Interstate expansion in Tampa Heights is so loud that it’s shaking the neighborhood

The gigantic pile driving crane at I-275 and Floribraska Avenue makes a sharp, powerful sound that cuts through the neighborhood. Each time the pile driver slams into the ground, the noise wreaks havoc on unprotected ear drums. Blocks away, the shrill pounding of the machine can still be heard.

But closer to it, neighbors can literally feel the effects of the machine.

“I had to take my mirror and other fragile things off the wall because it was shaking so bad I thought they might fall,” said Camellia Simmons, who rents at Urban South Apartments, just east of the interstate and across the street from the construction.

Traditional pile drivers like the one being used on I-275 are essentially giant hammers, and are used to insert large columns, called “piles” into the earth. These form the foundations of many large structures like overpasses and tall buildings.

According to Echo Barrier, a company that specializes in noise management, pile driving is one of the loudest construction activities, coming in at 120 decibels from 10 feet away, or roughly equivalent to the noise level of a gunshot or aircraft takeoff. The sound can stretch for thousands of feet, fading as it moves further away from its origin.

Simmons and other neighbors have had to make adjustments as the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) widens the Floribraska overpass using the pile driver, as part of a $85 million project to add a lane in each direction to I-275 throughout the city of Tampa. The project is expected to last until 2026.

Last Friday, FDOT announced that it would begin construction on the project starting this week from 7 a.m.-4 p.m.

On Monday, the pile driving noise started.

Simmons’ neighbor, Tay Parham said that she’s lucky that she wakes up early anyways, so the sounds don’t disrupt her sleep. But during the daytime hours when the construction is taking place, she has to make adjustments.

“We have kids here and it’s really loud for them, so we have crank up the TV when it starts up,” Parham told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

On the other side of I-275, the effects are also felt.

Reuben P. Bryant can see the top of the pile driver from the back door of his house on Floribraska, where he’s lived for five-and-a-half years.

Over the time he’s lived there, he’s used his renovation skills to rebuild the place and fought for a streetlight at Floribraska and N Elmore Avenue because of the accidents that would occur regularly and spill into his property, putting his life in danger.

“I’ve put my blood and sweat into this place to get it to where it’s at,” Bryant said. “But when I heard the noise coming from the interstate, my eyes got wide, because I wondered what will happen to me financially.”

Bryant is a renovation and real estate professional, and after fixing up the mother-in-law suite out back of his house, he rents it to Airbnb guests. And he’s currently renting out the main house to his friend while he lives and works on a renovation in St. Pete. He comes back to the house on Floribraska regularly to upgrade the place and make it nice for those who visit.

Bryant said a guest from AirBnb recently left a review, complaining about the noise.

“Depending on how long this construction goes on, how loud it is, and how close that interstate wall comes as the lanes expand, I could be in trouble,” Bryant said. “This new lanes project isn’t for the people of this city. It’s so others can drive through here a few minutes faster, but who knows if that’s true once it’s actually built.”

Time and again, experts have pointed out that widening highways does not reduce congestion, especially in a rapidly growing city like Tampa. Some experts have pointed out that the construction actually makes traffic worse. This is due to the Fundamental Law of Road Congestion, which says that creating more roads instead of prioritizing other forms of transportation only increases the amount of drivers, which the road construction cannot keep up with.

Despite the lack of evidence for interstate expansion being effective, FDOT continues its interstate construction, which has a history of harming people of color in Tampa and across the country.

But it’s not just renters and homeowners feeling the impact of the interstate construction. Across the street from Bryant’s house is King State cafe. Employees there said they’ve had to close the doors and turn up the music to avoid the sounds coming from the construction.

When CL reached out to FDOT for comment on the complaints in the area, it sent the press release it issued on Friday as a response.

In regards to the pile driving work, FDOT wrote, “Over the coming weeks, nearby homes and businesses should expect noise, vibration, and at times lighting impacts. These impacts are unavoidable as heavy machinery will be used to reconstruct the overpasses at Floribraska Avenue, Lake Avenue, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Chelsea Street, Osborne Avenue, and Hillsborough Avenue as part of the I-275 Capacity Improvements project.”

“The $85.3 million project is adding one lane in each direction to I-275 from north of I-4 to the north of Hillsborough Avenue (US 92) using the department’s existing right-of-way. This project is expected to finish in early 2026,” FDOT continued.

Shane Ragiel, who lives just feet away from I-275, moved to the neighborhood five years ago, right around the time FDOT’s original TBX interstate widening proposal had been thwarted by activists in the community. He thought his home was safe, but now the office that he works from in his house was wracked with the noise from the pile driver today, making it difficult for him to do his work.

He’s the former President of the Tampa Heights Civic Association and considers himself well informed, but says he didn’t receive a notice on his door about the construction like some of his neighbors did.

“It’s not a good surprise to find out that this is happening,” Ragiel said.

He also said that he couldn’t believe that FDOT is following through with interstate expansion plans from the ’90s.

“The concept of, ‘More people come. Road get big’-type of thinking just seems really antiquated,” Ragiel said. “Especially when you have a majority of the county that voted for more public transit.”

He’s referring to a voter-supported penny-on-the-dollar sales tax that was approved by Hillsborough County for transit improvements, only to be struck down by the Florida Supreme Court as unconstitutional last year.
Now, the future for Ragiel and his husband as homeowners are uncertain as FDOT continues a plan that they don’t agree with.

He says that in his worst case scenario, he worries about issues with the foundation of their house and structural issues as the construction shakes it and the interstate coats it with debris. He worries that it will get worse when the lanes get closer to their home. “With the interstates, we just keep on doing this over and over again,” Ragiel said. “If it keeps up this way, eventually, Tampa is not going to be what it is now. Tampa is going to be a thoroughfare for the suburbs.”

This article appears in Feb 10-16, 2022.