TAMPA — If your downtown commute runs down South Tampa Street toward Franklin Street and the Channel District, Wednesday morning looked different.
At 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority closed the stretch of South Tampa Street beneath the Selmon Expressway that most drivers call the S-curve, at East Brorein Street. It's expected to stay closed for about two years, until roughly November 2028, while crews install support pillars for new lanes on the expressway overhead, according to the City of Tampa.
How the detour works
Instead of curving onto Franklin Street under the expressway, drivers now get there by way of East Brorein Street, which has shifted to a temporary two-way pattern. Here's what changed, per THEA and 10 Tampa Bay:
- Heading to Franklin Street from South Tampa Street: you'll be sent into the leftmost lane of East Brorein Street.
- Southbound South Tampa Street at Brorein: the one remaining southbound lane becomes left-turn only onto Brorein.
- On East Brorein Street: the left lane has been restriped as an eastbound right-turn-only lane, separated by a portable lane barrier and temporary yellow fencing.
- Brorein between South Morgan Street and South Florida Avenue: the left lane is closed for the duration, with barricades and detour signs.
The Tampa Convention Center parking garage entrance on Brorein and the Exhibit Hall upper loading docks on Franklin stay open throughout. The garage entrance was closed overnight Tuesday for restriping and was set to reopen at 5 a.m. Wednesday.
If you're headed to a convention or a Lightning game and usually come in on Tampa Street, give yourself a few extra minutes the first couple of weeks while everyone learns the new lanes.
What's being built
The closure is part of THEA's South Selmon Capacity Project, which adds an inside lane in each direction to the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, making it six lanes across 4.5 miles from west of Himes Avenue to east of Florida Avenue. All of it fits within THEA's existing right of way.
THEA says traffic on the Selmon has grown more than 80% in the past decade. The authority argues the extra lanes will ease bottlenecks and keep commuters on the expressway instead of cutting through neighborhoods on roads like Bayshore Boulevard. The project also promises new sidewalks and lighting in the underpasses.
The $362 million project is paid for entirely with Selmon toll revenue, not state or federal tax dollars, according to THEA.
Noise and work hours
Crews have also started foundation work. THEA says the noise and vibration are normal and that vibration monitors are set up near nearby buildings. Heavy equipment runs only between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and each foundation shaft takes about three to five days, 10 Tampa Bay reported.
Questions go to THEA at info@southselmoncapacity.com or 813-659-6140.