If you think the Interstate highways though Tampa have been under construction forever, you are right. And there's more to come.
With the exception of a two-year period, construction has been ongoing since 1995 on Interstate 275 and Interstate 4 through downtown Tampa.
But motorists and the Florida Department of Transportation should be able to celebrate a milestone Sunday night or early this next week when the $109 million northbound I-275 widening segment from Himes Avenue to downtown is completed.
"We are talking about final striping and installing raised pavement markers at night," FDOT Spokesman John McShaffrey said.
And the $215 million Tampa International Airport construction project is expected to be completed by January, several months in advance of the contract deadline, McShaffrey said.
However, motorists on Monday heading westbound from the airport and from West Spruce Street will likely find some additional congestion as lane alignment will be changed to accommodate the final phase of the airport interchange project.
Once the airport interchange project is completed, motorists can look forward to additional construction along I-4 and I-275 in Tampa.
Work on an estimated $446 million mile-long, elevated I-4 Connector segment along the eastern portion of Ybor City is scheduled to begin in early 2010 and be completed by late 2014. It will relieve truck traffic to and from the Port of Tampa through the heart of Ybor City.
In addition, projects are planned to widen Interstate 275 from six to eight lanes between Himes Avenue and the Howard Frankland Bridge and on southbound I-275 between Himes and the Hillsborough River downtown.
Construction estimates are being revised on those projects that could be put out for bid by 2013 and would take 4 1/2 years to build.
However, those timelines could be moved to launch the projects sooner or later, FDOT spokeswoman Kristen Carson said, depending on the availability of funding.