Lee Roy Selmon Expressway
The Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, originally known as the Southern Crosstown Expressway is a all-electronic, limited access toll road in Hillsborough County, Florida, It connects the South Tampa neighborhood near MacDill Air Force Base with Downtown Tampa and the bedroom community of Brandon. The expressway was built in stages, opening between 1976 and 1987. An approximately 1.9 mile extension to the thoroughfare's western terminus opened to traffic on Monday, April 19, 2021. The expressway was supposed to be part of a multi-expressway system that failed in the 1970s due to heavy local opposition  and financial burdens. The original designation for the expressway was State Road 449, but was switched to State Road 618, which remained a hidden designation until the early 2000s, when it began appearing on maps and in atlases. The expressway features an elevated bridge, the world's first reversible, all-electronic, elevated express lane project, opened in 2006, with the hidden designation of State Road 618A. The entire expressway ended cash collection on September 17, 2010, going all-electronic for both the express lanes and the main expressway. The expressway was renamed Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway in 1999, in  honor of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers hall-of-fame football player Lee Roy Selmon. The "Crosstown" portion of the name was dropped in 2008, although it is still referred to as the "Crosstown" by the majority of the population. Most traffic reports and locals refer to it as the Crosstown. Route description. The tollway begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 92 (Gandy Boulevard) and Dale Mabry Highway north of MacDill Air Force Base. It makes its way northeast along a lightly used CSX rail corridor for the first four miles before heading east towards downtown Tampa. From Florida Ave , the highway winds through the Channelside District and the southern fringe of Ybor City before continuing due eastward towards 78th St. There is a connection to I-4 just east of 22nd St that allows commuters to easily move between various points throughout Hillsborough County and beyond. Just west of 78th St, the expressway crosses over Palm River (the southernmost portion of the Tampa Bypass Canal) and makes a southeastward curve towards US 301. From there, the highway crosses over US 301 and Falkenburg Road before ending at a trumpet interchange with I-75 in Brandon. Express lanes. The reversible express lanes  (REL), also known as State Road 618A, begin at Meridian Avenue in downtown Tampa, following the main expressway's path from above in the center median for most of its journey. Almost the entire route is elevated, with the exception of at-grade segments between 26th Street and 39th Street, as well as between 78th Street and I-75. An at-grade provision was made between 26th Street and 39th Street to accommodate the newly opened Interstate 4/Selmon Expressway Connector. This at-grade portion is equipped with an eastbound (only) slip-ramp to allow commuters from South Tampa to utilize  the REL. A toll gantry is located just east of 78th Street and is the only toll gantry along the entire REL. Between 78th Street and US 301, slip-ramps exist for both directions (exiting and entering the REL). The REL crosses over I-75 and ends at Town Center Boulevard in Brandon (near Westfield Brandon). From there, the highway disperses onto the Brandon Parkway, which connects to Providence Road and other redesigned thoroughfares to allow seamless connection to points within Brandon and surrounding areas. Operating hours. On weekdays, the REL operates westbound from 6:00-10:00am. From 10:00am-1:00pm, the road is  in transitional operation in which the western segment between 78th Street and Downtown Tampa carries westbound traffic and the eastern segment from US 301 to Brandon Parkway carries eastbound traffic. Then, from 3:00pm through 6:00am the next morning, the entire REL operates eastbound only. On weekends and holidays, the REL stays operating in the eastbound direction from 3:00pm Friday afternoon through 6:00am Monday morning. Gandy Blvd Extension. Officially known as just the Selmon Extension, the project encompasses erecting a two-lane elevated viaduct over the median of Gandy Blvd in order to provide commuters a signal-free drive from the  Brandon terminus all the way to the Gandy Bridge. Plans for the project originally surfaced in the late 1990s as either a viaduct over the roadway's median or as a separate limited access roadway paralleling Gandy either to the north or south. Community opposition brought the project to a standstill multiple times and eventually caused the north and south limited access highway options to be cancelled out right. The remaining option for the elevated viaduct over the median of Gandy survived but was further halted due to additional community opposition, as well as budgetary issues brought upon by the  2009 recession. In 2016, the THEA began public outreach efforts to restart the project and execute construction in a manner by which would not cause a detrimental impact to the surrounding community. The agency also launched its "Shop Gandy" initiative to help businesses along the Gandy corridor before, during, and after the course of construction. The project was completed in March of 2021, and the extension opened to traffic on April 19, 2021 during the early afternoon. Upon opening of the extension, commuters will be able to travel between the Brandon terminus and Pinellas County without encountering a stoplight. Lane  counts. For most of its length, the Selmon is four lanes (two in each direction). However, some six-lane segments (three lanes in each direction) exist. Open-road tolling. The Expressway has no staffed toll gates. To accommodate motorists who do not have SunPass transponders (such as those from out of state), the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority and Florida's Turnpike Enterprise utilize a "Toll-By-Plate" program. Vehicles without SunPass transponders are photographed and their license plates are read. If the license plate number is associated with a Toll-by-Plate account, that account is used to pay the  toll. If there is no account, notification of the toll is mailed to the vehicle's owner, with penalties being imposed after 30 days. Toll-By-Plate administrative fees are also applied to bills not associated with a registered account. History. The South Crosstown Expressway. The Crosstown Expressway is the southern component of what was planned to be a system of expressways throughout the Tampa area from the 1950s to 1970's, but the rest were cancelled by the 1980s due to financial problems, land acquisition and community revolts. The first six miles of the tollway was built in the  mid-1970s on a CSX rail line, from the western terminus at Gandy Blvd. at Dale Mabry Highway, making an eastward turn at Platt Street/Willow Avenue, snaking around historic Hyde Park before ending at a 3/4-mile, six lane viaduct, spanning the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa, ending at Florida Avenue. Ridership was low when it opened in 1976, as people were less willing to drive the toll road when free roads were available nearby. The remaining nine miles of the expressway was built and opened in stages between 1979 and 1987, with the expressway extending to Falkenburg Road in  1983 and connecting to its eastern terminus of I-75 in 1987. In 1975, a contest was held to determine the logo of the expressway. Only one entry was submitted, a picture of pirate Jose Gaspar with the title "TAMPA CROSSTOWN EXPRESSWAY", all on a blue background. This logo was phased out in the early 2000s. In 2006, an "interim" logo featuring a bridge over a highway reading "Selmon-Crosstown Expressway" was unveiled but was never widely implemented along the expressway. In 2008, a more permanent logo was unveiled, which consists of the FDOT standard "TOLL 618" plates and a "Selmon  Expressway" logo. This new logo, which replaced the previous Crosstown Expressway logos, reads "SELMON EXPRESSWAY" with downtown Tampa in purple and three ribbons, a yellow one in the middle of two teal ones going towards the city. In 2001, a city truck equipped with a hydraulic lift slammed into the 34th Street overpass when the vehicle's lift was unknowingly raised. The accident crippled a support beam, which had to be replaced. In 2005, a similar vehicle destroyed the overhead exit sign at Euclid Ave (Exit 2) and over a month passed before a replacement sign (and structure) were installed . Also, over the years there have been a few accidents that made headlines, where vehicles, traveling at high speeds, crashed into one of the toll plazas. In 2004, the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority accelerated a planned toll hike that would increase the mainline toll plazas by 25 cents and raise the 22nd St Exit tolls to 75 cents from its original date in 2009 to 2007. The toll hike took effect on January 1, 2007, with the hike for the 22nd St ramps going into effect in late June 2006. On September 17, 2010, cash collection on the Selmon Expressway  ended in favor of open road tolling. The original toll plazas were removed and replaced with toll gantries similar to the ones installed on the express lanes, allowing free-flowing movement throughout the tollway. The tollway takes either SunPass or "We Bill You," and customers who do not have either account will be billed later for their use on the expressway. The reversible elevated lanes. The reversible elevated lanes (REL), aimed at cutting traffic congestion times, were originally envisioned in 1995 by the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) as an innovative idea to increase capacity along the Lee Roy Selmon  Expressway from Downtown Tampa to Brandon without acquiring additional right-of-way. Instead, an elevated, three-lane bridge was built over the existing median of the expressway. Planning for the project began around 1995/1996, but final designs/planning were not made until the later 1990s. Construction commenced in 2003 but in 2004, a portion of the elevated bridge collapsed during construction, halting construction for about a year. The segment was repaired and all other piers were reinforced when construction resumed in 2005. In spring 2005, two realigned sections of the eastbound lanes opened. One section is between 22nd Street and  39th Street, the other between 78th Street and I-75. The at-grade sections of the reversible lanes now follow the old alignments. The Brandon Gateway section of the elevated bridge opened in November 2005 and gained an overwhelmingly positive input by commuters. Thus the bridge was kept open beyond January 2006 (when it was originally scheduled to close for more bridge work) during the evening rush hour. On July 18, 2006 at 6 am, the reversible lanes opened to westbound morning traffic (only). Long lines were formed at the Brandon Gateway well in advance as many anticipated using the new  road. However, the scene from news helicopter snapshots showed that only a handful of drivers actually ended up using the new bridge, compared to the number that was expected. These findings may be blamed partly on the lack of advance notification to commuters, the number of commuters who own a SunPass transponder, and an unrelated traffic incident on Ashley Drive in downtown Tampa. Many other questions were raised as a result of the low traffic volume along the reversible lanes. The eastbound direction opened to traffic on August 29, 2006 at 3:30 pm. A "Grand Opening" celebration was held on  September 23, 2006, with festivities including a 5k and 10k run across the new bridge. On November 1, 2006, Florida's Turnpike Enterprise began a pilot program with the THEA, known as "Toll-by-Plate." This program allows occasional commuters to utilize the reversible express lanes through a system of high-resolution cameras (at the 78th Street barrier checkpoint/gantry) which snap photos of license plates. The commuter is then sent a bill via mail. The THEA reports that over 500 commuters have already signed up for the Toll-by-Plate program since its debut. The program's success so  far may lead to future expansion to other tolled thoroughfares in Florida, such as the lower level of the Selmon Expressway, and the Veterans Expressway/Suncoast Parkway. The project was officially completed in 2007 after four years of construction at a cost of $420 million. Level of service was upgraded from an "F" to an "A" as commuters are now able to travel at full speed, cutting travel time by as much as 60 minutes per day. The elevated lanes project won the prestigious "2007 IBTTA President's Award: Most Innovative Toll Transportation Project in the World," along with  22 awards for engineering excellence and community-friendly design. This modern solution is a prototype for eliminating urban traffic congestion and reducing green house gases. Over 12 million trips on the elevated lanes have been completed with no reported accidents. In June 2009, a settlement was reached between the THEA, URS, and other parties, regarding the 2004 collapse of the elevated lanes and the lawsuit that followed. The THEA was able to obtain approximately $75 million from the settlement, which will be used to pay off debts and help fund an upcoming widening and rehabilitation project along the downtown  Tampa viaduct. The Interstate 4/State Road 618 Connector Project. This is a connector between the Selmon Expressway and nearby Interstate 4 to the north, designed to help filter hazardous cargo away from Ybor City to the Port of Tampa. The 39th Street interchange (Exit 10) permanently closed on May 13, 2010 to make way for the I-4/Selmon Expressway Connector ramps. The connector opened to traffic on January 6, 2014. Downtown viaduct widening project. In conjunction with the I-4/Selmon Connector project, the THEA widened the section of the downtown viaduct from just east of Morgan St to 20th  St from four lanes (two in each direction) to six lanes (three in each direction). This was done to help strengthen the expressway's capacity as usage of the I-4/Selmon Connector grows. This particular project was budgeted at $70 million, with some of the funds coming from a settlement between the THEA and other parties for the 2004 collapse of the elevated express lanes at 50th St. Future. Testing of automated vehicles. The Selmon's REL was selected as one of ten sites throughout the US that could test out automated vehicles. Such testing would occur during off -peak hours and would require a complete closure of the REL during those times. Bus toll lanes. A partnership between the THEA and Hillsborough Area Regional Transit is exploring the placement of dedicated toll lanes along the Selmon that would be utilized by both private vehicles and transit buses . Contra-flow study. A study regarding a contra-flow plan for the Selmon during a large-scale evacuation is currently underway. The Hillsborough County EOC and THEA are planning out just how the expressway could be used as an evacuation route. The big limitation of the plans was the reason that  the original plans were cancelled is the I-75 trumpet interchange, which narrows to one lane on three of the four ramps to and from the interstate. The current plan, if approved, is as follows.