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Shift In Exit Strategy Stalls Commuters On State Road 60

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By RICH SHOPES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 16, 2008

TAMPA - Thousands of commuters got a rude wake-up call Monday as they headed south on State Road 60: a massive traffic jam caused by an exit that was switched overnight from one side of the road to the other.

Look for more of the same this morning and over the next day or so, but to a lesser degree as drivers get used to the temporary lane change.

Jerry Tidwell of Odessa said his usual 35-minute drive from Van Dyke Road on the Veterans Expressway to Tampa International Airport turned into an 80-minute parade of brake lights.

"Southbound traffic was bumper to bumper" for miles, he said.

Thousands of other commuters encountered the same.

"We were hearing reports of people having an extra hour on their commute time. And that's probably not exaggerated," said John McShaffrey, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation.

Blame the exit change. As part of ongoing highway construction near the airport, workers moved the roadway, putting the airport/Spruce Street exit that had been on the right side of the highway on the left side.

The change happened before 5 a.m. as part of a larger lane shift between the Courtney Campbell Parkway and Cypress Street.

DOT posted notices about the change a week ago and erected several signs in the area Monday morning to warn drivers that the exit had moved.

When rush hour commenced, however, traffic slowed to a crawl as motorists tried to figure out which lanes to get in to get them to work.

Motorists who normally drive on the highway's left side found themselves heading toward the airport and Spruce Street exit. Others on the highway's right side trying to get to Spruce faced the same problem.

The result was cars crisscrossing from one lane to another and huge backups. The speed limit was dropped from 50 mph to 40 mph in anticipation of the lane shift, but it didn't matter. Cars were inching along well below the limit.

Some motorists found themselves stranded on the median or on the triangular no-man's land separating the main road from the exit.

"That's a sure sign people can't figure out which way to go," McShaffrey said.

The problem could repeat itself next month.

Workers are scheduled to open the new airport exit in mid-October on the highway's right side, where it will remain.

Spruce will remain a left exit until December, when a new ramp opens on the right side, aligned with the airport exit.

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or at rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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