![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/vlcsnap-2025-10-13-22h35m31s097.png\")
<\/p>\nTAMPA, Fla – The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is in the early stages of a Project Development and Environment (PD&E) study\u00a0for the 9.5-mile Courtney Campbell Causeway, which connects Tampa and Clearwater.<\/p>\n
The study is exploring ways to increase capacity and improve resilience\u00a0for the aging structure, which was originally built in 1974. Options on the table include widening the existing bridge\u00a0or starting from scratch with a full replacement.<\/p>\n
FDOT expects the study to be completed by late 2027.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What they’re saying:<\/p>\n
Environmental advocates say any upgrades should go beyond traffic flow.<\/p>\n
Maya Burke, the assistant director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, says the waters between Safety Harbor and Oldsmar\u00a0are the “oldest” in Tampa Bay \u2014 meaning water can stagnate for months, trapping stormwater runoff and pollutants.<\/p>\n
That pollution fuels algal blooms, which attack seagrass, a critical resource for fish, flood protection, and water clarity.<\/p>\n
“I don\u2019t use this word lightly,” Burke said. “But, they\u2019ve been startling, alarming kinds of losses.”<\/p>\n
Why you should care:<\/p>\n
Seagrass in Tampa Bay reached record levels in 2016, but coverage has since plummeted below worst-case 1980s projections, according to the Estuary Program. Environmental groups, including the Estuary Program and Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, see the FDOT project as a chance to “feed two birds with one seed,” modernize the causeway and design structures that improve tidal flow, potentially restoring water quality and seagrass health.<\/p>\n
What’s next:<\/p>\n
FDOT<\/a> is seeking public input\u00a0as part of its multi-year study and no final design has been chosen yet. Environmental groups say they plan to stay engaged to ensure ecological improvements\u00a0remain a priority.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Source: This story is based on interviews with FDOT environmental engineer Kirk Bogen, Maya Burke of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and reporting by FOX 13\u2019s Jennifer Kveglis.<\/p>\n Hillsborough County<\/a>Pinellas County<\/a>Transportation<\/a>Environment<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla – The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is in the early stages of a Project Development…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1172,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1563,47,629,115,1157,135,137,136,1798,628],"class_list":{"0":"post-1171","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-hillsborough","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-pinellas","13":"tag-tampa","14":"tag-tampa-headlines","15":"tag-tampa-news","16":"tag-transportation","17":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}