Construction On New Northbound I-275 Lane At Kennedy Completed

TAMPA, FL — The Florida Department of Transportation announced that a new lane opened on northbound Interstate 275 this week, eliminating the merge condition just past Exit 39 to State Road 60/Kennedy Boulevard.

Drivers can now stay in the lane that also exits to SR 60 to continue toward downtown Tampa.

More changes are coming to improve traffic flow on the Exit 39 ramp.

The FDOT is continuing construction work on the 2.4-mile I-275 corridor to relieve congestion at the I-275/SR 60 interchange and I-275 from east of the Howard Frankland Bridge to Lois Avenue. These improvements are designed to provide congestion relief by adding lanes to I-275.

Planned improvements include:

• Adding a lane in both directions of I-275 between the exit ramps to SR 60 and the entrance ramps from SR 60
• Adding a lane to the northbound I-275 exit ramp to SR 60
• Removing the merge from the eastbound SR 60 loop ramp onto northbound I-275 by adding a lane onto I-275
• Adding a lane and noise wall barrier on northbound I-275 between West Shore Boulevard and Lois Avenue
• Widening the ramp from SR 60 onto southbound I-275

FDOT

New lanes opened on northbound I-275 earlier this month, eliminating the need for drivers to merge left when entering mainline I-275 from the right lane of the eastbound SR 60 “loop” entrance ramp.

This widening work also provides four continuous lanes for northbound I-275 drivers from SR 60 heading toward downtown Tampa and adds auxiliary lanes to improve traffic flow for traffic entering from West Shore Boulevard and exiting to Lois Avenue and Dale Mabry Highway.

In July, a third lane opened on southbound I-275, eliminating the need for drivers to merge in the SR 60 area heading toward the Howard Frankland Bridge. Final paving is scheduled to smooth out the rough spots, but the new lane should improve drive times on southbound I-275.

To accommodate the ongoing construction, lane closures will continue through Saturday, Aug. 15 from 8:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.:

• I-275 from west of SR 60 (Exit 39) to Lois Avenue (Exit 40B)
• SR 60 under I-275
• CR 587 (West Shore Boulevard) at I-275

Construction work began in June 2019 and is expected to be completed this fall at a cost of $31 million.