Sunday, September 27, 2009

Southbound Howard Frankland is closed: What to do?

In light of a major accident that happened on Sunday afternoon, 27 September 2009, that closed Interstate 275 at the Howard Frankland Bridge the variable message signs were informing motorists headed south on Interstate 275 towards St. Petersburg to use FL 60/Spruce Street.

For your information, the Florida DOT has this information wrong. Yes you could use FL 60 but you will end up taking a roundabout detour across the Courtney Campbell Causeway and eventually into St. Petersburg by way of Clearwater. You got that right - head through Clearwater.

But you do not want to go to Clearwater. You want to go to St. Petersburg.

You are on southbound Interstate 275 and you just passed downtown Tampa which provides access to the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway and to the Gandy Bridge. Or, you are at Tampa International Airport and you are stuck not wondering what to do.

OK.

I am going to give you a secret as to how to get to St. Petersburg from Tampa in case the Howard Frankland Bridge is closed without having to backtrack into downtown Tampa to catch the Crosstown. It’s easy.

First, for those of you on southbound Interstate 275 and the variable message signs tell you the Howard Frankland Bridge is closed and you are getting very close to the last exit in Tampa, Exit 39. Take Exit 40A, which is Westshore Blvd., and head south. Westshore goes into a two lane road south of Kennedy Blvd. but follow Westshore all the way to Gandy Blvd., a distance of about two or three miles. Take a right on Gandy and follow Gandy across the Gandy Bridge into St. Petersburg. Once across the Gandy Bridge continue west on Gandy Blvd. to Interstate 275 and reenter Interstate 275 from there. Sounds good enough?

Second, for those of you coming out of Tampa International Airport and you find that the Florida Highway Patrol has closed the entrance ramp to southbound Interstate 275 to St. Petersburg, here’s what to do. You will see signage for FL 616, which is eastbound Spruce Street – exit onto Spruce Street and head east for about a mile to Westshore Blvd. Turn right onto Westshore Blvd. and head south; you will go under Interstate 275 and pass Kennedy Blvd. and Westshore Plaza on the right but you want to keep heading south on Westshore Blvd. As mentioned previously Westshore goes into a two lane road south of Kennedy Blvd. but follow Westshore all the way to Gandy Blvd., a distance of about two or three miles. Take a right on Gandy and follow Gandy across the Gandy Bridge into St. Petersburg. Once across the Gandy Bridge continue west on Gandy Blvd. to Interstate 275 and reenter Interstate 275 from there. Sounds better?

Now you have the secret in case the Howard Frankland Bridge southbound is closed and you are too far from the Crosstown Expressway in Tampa: Westshore Blvd. and Gandy Blvd. And believe me, if you are headed towards St. Petersburg from Tampa it’s much quicker than following the “recommended” detour through Clearwater courtesy of the Florida DOT.

And one more thing. Remember to check your speed when traveling Westshore Blvd., especially the section south of Kennedy Blvd. to Gandy Blvd. The speed limit is 30 mph and the men and women in blue of the Tampa Police Department enforce the speed limit. That means if you use Westshore Blvd. as a detour please be respectful of the neighborhood as you pass through.

The same thing goes for Gandy Blvd. and the Gandy Bridge: The speed limits on Gandy Blvd. are enforced not only by Tampa PD on the Tampa end but also by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on the St. Petersburg end (the St. Petersburg end is unincorporated Pinellas County until just before 4 St N). So please watch your speed and allow extra time if Interstate 275 at the Howard Frankland Bridge is closed.

Finally, I feel that commuter rail utilizing the center of Interstate 275 is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity if the Tampa Bay area as a region wants to succeed when America pulls itself out of the current recession. No matter why more prominent companies will not relocate to the Tampa Bay area due to inept mass transit.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You forgot if you're leaving the airport you can just stay on SR 60 eastbound and follow that to Westshore Blvd. Less traffic and signals to follow that route instead of all of the lights that are north of I-275 through the detour you suggested. Good job otherwise though.

Edward Ringwald said...

Thanks for the comment. This was written back when FL 60 eastbound was under reconstruction at the time with all these lane shifts.

Now that the TIA interchange project is just wrapped up, it's now a lot easier to use FL 60 eastbound to Westshore Blvd coming out of TIA in the event the Howard Frankland is closed.

Moreover, if you are renting a car from Alamo or National, as Alamo is located on the frontage road as Spruce Street it's still easier to use Spruce Street to Westshore Blvd. and proceed south on Westshore.

Again thanks for pointing this out!