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Tampa Commuters Face Exit Switcheroo At S.R. 60 Near Airport

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 15, 2008

TAMPA - As if there isn't enough motorist confusion around the conflux of Memorial Highway and State Road 60 — throw in Veterans Expressway traffic, the entrance to Tampa International Airport, road construction and thousands of Bob's Barricades — morning commuters were thrown another chainsaw to juggle today.

The Florida Department of Transportation early this morning temporarily moved the exit off eastbound State Road 60/Memorial to the airport and Spruce Street from the right side of the road to the left.

That meant drivers going east from the Courtney Campbell Parkway (State Road 60) heading to the airport or Spruce had to cross three lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic coming south from the Veterans Expressway to get to the exit.

Department spokesman John McShraffrey was there today to see those patterns develop. The congestion was expected, he said.

"We don't view it as a problem," he said, "It's a phase of construction."

McShraffrey said traffic movement was slower than normal this morning, "but it'll get better over the next few days."

"It's a big change for people; a lot of people were in wrong lanes," he said. "We expected that. We've got signs all over the place, but people are creatures of habit, or they are not paying attention. The first day is always the same."

Last week, transportation officials announced the exit switch for the area marked by fast-moving cars, bridges, the din of heavy road-construction equipment and the roar of airliners a few hundred feet overhead.

The change mostly involved traffic moving from eastbound State Road 60 into southbound Memorial Highway at the terminus of the Veterans Expressway. A flashing sign on State Road 60 announcing the switch was nearly a half-mile before the new exit, so motorists who were paying attention had time to slide across the lanes, even though the early morning sun was squarely in their faces.

Traffic moved along during this morning's rush hour; there were no stops as traffic merged without many problems.

Once drivers were able to get in the proper lanes and exit, traffic flowed smoothly into the airport and onto Spruce.

McShraffrey said the rerouting of airport traffic will last until mid-October, when the exit will go back to the right side of the road. The Spruce exit will remain on the left until December, he said.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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