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Land sale clears way for road in New Tampa
The plan is to have a private company build the east-west road, which would provide drivers a direct link to I-275 while easing congestion.
By JANET ZINK
Published June 2, 2006
TAMPA - An east-west road in New Tampa between Interstate 275 and Interstate 75 has been on the books for nearly 20 years. The project is one step closer to reality after the City Council on Thursday agreed to sell city land to the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority, which will look for a private company to build, manage and profit from the 3.1-mile toll road. The public-private road could be the first of its kind in Florida. "What we're seeing here is the wave of the future," council member Shawn Harrison said. As the cost of building major highways and roads continues to rise, governments are not willing or able to build them, he said. "We will soon find ourselves out of the business of building roads," he predicted. Proposals from potential companies should be in hand by September, Expressway Authority interim executive director Ralph Mervine said. Construction on the $150-million elevated highway should begin in October 2007 and be completed by 2010. The $4-million sale of the city land won't be final until a private company has received financing to build what's now called the East-West Road, which would run from I-275 to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard east of I-75. The road is intended to relieve congestion on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and provide New Tampa drivers a direct link to Interstate 275.
[Last modified June 2, 2006, 08:43:00]
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