The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) was asked by the City of Tampa and the Florida Department of Transportation to investigate a toll-feasible solution for traffic in the Gandy corridor.

In the past, suggested solutions were for all the traffic.  While THEA looked at all of the traffic in our initial assessment, we realized that our target market is only a piece of the traffic –namely, traffic that has no destination in the Gandy corridor, is just passing through, and is willing to pay a toll to avoid local congestion.  That piece of the traffic – our target market – is approximately 35% of the traffic coming to and from the Gandy Bridge.  Because a toll would be charged, not everyone would use the bypass but those who do would still be enough to relieve congestion on Gandy. 

We believe that a small elevated structure, one lane in each direction (with shoulders and a barrier between lanes), down the median of Gandy will provide relief to Gandy Boulevard, while keeping the size small and maintaining the main street atmosphere.  In fact, the elevated structure can be built with no additional right-of-way acquisitions.  This solution accomplishes the primary goals and objectives the community asked us for – traffic relief without destroying the fabric of the community.  It also provides opportunities to mitigate potential negative impacts.

IF the regional bypass is built, THEA has proposed other ideas that can help with the “main street” feel of Gandy.  Traffic circles are one suggestion.  A new intersection configuration and stop light at Bridge Street is another suggestion.   The regional bypass works with – or without – these proposed changes to Gandy Boulevard.

We are at the very beginning of this project.  The regional bypass can stand on its own – or be combined with “main street” elements.  However, the “main street” elements, cannot be accomplished without the regional bypass.

To comment, please email info@tampa-xway.com