TAMPA, Fla. – If you have plans to drive from Tampa to St. Pete late Wednesday night, you might want to leave early or get ready for a detour. The southbound side of the Howard Frankland Bridge on I-275 is shutting down overnight.
Starting at 11 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28, crews will close all southbound lanes heading towards the bridge. The road is scheduled to stay closed until 5 a.m. on Thursday, January 29. This is weather permitting, so heavy rain could always change the schedule.
Drivers heading south on I-275 will have to get off the highway at Exit 39, which is State Road 60. From there, signs will guide you on a long detour. The official route takes you onto Memorial Highway and across the Courtney Campbell Causeway. Once you get to the other side, you will take the Bayside Bridge south to Roosevelt Boulevard to get back on track.
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If that sounds like a lot of driving, you do have other options. Kennedy Boulevard, Dale Mabry Highway, and Gandy Boulevard will all remain open. Taking Gandy to cross the bay might be a shorter trip for some drivers depending on where you are starting.
Just make sure to give yourself extra time to get where you are going. With the main bridge closed, the other roads are likely to be much more crowded than usual.
The good news is that if you are driving the other way—north from St. Pete into Tampa—you are totally fine. Northbound lanes are not being touched.
This construction is happening so workers can finish putting up new overhead signs. It is all part of the big project to build the new southbound bridge between Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
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