Tag: FDOT
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Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri will pull automated license plate readers off state highway rights-of-way to comply with a Florida Department of Transportation order, but he is not taking them down on county roads. He says the cameras remain a practical tool that has helped recover missing children, locate human trafficking victims, identify vehicles used…
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The Florida Department of Transportation has ordered local police departments to rip out automated license plate readers installed along state highway rights-of-way, giving agencies just 30 days to comply. The move, spelled out in a memorandum issued Monday, revokes existing approvals for the devices and shuts the door on any future installations on state roads.…
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Nearly two months after a costly sand dredging project wrapped up at John’s Pass, city leaders say leftover debris from the old bridge could be undoing the work. The Florida Department of Transportation demolished the former John’s Pass bridge to build a new drawbridge, which opened more than a dozen years ago. Concrete rubble from…
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Tampa Bay drivers heading southbound on I-275 from westbound Gandy Boulevard should plan for a detour tonight. The entrance ramp onto southbound I-275 from westbound Gandy Boulevard (SR-694) is scheduled to close at 11 p.m. Monday, May 19, and remain closed until 5 p.m. Tuesday, weather permitting, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. FDOT…
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The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has installed new asphalt speed tables along a roadway in Sarasota County to slow traffic and improve safety, according to officials. Speed tables were installed in the St. Armands area along State Road 789, also known as John Ringling Boulevard. The devices are designed to reduce vehicle speeds while…
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A $15.3 million pedestrian overpass on the Courtney Campbell Causeway is expected to open by the end of the year, providing a walking and cycling route between Clearwater Beach and Tampa. The city of Clearwater is now planning improvements to the 1.6-mile Bayshore Trail, which will connect directly to the overpass. The trail runs from…
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The southbound lanes of the Howard Frankland Bridge will be closed overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning for construction work. The Florida Department of Transportation announced the closure will begin at 11 p.m. Wednesday, January 28, and lasts until 5 a.m. Thursday, January 29. The closure is needed to finalize the installation of overhead signage as…
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The Florida Department of Transportation plans to have air travel operating along the Interstate 4 corridor between Tampa and Orlando by late 2026, agency officials announced. FDOT Secretary Jared Perdue declared that advanced air mobility is now officially a mode of transportation in the state, with the agency working to establish what it calls the…
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The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has completed a $143 million upgrade of the interchange between Interstate 75 (I-75) and U.S. Route 301 near Ellenton. The project added new bridges, widened entrance and exit ramps, and expanded I-75 with additional lanes. FDOT says the improvements aim to ease traffic flow, reduce crashes, and improve overall…
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The Florida Department of Transportation reopened all travel lanes through the Interstate 275/Interstate 4 downtown Tampa interchange at 6 p.m. Sunday, October 5, hours ahead of the scheduled 5 a.m. Monday reopening. The interchange closed Saturday for construction work as part of ongoing safety and operational improvements. The weekend closure was part of the ongoing…
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The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is planning a major closure of I-275 in downtown Tampa the weekend of October 4–6, 2025 to facilitate construction on the Downtown Interchange (I-275/I-4) project. From 12:01 a.m. Saturday through 5 a.m. Monday, all northbound lanes of I-275 through the interchange will be shut, and only one southbound lane…
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A $340 million widening project has started on Interstate 275 in Pinellas County, part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Moving Florida Forward initiative to address traffic congestion across the state. The project covers the stretch of I-275 from 38th Avenue North to 4th Street North. Plans include constructing two express lanes in each direction between 38th…
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The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District 7 will host a community meeting Thursday evening to begin its Project Development and Environmental Study for a major upgrade to the Courtney Campbell Causeway, connecting Clearwater and Tampa. The project is still in its early planning phase, but potential improvements include widening the roadway and adding environmental…
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Road construction is underway on a $340 million project to expand Interstate 275 through St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park. The work will add three tolled express lanes designed to ease congestion, improve hurricane evacuation routes, and reduce noise with new barriers, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. The new lanes will eventually link downtown…
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The original Howard Frankland Bridge is now on its way out. This week, crews began the careful and lengthy process of dismantling the decades-old structure. With traffic now fully shifted to the new span, work is underway to take the old bridge apart piece by piece. On Friday, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) invited…
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Demolition of the old Howard Frankland Bridge is officially scheduled for mid-July, according to a permit filed by the Florida Department of Transportation with the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The northbound span, originally built for $16 million, will be torn down after traffic is shifted to the bridge constructed in the 1990s, which had…
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Since the opening of the new Howard Frankland Bridge span in March, crashes have increased near the bridge’s Tampa-side entry point, raising concerns among drivers and transportation officials. Many incidents have occurred in the curved section of I-275 southbound, creating major traffic delays and prompting questions about the road design. “It’s very concerning,” David Alonso,…
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All lanes of Alt US 19 just south of Klosterman Road in Palm Harbor are now closed for approximately one month as part of a major repaving project. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, drivers will need to use Belcher Road and Alderman Road as detour routes to bypass the construction zone. “Motorists should…
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Two bills introduced in the Florida Legislature aim to increase the maximum speed limit on some interstates and turnpikes from 70 to 75 mph. Additionally, on four-lane divided highways in rural areas, the speed limit could rise from 65 to 70 mph. The proposed legislation, Florida House Bill 567 and Senate Bill 462, would allow…
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The future of the Cross Bay Ferry service between downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg may be determined today during a Hillsborough County Commission meeting. Commissioners are expected to vote on whether to end the county’s agreement with HMS Ferries, the operator of the service. If approved, the ferry could cease operations as early as April…
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Governor Ron DeSantis joined Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue in Kissimmee Monday morning to spotlight key infrastructure advancements under the state’s Moving Florida Forward initiative. The program, designed to fast-track construction on critical transportation corridors, has already accelerated over 20 major interstate and roadway projects across Florida. “We have at least 20 major…
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The Florida panther death toll for 2025 climbed higher with the fourth fatality recorded on March 10. This follows a troubling 2024, when the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission documented 36 panther deaths. Environmental groups, such as The Nature Conservancy, expressed concern over the endangered species’ plight but remain committed to collaborating with state…
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Progress may be slow, but it’s still progress—St. Petersburg’s highly anticipated Trails Crossing project is finally taking shape. Initially introduced in November 2021, Trails Crossing aims to revitalize neglected areas beneath I-275, converting them into dynamic park and event spaces that bridge divided neighborhoods. On March 6, the City Council approved civil engineering firm LandDesign…
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Florida has kicked off a major project to ease traffic congestion on Interstate 75 near the Turnpike. Governor Ron DeSantis announced the groundbreaking of over 30 miles of new lanes on Tuesday. These lanes will stretch from SR-44 in Wildwood to SR-326 in Ocala, aiming to reduce traffic backups where the Florida Turnpike splits from…
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Work is intensifying on a major project aimed at easing traffic congestion along I-4 between Tampa and Orlando. This effort is part of the “Moving Florida Forward” initiative, unveiled by Gov. Ron DeSantis last June, which focuses on enhancing safety and reducing congestion on key roadways across the state. A significant component of this plan,…
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Parents and students at Seminole Heights Elementary School in Tampa are expressing concerns over recent changes to intersections on Central Avenue. The intersections at Hanna Avenue and Lake Avenue, which previously had traffic lights, have been converted into four-way stops as part of a new bikeway project by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Safety…
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Drivers in the Tampa Bay area are no strangers to lengthy waits at traffic lights, but one intersection in Pasco County has been particularly aggravating for local resident Don Hassee. The intersection in question is at State Road 54 and Bexley Village Drive, just east of the Veterans Expressway. Hassee notes that making a left…
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The Howard Frankland Bridge, the busiest of the three bridges connecting Tampa and St. Petersburg across Old Tampa Bay, is nearing a major transition. The northbound/eastbound side, which first opened in 1959, is approaching the end of its lifespan. Coupled with the rapid population growth in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, this has necessitated the construction…
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A St. Petersburg-based think tank has highlighted how Florida’s outdated traffic signals contribute to pedestrian-involved crashes, longer commutes, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. The report, “Best Practices: Signalized Intersection Investments,” emphasizes the urgent need to enhance signal timing and responsiveness using artificial intelligence (AI) and new technologies. The Florida Policy Project (FPP) released the study…
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There’s no denying Pinellas County has a traffic problem – a big traffic problem. As more and more people move into the state, the number of vehicles on the road continues to rise. And that presents many problems, not the least of which are auto collisions – with the number of incidents steadily rising. One…
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Growing congestion at the intersection of Boyette Road and U.S. 301 in Tampa Bay has prompted plans for improvements, particularly for westbound drivers turning left onto southbound U.S. 301. The current five-lane configuration on westbound Boyette Road includes a single left turn lane, two through lanes, and two right lanes. The left turn lane, measuring…
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