Ybor City. The route continued through the Palm River area, closely parallel to State Road 60 for much of the extension's route, and terminated at a partial interchange with Faulkenburg Rd (Exit 14).
*Construction of I-75 from Lutz to Hialeah in the late 1980s connected a trumpet interchange with the expressway.

Logos

*The logo for the South Crosstown Expressway has remained constant between the late 1970s and the early 2000s. Prior to 1978, the logo was only a plain white sign that boasted the heading, "SOUTH CROSSTOWN EXPRESSWAY".
*In the late 1970s, a contest was held to see which logo would be best for the expressway's image. Eventually a blue shield design with the image of pirate Jose Gaspar and the title, "TAMPA CROSSTOWN EXPRESSWAY", came out on top. The logos have been used on the expressway ever since.
*In 2002, with the planned reversible lanes bridge, the Hillsborough Expressway Authority designed a new logo. The shield contains a white background with a bridge on the foreground. The title has also changed, to "Selmon Crosstown Expressway". These new shields are slowly being phased into the expressway signs. But the older Gaspar shields can still be seen as well.

=Related Links

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*Jose Gaspar Crosstown Logo As mentioned above, this shield was implemented in the 1970s and still can be seen along the expressway today, even though it is slowly being replaced.

The West Crosstown Expressway

*What was planned as the "West Crosstown Expressway" was designated as State Road 589 (Florida) and would have connected the exit at Willow Ave (Exit 4) to the current Veterans Expressway interchange with I-275 and State Road 60 (Kennedy Boulevard). Public opposition thwarted the connection and as a result, the designation of State Road 449 was changed to State Road 618.

The North Crosstown Expressway

*Little is known about this leg of the Crosstown System. However, it would have run from State Road 60 in Brandon to the Courtney Campbell Causeway, straddling Hillsborough Ave for a portion of the route. The plan was killed in the 1960s/1970s due to high land acquisition costs. Including environmentally sensitive land east of the Veterans Expressway.
*It was because of this planned route, that the former Houlihan's Stadium (Where Raymond James Stadium is located today) was built at Dale Mabry Hwy and MLK Blvd. The route may have also contributed to the construction of the former Tampa Bay Center Mall (which has been closed and demolished).

Other Connectors

*Another proposed connection has been planned around Gandy Boulevard, between the current western terminus and the Gandy Bridge. The plan would have relieved traffic congestion on Gandy Blvd. However, public opposition frequently delayed this extension and the plan may be officially dead due to its high construction costs and land acquisition issues. In 2005, Condo developers acquired land along the CSX rail corridor that would have carried the proposed connector, and thus killing the southern route. A northern route would have taken out dozens of homes to the immediate north of Gandy Blvd.
*A component connector to the Gandy proposal was rumored to connect the failed Gandy extension to Interstate 375 in St. Pete. However, the plan proved to be unpractical.
*At the eastern terminus, there was also a proposal to extend the Expressway beyond Interstate 75 to the Polk Parkway.
*As mentioned above, there is a proposed connection to Interstate 4 that would straddle the 40th St corridor.

The Reversible Lanes Project

A part of the at-grade segment of the Reversible Lanes near US 301. Commuters heading eastbound to Ybor City must use the local ground level lanes.

*The reversible lanes project was originally envisioned in 1995 as an innovative idea to increase capacity along the Selmon Expressway from Downtown Tampa to Brandon. Planning began around 1995/1996, but final designs/planning were not made until the later 1990s.
*Construction commenced in 2003 but was halted in 2004 due to a bridge section collapse. As a result of the collapse, the project was delayed for about a year.
*In spring 2005, two realigned sections of the eastbound lanes opened. One section is between 22nd St and 39th St, the other between 78th St and I-75. The at-grade sections of the reversible lanes now follow the old alignments.
*The Brandon Gateway section of the elevated bridge opened in November 2005 and gained an overwhelmingly positive input by commuters. Thus the bridge was kept open beyond January 2006 (when it was originally scheduled to close for more bridge work) during the evening rush hour.
*On July 18, 2006 at 6am, the reversible lanes opened to westbound morning traffic (only). Long lines were formed at the Brandon Gateway well in advance and many drivers were thrilled to see the bridge open. However, the scene from news helicopter snapshots told a different story on opening day. Only a handful of drivers actually ended up using the new bridge, compared to the number that was expected. These findings may be blamed partly on the lack of advance notification to commuters, the number of commuters who own a SunPass transponder, and an unrelated traffic incident on Ashley Drive in downtown. Many other questions were raised as a result of the low traffic volume along the reversible lanes.
**Current operating hours are as follows:
***Morning (Westbound) â€" 6am to 10am.
***Afternoon (Eastbound) â€" 4pm to 8pm (Opens on August 31st).Please be aware that the new Reversible Lanes Bridge only accepts SunPass.

The Interstate 4/State Road 618 (Florida) Connector

Due to the ever-increasing amount of truck traffic that connect to and from the Port of Tampa via 21st and 22nd Streets; it became clear that an elevated highway connecting the Interstate and the Selmon Crosstown Expressway was needed to safely channel truck traffic to and from the area. One major accident involving a truck in historic Ybor City could mean a huge disaster. The proposed connector would straddle the 40th St corridor from the Crosstown to I-4.
*Features include special â€˜Truck ONLY Lanes' to safely carry all truck traffic to and from the port, thus eliminating almost all of the truck traffic on 21st and 22nd Streets.
**Early planning for the highway began around 1999, with most of the major design stage completed in 2004/2005. However, funding did not become available for the connector project until a recent federal transportation bill passed.
**At this point, all major planning for the project is nearing completion but will not be finalized until late 2008. Right of Way Acquisition is already well underway and should be complete by early 2008.
**Construction of the connector should begin around 2009/2010.
***Also to note, it is currently unclear at this time as to whether the connector will have a specific state designation and if it will even be tolled. More information may be revealed as the planning process nears completion.

Permanent road closures/changes due to the connector project

*The 39th St exit was reduced to a half-diamond interchange in 2004. Its tolls were also removed.
*Also in 2004, the 40th St exit with I-4 was permanently closed.

Exit List

The western end of the reversable lanes bridge empties traffic onto the recently reconstructed Meridian Ave.

*Exit 1A/1B - Gandy Blvd (US 92)
*Exit 2 - Euclid Ave
*Exit 3 - Bay to Bay Blvd/Mac Dill Ave
*Exit 4 - Willow Ave/Platt St
*Exit 5 - Hyde Park Ave/Cleveland St
*Exit 6A - Florida Ave
*Exit 6B - Channelside Dr/Morgan St
*Exit 7 - Morgan St/Borien St
*Exit 8 - Kennedy Blvd (State Road 60)Eastbound Reversible Lanes Access via Meridian Gateway (Downtown Tampa and Channelside)
*Exit 9 - 22nd St/21st St/20th St
*Exit 9A (Future) - Interstate 4 Connector (Proposed)Eastbound Reversible Lanes Access via SR 618 Local
*Exit 10 - 39th St
*Exit 11 - 50th St (US 41)
*Exit 12 - 78th StReversible Lanes Access - Both Directions via SR 618 Local
*Exit 13 - US 301
*Exit 14 - Faulkenburg Rd
*Exit 15A/B - Interstate 75Westbound Reversible Lanes Access via Brandon Gateway (State Road 60 (Florida), Providence Rd, Lakewood Dr, Lumsden Rd, Town Center Dr, Pauls Dr)

Tolls

*Willow Mainline: $1.00 Cash/75 Cents SunPass
*Palm River/78th St Mainline: $1.25 Cash/$1.00 SunPass
*Willow Ave, Hyde Park Ave, 22nd St, and 50th St Exits: 75 Cents Cash/50 Cents SunPass (All other exits are not tolled.)
*Reversible Lanes Bridge: $1.00 SunPass ONLY

Other Mishaps

*There have been a couple of lesser known mishaps that occurred on the Selmon Expressway in recent years.
**In 2001, a city truck, equipped with a hydroulic lift slammed into the 34th St overpass when the vehicle's lift was unknowingly raised. The accident crippled a support beam, which had to be replaced. [1]
**In 2005, a similar vehicle destroyed the overhead exit sign at Euclid Ave (Exit 2). It was over a month after the incident occurred that a replacement sign (and structure) were installed.
**Over the years there have been a few accidents that made headlines, where vehicles, traveling at high speeds, crashed in to one of the toll plazas.

Misc.

*In 2004, the Hillsborough County Expressway Authority accelerated a planned toll hike from its original date in 2009 to 2007. The plan would increase the mainline toll plazas by 25 cents and raise the 22nd St Exit tolls to 75 cents. The toll hike takes effect sometime in early 2007. The hike for the 22nd St ramps however, went in effect in late June.
*The final cost of the Reversible Lanes Bridge (including mishap): $420 million and four years of construction.
*A study regarding a contra-flow plan for the Selmon during an large-scale evacuation is currently underway. [2]

References

*Information regarding the collapse of the new reversible lanes bridge in 2004 was compiled from this article.
**Crosstown Collapse Special Report
*Information regarding the surprise opening of the reverable lanes were compiled from these reports.

External links

*Gandy plans on hold, for now St. Petersburg Times - December 4, 2002.
*Another Tampa Bay Bridge? St. Petersburg Times - October 31, 2002.
*Hillsbrough County Expressway Authority Website The Tampa expressway authority that owns Selmon-Crosstown Expressway.
*[3] I-4/Crosstown Connector Project page.
*Florida Route Log(SR 618)

Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway: Encyclopedia BETA

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