New study highlights Selmon Expressway’s impact as expansion plans take shape

Thousands of drivers use the Selmon Expressway every day, and traffic is expected to keep growing.

TAMPA, Fla. — Thousands of drivers use the Selmon Expressway every day, and traffic is expected to keep growing as the Tampa Bay region expands.

A new study from the University of South Florida, in partnership with the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority, finds the average Selmon Expressway commuter saves about 29 hours each year.

This story continues below.

The study also estimates the expressway helps avoid about 500,000 hours of additional delay every day on surrounding roads.

The data comes as the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority plans its next round of expansion projects.

The authority is studying a proposed extension of the Selmon Expressway along U.S. 301 into Riverview and Apollo Beach.

“We just did an update to the county commission on our 301 project, and so that project is extending the Selmon Expressway all the way down into Riverview and Apollo Beach, so you think about that from a congestion standpoint,” Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority CEO Gregory Slater said.

Slater said the expansion could also create economic opportunities by improving access to jobs.

“If we can open up that corridor, we can create job accessibility within 30 minutes for all of that Southern Hillsborough County demographic into downtown Tampa and open up that talent pool for downtown Tampa,” Slater said.

The U.S. 301 project is part of a larger series of projects planned along the Selmon Expressway, including new lanes, bridge work and noise walls in South Tampa.

“We’re adding noise walls to all these residential areas here in downtown Tampa. And then modernizing the technology across the corridor, so it’s giving it a full refresh. It’s breaking the congestion, and then it’s adding all of that technology to kind of make it more community focused,” Slater said.

Slater said the authority has been working with local neighborhood groups along the expressway as the projects move forward.

Residents have raised questions about how the construction and expansion could affect their communities, including concerns about sunlight, noise and traffic.

Julia Martin, a member of the Bayshore Beautiful neighborhood association, said residents want to see communication and collaboration throughout the long-term project.

“Respond appropriately to make sure that the hassle to us is minimal. And that goes for pretty much all the neighborhoods that are surrounding the Selmon,” Martin said.

The South Tampa project is expected to add a lane in each direction from Gandy Boulevard to the Hillsborough River Bridge. Construction is expected to take two to three years.

The authority says the expansion projects will be funded through toll revenue. Slater said there are no plans to raise tolls to pay for the work.