Submission Category: Operations
The Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority has built an exceptional transportation project to address the severe traffic congestion facing daily commuters to downtown Tampa — a 10-mile long set of reversible express lanes using a state-of-the-art open road tolling (ORT) system. The heart of the new facility is an elegant, distinctive three-lane, reversible bridge, constructed in segments at an off-site factory, then delivered to the Expressway and assembled in the median of the existing fourlane roadway. Because of its unusual design, the bridge was built entirely within the existing right-of-way, dramatically reducing project costs and virtually eliminating any impacts to the adjacent community or the environment. The reversible lanes are for cars and express buses only and have more than doubled the capacity of the existing tollway, completely eliminating congestion during peak commuting hours. And, in addition to the world’s first reversible ORT solution, the toll system also includes an innovative video toll collection product to provide non-stop travel for customers on the new bridge. This combination of timesavings, convenience, reliability and safety has resulted in traffic volumes that are more than 25% over original projections for the first year of operation.