Could the exit ramp from i-75 Southbound to I-4 be any more pathetic?? (Tampa: neighborhood, live)

[Johnland]

What were they thinking when they planned this road? I-75 southbound is three lanes, but the exit ramp to I-4 East or West is only a single lane. This means almost daily, the Orlando bound traffic congestion backs up and clogs that one exit lane, even for people heading west to Tampa. Not only that. because that one little exit lane is supposed to weave two major beltways together, it just gets hopelessly backed up no matter what.

I would never even venture out there if New Tampa was somehow connected to I-275 (you, know, like to the rest of the city). But since I must commute between New Tampa and South Tampa daily, I'm forced to use the ridiculus I-75/-I-4 route.

[ferret111]

I think they did try to build some sort of 75/275/New Tampa connector, but neighborhood associations and NIMBY-type groups shut it down. It appears on some older maps, but I think the project has been deleted from the FDOT agenda.

[pk33615]

there are even stubs where the veterans exwy ends at dale mabry, hinting that the road was supposed to go further east, connecting with 275.

Lutz killed it...and now they can barely get out of their driveways w/all the traffic.

Tampa's roads are almost an embarassment for the size metro we are!

[ferret111]

The best part is...some Lutz residents want to revive the expressway after realizing that speed tables just don't cut it.

[bentlebee]

It probably has to do with the year it was build and the amount of cars back than....

Since the Bruce B. Downs exit was changed last year and this year the St. Rd 54 exit and lanes are widened, the might start with the I-4 exit when this part is over with....

[Johnland]

Originally Posted by bentlebee

It probably has to do with the year it was build and the amount of cars back than....

Since the Bruce B. Downs exit was changed last year and this year the St. Rd 54 exit and lanes are widened, the might start with the I-4 exit when this part is over with....

That'd be great if it happened, but I won't hold my breath.

Speaking of widening BBD, I read that the BBD/56 intersection (right at the new Saw Grass Mills Mall) is one of the biggest in the state. If you look at it, it is eeeenormous - like 10 lanes going east-west. Once they re-do BBD, the north-south will probably be just as wide. Amazing when you consider that the site was a rural wetlands just 18 years ago when I moved here. Now, it's all paved over. It happened so fast, the poor cranes who inhabit the area now wander dangerously along busy, polluted roads. The should've named the area New Jersey Tampa. There's nothing 'new' about it. The same old over-development mindset that has congested the Northeast was transplanted right down here.

[mquintana]

I hate that exit...it's always backed up!

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by pk33615

there are even stubs where the veterans exwy ends at dale mabry, hinting that the road was supposed to go further east, connecting with 275.

Lutz killed it...and now they can barely get out of their driveways w/all the traffic.

Tampa's roads are almost an embarassment for the size metro we are!

They certainly are. There is no advance notice, a lane becomes an off ramp on the 275. No advance notice on the highways, unless you know where you're going it is trial by error.

Good luck in downtown Tampa trying to find signs for the highways like the 275. They are poorly placed. One is actually blocked by a tree....LOL.

I have never seen a downtown area in any American city that fails to have properly placed signs like Tampa.

[xlabel]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

They certainly are. There is no advance notice, a lane becomes an off ramp on the 275. No advance notice on the highways, unless you know where you're going it is trial by error.

Good luck in downtown Tampa trying to find signs for the highways like the 275. They are poorly placed. One is actually blocked by a tree....LOL.

I have never seen a downtown area in any American city that fails to have properly placed signs like Tampa.

It's rather simple if you want to go through Tampa you stay in the center lanes. If you want to get off on an exit well, you use the outer lanes. There are signs all over the place on 275 that clearly show how to get on I-4, I-75, Downtown Tampa, you name it. It's so simple I could do it blindfolded.....now the transplanted Nawtheners, that's another story, lol.

[tilli]

It's rather simple if you want to go through Tampa you stay in the center lanes. If you want to get off on an exit well, you use the outer lanes. There are signs all over the place on 275 that clearly show how to get on I-4, I-75, Downtown Tampa, you name it. It's so simple I could do it blindfolded.....now the transplanted Nawtheners, that's another story, lol.

When you are already in downtown Tampa it can be difficult to find your way back out. Signs will lead you down a one-way steet, but then you don't see any more signs, or they are so faded you can't read them. You wind up in a sketchy area of Ybor, or dumped onto Bayshore Blvd. headed the wrong way. I grew up in central Florida and have lived in Tampa for more than 15 years, but I always get lost trying to get out of downtown because the signage truly sucks.

The Veterans is similar, they change the off-ramp configuration almost daily. Try to follow a GPS and wind up in the drink.