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Elevated Crosstown won't accept coins
Under Construction: An update on the Crosstown Expressway
By LETITIA STEIN
Published October 14, 2005
An occasional report on progress on the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway:
When the elevated lanes on the Crosstown open, traffic won't stop to pay tolls.
Regular commuters will have to pay in advance, most likely by using a SunPass. With a SunPass, drivers prepay using a small box attached to the windshield. Money is deducted when users zip through designated lanes.
What about someone who wants to ride occasionally?
The Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority is looking into technology that will allow people to pay for single rides, perhaps online.
Of course, on the ground-level lanes, riders still will have the option of digging for change to drop into the buckets at the toll booths.
"You can continue to pay cash," said Ralph Mervine, interim executive director of the expressway authority, which doesn't care how you pay tolls. Just that you pay them.
* * *
A reward soon will wait at the end of the morning commute in downtown Tampa.
A lushly landscaped Meridian Avenue is expected to open around the end of year. The palm trees are in. Workers have begun laying a brick sidewalk for pedestrians.
When complete, what once was an aging two-lane roadway in an industrial neighborhood will transform into a lavish gateway into downtown Tampa. Plans call for a 20-foot wide promenade, shaded by trees, luring both cars and pedestrians into the redeveloping Channel District.
The best news for commuters? When the Crosstown exits onto Meridian Avenue, there will be five cross-streets for traffic to flow into downtown Tampa. Let's hope that reduces today's crunch at rush hour.
* * *
The Expressway Authority recently filed a lawsuit against URS, the project's general engineering consultant, to recoup what could become more than $120-million in repair costs. Board members will meet behind closed doors at an Oct. 24 meeting to discuss the lawsuit.
* * *
PROGRESS REPORT: Officials say they are on track to finish construction by August 2006.
Will the authority hit that date? Start picking your dates for the office pool.
[Last modified October 13, 2005, 08:19:05]
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