Credit: Photo via Google Maps

Credit: Photo via Google Maps

For the last three years or so, residents living near the stretch of I-275 near and north of the downtown Tampa/I-4 interchange have successfully fought FDOT efforts to build more highway in and around their neighborhoods (read: the toll-road centric TBX and TBNext, which included express lanes of the Howard Frankland Bridge).

As a June 11 meeting of the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) approaches, many of those same voices once again find themselves trying to be heard as the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), certain community leaders and officials — including MPO Executive Director Beth Alden — push to begin work on a project that would widening I-275 north of downtown Tampa. Proponents say that the project would ease congestion at the I-4/I-275 intersection known as “malfunction junction.”

But opponents of the plan — especially ones in the Sunshine Citizens group, which supports a no-build option — wonder why the MPO isn’t talking more about public transit or the public transit tax that voters approved last November.

From May 13-16, Florida Opinion Research conducted a telephone survey of 401 randomly selected adult residents of Hillsborough County and asked several questions.

One of the more vague inquiries was “Would you say that Hillsborough County is going in the right direction, or has it gotten off onto the wrong track?,” and 63% responded “Right direction,” with 18% saying “Wrong track” while 4% said “Mixed” and 16% were “Unsure.”

Tampa Bay Partnership, which frequently tosses its hat into transportation debates, commissioned the study. If the name of that group sounds familiar, then you might remember when three of its members — Board Chair David Pizzo and Transportation Working Group Co-Chairs Barry Shevlin and Chad Loar — signed a letter saying that candidates for HART’s early 2019 CEO search were not experienced enough. The Partnership’s CEO, Rick Homans, sent the letter, which may have played into one candidate, Cleveland Ferguson, leaving the race.

At the time, Hillsborough County Commissioner and HART Board Chair Les Miller told FlaPol that Ferguson “was concerned he wouldn’t have the support of the business community,” adding, “that letter Rick Homans sent was not a good move.”

Some are saying that results of the recent Florida Opinion Research survey suggest that Hillsborough residents support widening I-275 north of downtown Tampa, which is supposed to ease congestion at the I-4/I-275 intersection known as “malfunction junction.”

Another question on the survey asked, “How often do you travel on the portion of Interstate 275 that runs from downtown Tampa to Bearss Avenue for your work, commuting, personal errands or other needs?”

To that, 47% said “Occasionally,” while 31% responded “Frequently” and 21% said “Not at all.”

Another 53% said that, generally speaking, traffic congestion on the portion of Interstate 275 that runs from downtown Tampa to Bearss Avenue was a “very big problem.” A whopping 94% of those surveyed agreed that “Interstate 275 helps connect people to jobs and opportunities.”

Results of the survey got interesting when only 56% of respondents disagreed with the sentiment that I-275 “divides neighborhoods and is detrimental to the people who live nearby it.” The survey found that 29% agreed with the same sentiment and noted that “sentiment about adverse effects of I-275 was strongest among those residing in closest proximity, but did not garner a majority among any sub-group.”

The survey’s most disheartening finding, however, was that 65% of respondents reported hearing “nothing” about plans and changes being considered for the portion of I-275 that runs through Hillsborough County from downtown Tampa to Bearss Avenue.

The Tampa Bay Times says that Homans, the aforementioned Tampa Bay Partnership CEO, is hoping that the survey’s findings might persuade members of Hillsborough’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to vote in favor of adding the project to the county’s five-year plan, which prioritizes projects for the state to fund.

That vote is set to happen on Tuesday, June 11 when the MPO will hear public comment regarding the project.


The MPO’s executive director, Beth Alden, said that a yes vote would allow the county to access $80 million from the state in 2023 for the interstate changes, with the rest of the $300 million still needed to be secured in future years. She also told the Times that the project would improve traffic flow and said, “We need to continue to invest in our primary highway infrastructure.”

In an email to CL, Alden — who says she has worked at the MPO since 1999 — reiterated her belief that the project benefits the neighborhoods next to I-275 and the people driving along it. She wrote that residents of those neighborhoods have been asking for noise walls for as long as she can remember.

“Adding one new through lane in each direction triggers a noise analysis and noise impact mitigation — and that’s what this project does, it adds one new, non-tolled lane in each direction,” she wrote, adding that, “It won’t make all the congestion go away, but it will provide some incremental relief…”

In April, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation told the Times that noise walls being built along I-275 near Roosevelt and Gandy Boulevard exits were expected to reduce sound levels between 5-7 decibels. Someone might experience 140 decibels on an aircraft carrier deck. Garbage disposals produce 80 decibels of noise. Breathing creates about 10 decibels' worth of noise. A loud fart is probably somewhere in the 20s.

Alden wrote to CL that, “Many people don’t know that noise walls also have air quality benefits, leading to less long-term/chronic illness,” and said that kids play behind Seminole Heights Elementary, which is just a few hundred feet away from I-275. There are numerous studies which suggest that the right mix of sound walls and vegetation, under the right wind conditions, do help trap pollutants in the area of the roadway.

“In my opinion, this project cannot be built soon enough,” Alden wrote.

When asked about the potential of a room full of voices opposing the project, Alden stood firm in her belief in the project.

“I understand that citizens are concerned, but it also seems to me that there is some misinformation circulating. It’s easy to confuse this project with the downtown interchange, for which there is still the possibility of a huge rebuild, with a big footprint,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of people say that the project we’ve just been talking about will take more homes; it will not. I expect we’ll get some comments along these lines at the hearing. I wish there were better understanding of the benefits of the project.”

CL attempted to email all 12 board members listed on the MPO’s website.

None of the five Hillsborough County commissioners (contacted via the commission website) responded.

A spokesperson for Joe Waggoner, Executive Director of the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority, told CL that he does not comment on his vote.

In an email, David Mechanik, a member of HART’s Board of Directors, said that he will listen to what folks at the MPO meeting have to say.

Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera called CL and said that he will also hear everyone out at the June 11 MPO meeting. He noted that many of the voices that will be heard have been out there speaking against other projects for years.

“We have to listen to constituents,” he said about his vote, which he would not disclose, “and we have to do what our hearts tell us is best.”


Tampa City Councilman Guido Maniscalco was more explicit in his response. He thinks society is turning away from being car-centric and moving towards becoming more transit-oriented. He expects the June 11 meeting to be packed just like it’s been in past years. He told CL that he will be there to vote and listen to the people speaking, many of whom would directly be negatively affected by interstate expansion.

He also questioned the methodology of the Florida Opinion Research telephone survey. In Maniscalco’s opinion, the sampling of 401 from the survey is not an accurate representation of Hillsborough county, considering its size, its population, and how many commuters affect traffic at peak times on a daily basis.

“How targeted was the survey? Was it done with residents who lived along the interstate or nearby? Did the survey take a sample of random residents throughout Hillsborough County, which extends into Ruskin, Plant City, Apollo Beach, and Brandon?,” he asked in an email to CL, reiterating that the interstate runs directly through his district and many of the city’s important and rich neighborhoods.

“These neighborhoods have worked tirelessly for decades in order to come back from the initial division created by the original interstate over 50 years ago, which split neighborhoods, relocated families,” Maniscalco wrote. In his opinion, those projects triggered a negative financial impact in those areas, which have now seen a turnaround.

“When I campaigned for the 2015 election, I repeatedly said I would be a voice for the neighborhoods. As a member of the MPO, I have consistently voted against highway expansion, TBX, and any further destruction of these neighborhoods,” Maniscalco added. He mentioned the communities in opposition to TBX and then its aversion to the TBNext project.

“In the end, the people responded in much of the same way, ‘Transit now’ and ‘NO TBX,’” Maniscalco said. He said that he refuses to betray the people he represents and will continue to vote against interstate expansion. “I made a promise to the people that elected me and I will continue to keep that promise and stand with them.”

Maniscalco did say that he would be open to a plan to make improvements to the I-275/ I-4 interchange (south of the proposed changes to the area of I-275 north of downtown to Bearss Avenue), if it didn’t negatively affect his constituents.

“If FDOT can promise that no land is needed for interstate expansion, for example to fix malfunction junction, and they would not have to buy any new parcels of land or demolish any existing structures, then the conversation changes,” Maniscalco added. “In the meantime, I think there is a lot of uncertainty.”

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This article appears in Jun 6-13, 2019.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...