Interstate 275 (Florida)
Encyclopedia : I : IN : INT : Interstate 275 (Florida)
Interstate 275 (abbreviated I-275) in Florida serves the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. I-275 measures 63.39 miles (102.01 km) in length. While the parent route, Interstate 75, bypasses the metropolitan area to the east, I-275 runs through downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida. This is backwards, according to AASHTO rules, where bypasses should get the prefixes, and through-routes should keep the main number.
Its northern terminus is I-75 in Wesley Chapel. It runs south through the northern suburbs into downtown Tampa, then west across the Howard Frankland Bridge through St. Petersburg, then south across the modern Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Both bridges cross Tampa Bay, and the Sunshine Skyway charges a toll. The southern terminus is I-75 near Palmetto.
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 U.S. 19/Pinellas Bayway exit (Exit 17).
The only major interchange on I-275 is with I-4, just north of downtown Tampa. Locally referred to as "Malfunction Junction", in 2005/2006 this interchange received a major overhaul. It also connects to I-175 and I-375, which both feed into Downtown St. Petersburg.
Junctions with major roads
- U.S. Route 41
- Interstate 4
- State Road 60
- Dale Mabry Highway
- Veterans Expressway
- U.S. Route 92
- Interstate 375
- Interstate 175
- U.S. Route 19
History
Created in 1973 from the portion of I-75 from I-4 south to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. I-4 followed this route prior to 1971. Its northern terminus was relocated in 1981 to its present day location.The I-275 and I-375 interchange and Exit 20 were configured for a westward expansion to a planned Pinellas Beltway.
The West Shore Boulevard interchange was originally a full diamond interchange. The northbound off-ramp and southbound on-ramp was closed in order to prevent collisions with traffic using the Veterans Expressway
Exits
Since 2002, exits have been demarcated by mile markers, instead of sequentially.| County | Northbound | Southbound | Exit | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exit # | Exit # (old) | Exit # | Exit # (old) | ||
| Manatee | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
U.S. 41 |
| Manatee | 5 | 2 |
U.S. 19 South | ||
| Pinellas | 16 | 3 | 16 | 3 | Pinellas Point Drive/S.R. 687 |
| Pinellas | 17 | 4 | 17 | 4 |
U.S. 19 North/54th Avenue S/S.R. 682/Pinellas Bayway |
| Pinellas | 18 | 5 | 26th Avenue S | ||
| Pinellas | 19 | 6 | 22nd Avenue S | ||
| Pinellas | 20 | 7 | 31st Street S | ||
| Pinellas | 21 | 8 | 28th Street S | ||
| Pinellas | 22 | 9 | 22 | 9 |
Interstate 175 |
| Pinellas | 23 | 10 | 23A | 10 |
Interstate 375 |
| Pinellas | 23B | 11 |
5th Avenue N/S.R. 595 | ||
| Pinellas | 24 | 12 | 24 | 12 | 22nd Avenue N |
| Pinellas | 25 | 13 | 25 | 13 | 38th Avenue N |
| Pinellas | 26A | 14A | 26 | 14 | 54th Avenue N (East) |
| Pinellas | 26B | 14B | 54th Avenue N (West) | ||
| Pinellas | 28 | 15 | 28 | 15 | Gandy Boulevard/S.R. 694 |
| Pinellas | 30 | 16 | 30 | 16 | Roosevelt Boulevard/S.R. 686 |
| Pinellas | 31A | 17 | 9th Street N/MLK (CLOSED and combined with former exit 18) | ||
| Pinellas | 31B | 18 | S.R. 688 (Ulmerton Rd.)/Martin Luther King Jr. St. | ||
| Pinellas | 32 | 19 | 4th Street N/S.R. 687 | ||
| Hillsborough | 39A | 20A |
Kennedy Boulevard/S.R. 60 East | ||
| Hillsborough | 39B | 20B | 39 | 20 |
Memorial Highway/S.R. 60 West/TO: State Road 589 (Florida) Veterans Exwy |
| Hillsborough | 40A | 21 | West Shore Boulevard | ||
| Hillsborough | 40 | 22 | 40B | 22 | Lois Avenue |
| Hillsborough | 41A | 23B | 41A | 23B |
Dale Mabry South/U.S. 92 West |
| Hillsborough | 41B | 23A | 41B | 23A |
Dale Mabry North/U.S. 92 East |
| Hillsborough | 41C | 23C | Himes Avenue | ||
| Hillsborough | 42 | 24 | 42 | 24 | Armenia Avenue/Howard Avenue |
| Hillsborough | 44 | 25 | Ashley Drive/Scott Street/Tampa Street | ||
| Hillsborough | 45A | 26 | Jefferson Street/Ashley Drive/Doyle Carlton Drive | ||
| Hillsborough | 45 | 27 | 45B | 27 |
Interstate 4 |
| Hillsborough | 46A | 28 | Floribraska Avenue | ||
| Hillsborough | 46 | 29 | 46B | 29 |
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/S.R. 574 |
| Hillsborough | 47A | 30A | 47 | 30 |
Hillsborough Avenue/U.S. 92 East |
| Hillsborough | 47B | 30B |
Hillsborough Avenue/U.S. 92 West | ||
| Hillsborough | 48 | 31 | 48 | 31 | Sligh Avenue |
| Hillsborough | 49 | 32 | Bird Street | ||
| Hillsborough | 50 | 33 | 50 | 33 |
Busch Boulevard/S.R. 580 |
| Hillsborough | 51 | 34 | 51 | 34 |
Fowler Avenue/S.R. 582 |
| Hillsborough | 52 | 35 | 52 | 35 |
Fletcher Avenue/S.R. 579 |
| Hillsborough | 53 | 36 | 53 | 36 |
Bearss Avenue/S.R. 678 |
Lane configurations
- between northern terminus and just north of Bearss Avenue (Exit 53) (2 lanes each way)
- between Bearss Avenue and Howard Frankland Bridge (near Exit 39) (mostly 3 lanes each way)
- on and south of the Howard Frankland Bridge (between Exits 39 and 30) (4 lanes each way)
- Between Exit 30 and Exit 16 (3 lanes each way)
- *Between Exits 25 and 26 (4 lanes, southbound only)
- *Between Exits 22 and 23A (2 lanes each way)
- Between Exit 16 through the Sunshine Skyway Bridge (2 lanes each way excluding the toll plazas)
Other construction projects
Besides the ongoing "Malfunction Junction" reconstruction, other projects are currently taking place:
I-275 between Yukon St and Florabraska Ave is getting rehabilitated. (Should be complete by late 2007) I-275 Sunguide (Various Locations)
And these are the projects to come:
I-275 between Bearss Ave and I-75 (widening from 4-6 lanes) I-275 reconstruction between the Howard Frankland Bridge and Downtown Tampa. (According to this article [link], the project cost just got more expensive) Freeway connection to the Bayside Bridge. Note, a small part of this freeway is already completed.
Naming Game
- On some older street maps (dating around 1970s - early 1990s), I-275 from I-4 to Downtown St. Pete was referred to as the "Tampa Expressway". That name has since faded, for the most part.
- 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 was a member of the Florida legislature from 1955-1971. A brief bio can be found by [clicking here].
External links
Sources
| [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit ] Auxiliary routes of Interstate 75
|
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.