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West Shore interchange land costs jump $71 million

Hillsborough’s transportation planners OK bumping real estate budget 19%.
 
The I-275 interchange is shown near Westshore Plaza. The state Department of Transportation said right of way costs are rising $71 million for the $1.2 billion project to revamp the West Shore interchange. Construction is expected to begin in 2023..
The I-275 interchange is shown near Westshore Plaza. The state Department of Transportation said right of way costs are rising $71 million for the $1.2 billion project to revamp the West Shore interchange. Construction is expected to begin in 2023.. [ LUIS SANTANA | TIMES | Times ]
Published Dec. 14, 2022|Updated Dec. 15, 2022

Rebuilding the Interstate 275 West Shore Interchange is getting pricier.

The cost to buy the real estate to add the highway lanes jumped $71 million, or 19%, above earlier projections.

Wednesday, the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization unanimously approved amending the state’s five-year work program to bump the right of way budget from $304 million to $375 million.

The state isn’t buying more property than expected, just paying more for the parcels it does need, said Roger Mathie, a project manager for the planning organization.

Rising real estate prices shouldn’t really be a surprise. Across Hillsborough County just values — real estate market values before property tax exemptions are applied — jumped more than $50 billion, or 27%, in 2021, according to data reported in July by Hillsborough Property Appraiser Bob Henriquez.

The state is buying 55 parcels for the interchange project “all of which are either already acquired or underway,” said Department of Transportation spokesperson Kris Carson. “Due to ongoing contracting and negotiations we are unable to provide additional details.”

Adding $71 million to West Shore project is not delaying other state transportation projects, she said.

The only question from the 16-member planning board of elected and appointed officials came from Hillsborough Commissioner Pat Kemp. She wondered if the new costs would include finishing an accompanying bicycle and pedestrian trail. It does not, said David Gwynn, the state’s regional transportation secretary.

The state expects to begin construction next year on the $1.2 billion project to rebuild the connection where Interstate 275, the Howard Frankland Bridge, State Road 60 and the Veterans Expressway meet near Tampa International Airport. Construction is expected to continue until 2031.

Rebuilding the West Shore Interchange is considered Tampa Bay’s No. 1 priority transportation project and is intended to alleviate traffic in one of the region’s worst bottlenecks. It will add highway lanes and bring toll lanes from the northern end of the Howard Frankland Bridge through downtown Tampa.

The state, quoting statistics from the Westshore Alliance, describes West Shore’s 10-square-mile business district as home to 102,000 employees in 4,000 businesses. It also is where 15,000 people live. It has 40 hotels and 250 restaurants. The airport served more than 18 million passengers in 2021.

The original start date for the interchange project was 2024, but it had tentatively been pushed back to fiscal year 2026 because of feared budget declines from the coronavirus pandemic. That didn’t happen and instead Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in September 2021 the state would accelerate the project schedule by making $560 million available for its early stages.