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Bridge over I-75 in New Tampa opens today

 
The opening Wednesday of the New Tampa Boulevard Bridge allows traffic to cross over Interstate 75 between Commerce Park Boulevard in Tampa Palms and New Tampa Boulevard in West Meadows.
The opening Wednesday of the New Tampa Boulevard Bridge allows traffic to cross over Interstate 75 between Commerce Park Boulevard in Tampa Palms and New Tampa Boulevard in West Meadows.
Published Feb. 27, 2013

TAMPA — Residents and commuters who drive through busy New Tampa will get a new route Wednesday to bypass the Interstate 75/Bruce B. Downs Boulevard interchange.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn was scheduled to cut the ribbon at 10:30 a.m. on the New Tampa Boulevard Bridge, which will cross over I-75 and connect Commerce Park Boulevard in Tampa Palms with New Tampa Boulevard in West Meadows.

"The New Tampa Boulevard Bridge has been eagerly anticipated, and when combined with the widening along Bruce B. Downs, it will give the residents of New Tampa the traffic relief they deserve," Buckhorn said in a statement. "The project gives motorists, pedestrians, and even first responders an alternative route to take."

The 0.7-mile bridge cost $12.8 million, according to the city. Construction on the bridge, which has a sidewalk on the south side and a multiuse trail on the north side, began May 2011 and wrapped five months early.