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I-75 Getting Traffic Alert Signs

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By SUSAN M. GREEN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 26, 2008

GIBSONTON - Late-night motorists on Interstate 75 in southern Hillsborough County likely will have to slow down for a few days, starting Sunday. But if they make it to Brandon, they will be the first to see fancy new information signs go up over the traffic lanes.

John McShaffrey, a Florida Department of Transportation spokesman for interstate construction, said the overhead electronic message signs - the first of their kind for I-75 but similar to those that have been installed along Interstate 275 in the Tampa area - went up over the southbound lanes north of Causeway Boulevard this week.

The northbound lanes from the area near the Riverview-U.S. 301 exit north to Fowler Avenue are next to receive the signs - five of them - that will give motorists up-to-the-minute information about weather, traffic jams and accidents that affect travel.

The large signs are lifted into place by crane and bolted in, McShaffrey said. No cars can be under the signs during installation, so two of three approaching lanes are closed, and law enforcement vehicles serve as pace cars to keep traffic creeping slowly forward until the signs are in place. Entrance ramps may be closed during pacing until traffic passes through the area.

Lane closures and traffic pacing to accommodate the work will affect northbound motorists from the Apollo Beach-Big Bend Road exit as far north as State Road 60. Crews typically install up to two signs a night, so only one or two sections of the interstate will be affected at a time. The work is expected to be completed by Wednesday or Thursday, depending on weather, McShaffrey said.

Workers may shut down northbound lanes starting about 10 p.m., reopening them by 6 a.m., he said. Pacing is expected to occur between midnight and 4 a.m.

Once installed, the signs will provide estimates of drive times and warnings of accidents or other delays. The signs are programmed from a central traffic management center in Tampa, McShaffrey said. Operators use information from traffic sensors, cameras and police reports to provide drive-time estimates.

On County Roads

Hillsborough officials also have issued permits for construction that may affect travel on the following county roads:

In Apollo Beach, the closing of Flamingo Drive between Fairway Boulevard and Florida Circle has been rescheduled. The road was expected to close this week and remain closed until Feb. 19 to allow improvements to the intersection associated with recent repairs of the Fairway Boulevard bridge.

In Lithia, the northbound lane of Pritcher Road from its dead end to Toole Road may be closed intermittently, along with the eastbound lane of Carey Road from its dead end to Bob Wiggs Avenue, to allow installation of monitor wells. Work is expected to start Monday and last about a month.

GOT A QUESTION?

Do you wonder why two roads come together as they do? Know about a recurring traffic hazard or bottleneck in your South Shore neighborhood or on your commute? Think you know a way to relieve traffic jams? Call Susan Green at (813) 865-1566 or e-mail sgreen@tampatrib.com with suggestions for "Getting Around."

Reporter Susan M. Green can be reached at (813) 865-1566 or sgreen@tampatrib.com.

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