Big traffic headache in South Tampa for the next couple of days.
The Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority has shut down the elevated Selmon Extension after a couple of steel strands under the roadway were found to have come loose. Spokesperson Sue Chrzan said it's not the first time engineers have seen this problem. "We had something like this happen while we were under construction," Chrzan said. "We were able to change out the tendons, no problem at all, and you're supposed to be able to do it with live traffic anyway. But we just want to make sure we're doing it correctly, and every box is checked."
The $230 million, 1.9 mile elevated highway opened just about one year ago, and connects the Selmon Expressway to the Gandy Bridge.
"The Extension takes about 7-thousand trips a day, which is about 50% of the traffic that is typically on n Gandy Blvd," Chrzan said. "so you're going to have about 50% more traffic on Gandy Blvd. until we're able to open the extension."
The Gandy Bridge and the rest of the Selmon Expressway from S. Dale Mabry out to Brandon are open.
photo credit: Getty Images