Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bike/Ped

Paradigm-Shifting Highway Teardown Gaining Traction in Tampa

A rendering of what could replace Interstate 275 in Tampa. Image: Josh Frank

The proposed removal of I-275 is more than just a highway teardown.

A group of Tampa residents, led by local urban designer Josh Frank, have proposed turning the city's most-hated freeway into a functional multi-modal urban boulevard. The 11-mile, six-lane highway — which is used by 142,000 vehicles daily — would become a street for pedestrians, cyclists, and even light rail users.

This is ground-breaking visionary stuff for Tampa — which right now has few alternatives to crowded highways — but it's starting to gain some real traction at official levels. This week the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization voted unanimously to conduct a feasibility study.

"We’ve accommodated roads in the worst way possible in Florida," Frank told Streetsblog. "People are starting to realize this is something we can’t do forever especially with sea level rise."

Michelle Cookson of the grassroots group Sunshine Citizens, which has been opposing highway expansion plans throughout Hillsborough County, called the planning agency vote "very exciting." The group pushed its members to contact the board and urge them to vote "yes" on the study.

The concept for an urban boulevard — which is being pushed with the hashtag #blvdtampa — would help restore 36 acres of city land in the Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights and Ybor City neighborhoods, which were devastated by I-275's construction in the 1950s. And it comes at a time where neighborhood residents are hungry for alternatives.

Photo: BlvdTampa.com
Historic photo, I-275 construction via BlvdTampa.com
Photo: BlvdTampa.com

When the Florida Department of Transportation introduced a proposal to widen congested highway to up to 20 lanes last year, the response was so fiercely negative, then-Gov. Rick Scott fired the region's top DOT official.

"It’s barely been changed since the 1950s," Frank said. "There’s no soundwalls. They didn’t want to spend money to elevate it. They never tried to do anything for the communities, so they hate it."

Florida DOT's rendering of. proposed 20-lane widening. The idea was forcefully rejected by local residents.
Florida DOT's rendering of. proposed 20-lane widening. The idea was forcefully rejected by local residents (perhaps the rendering had something to do with that?).
Florida DOT's rendering of. proposed 20-lane widening. The idea was forcefully rejected by local residents.

The fight helped propel Kimberly Overman, a Seminole Heights resident and opponent of the plan, into a position as County Commissioner. She is now one of the plan's most prominent supporters.

"There was a pretty big shift here. We don’t want any more roads," said Frank. "We want to shift toward transit and smarter people who will support transit."

The idea for the boulevard started out as a graduate school thesis project for Frank, a St. Petersburg native who runs his own design studio.

It is gaining momentum at an opportune time. Hillsborough County residents passed a one-cent sales tax hike to support transit expansion and other safety improvements last year. The projects it will pay for have not yet been selected but fixed-route transit, like Frank proposed for the corridor, are part of what the $267 million annual revenues are going to be dedicated to.

Frank admits it would take a lot of work to make the teardown viable, including transit expansion. But that is looking more and more possible, thanks to the tax hike.

"We can’t tear it out tomorrow," he said. "If we start thinking about it now, we can work toward that. We need to know that that’s a goal first."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

America’s Kids Deserve Better Than a Waymo Subscription

What do America's young people lose when they have to buy independence from a corporation that rents out driverless cars?

July 15, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Aren’t Falling Fast Enough

Pedestrian deaths dropped by 4 percent last year, but remain well above pre-pandemic figures.

July 15, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Are Dragging Their Feet

The Trump administration claims the Biden administration left them with a backlog — but they've actually been far slower at getting transportation money to states than their predecessors, a new analysis finds.

July 14, 2025

These U.S. Communities’ So-Called ‘Complete Streets’ Policies Don’t Even Deserve the Name

Any city can call itself a "Complete Streets" champion. But not all of them are walking the walk — and if they don't, a top organization says they'll no longer give them a platform on its esteemed "best of" ranking.

July 14, 2025

Communities Rally To Reclaim Streets From ICE Terror

"This is an attack on Los Angeles. This is an attack on California. On all of us."

July 11, 2025

Friday Video: The London Neighborhood Where Bikes Outnumber Cars

...and how they got to that impressive milestone.

July 11, 2025
See all posts