From 10 Connects:
Cars are now driving on a new section of Northbound I-275 that runs from Himes Avenue through Downtown Tampa.
Eventually, the construction there will give drivers five lanes to choose from as they head into Downtown.
The new stretch of road also smooths out some of the hills that take cars up and down as they drive through the area, adds noise barriers, and opens the median for potential use as a path for a light rail line between Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties.
For now, though, the road will be just three lanes wide in some places, and those lanes will be more narrow than usual. So the state has put the speed limit at 45 miles an hour until the project moves into its next phase in about four months.
This article appears in Apr 22-28, 2009.