Since opening in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, drivers in the City of Tampa have relied on an expansive system of urban interstates including 8-miles of I-4 through Ybor City, the roughly 11-mile north/south stretch of I-275, connecting the University of South Florida to Downtown Tampa, the roughly 6-miles of I-275 running West towards the Howard Frankland Bridge and eventually St. Petersburg, and the Downtown Interchange or “DTI” where all three converge.
Occasional maintenance projects aside, the north/south segment of I-275 and all its exits are largely the same configuration and footprint as after initial construction in the late 1950’s — while serving an additional 831,438 in population as of 2010 (6). This number is expected to effectively double by 2050 (7). Both the east/west segment of I-275, I-4, and the DTI have been significantly widened or expanded since initial construction, devastating Tampa’s ethnic and minority neighborhoods in West Tampa, Central Park, and Ybor City.
