Gandy Boulevard Closing For Railroad Crossing Work

TAMPA, FL -- Beginning at 9 p.m. Friday, May 17, CSX Railroad will close Gandy Boulevard between South Dale Mabry Highway and Lois Avenue in South Tampa.

This closure is necessary for CSX to replace the railroad crossing located just west of South Dale Mabry Highway. Gandy Boulevard is expected to reopen by 6 a.m. Monday, May 20, weather permitting.

During this closure, motorists will not be able to cross the CSX tracks or have access to the Gandy Boulevard entrance ramps onto the Selmon Expressway. Motorists will be detoured around the work zone using South Dale Mabry Highway, Interbay Boulevard and Westshore Boulevard.

Access to side streets and businesses will be maintained. Electronic message boards and detour signs will be used to assist motorists traveling through the detour.

Motorists should anticipate heavier-than-normal volumes of traffic on these roads during this CSX closure.

To add to the confusion, the Hillsborough County Expressway Authority currently has workers removing trees during the day and conducting underground utility work at night on the north side of Gandy Boulevard at Westshore Boulevard. As a result, lanes have been narrowed approaching the intersection.

On the south side of Gandy, a new lane configuration has been implemented. Through lanes and right turn lanes have been combined into one lane at the entrance to the westbound Gandy Boulevard ramp. Drivers should reduce speed while approaching the off-ramp.

The traffic pattern hasn't changed for the Selmon Expressway's exit to eastbound Gandy Boulevard.The short merge still exists on eastbound Gandy between the CSX railroad tracks and Dale Mabry Highway at the entrance to the Selmon Expressway. As an alternative, turn left (north) on Dale Mabry Highway and access the Selmon Expressway ramp, located just behind Target.

The sidewalk is closed along eastbound Gandy Boulevard between the Dale Mabry Highway interchange and Lois Avenue. Pedestrians walking in the area should use the sidewalk on the north side of Gandy Boulevard. Detour signs are posted to alert pedestrians.

The sidewalk is closed on northbound Dale Mabry Highway between the Selmon Expressway overpass and the railroad tracks. Pedestrians walking on Dale Mabry will need to use the sidewalk on the west side of Dale Mabry. Once again, detour signs are posted to alert pedestrians.

One lane on both eastbound and westbound Gandy Boulevard between Westshore Boulevard and the Gandy Bridge will be closed each night between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. In an effort to keep the construction crews and the traveling public safe, motorists should heed the posted construction speed limit of 45 miles per hour. Speed enforcement will be in place in the signed construction zones. The fine for speeding in a construction zone is double the amount of a regular ticket.

Underway since January 2018, the Selmon Expressway Extension Project is a planned 1.9-mile toll lane located in the median of Gandy Boulevard, which will allow drivers to choose between Gandy Boulevard for local destinations or the Selmon extension for a direct connection to the Selmon Expressway or the Gandy Bridge.

The extension is intended to ease traffic congestion and allow Gandy drivers to skip the lights at Westshore Boulevard, Manhattan Avenue and Lois Avenue. Drivers can either exit at Dale Mabry Highway or continue onto the Selmon Expressway.

Transportation officials say the extension, which will be constructed along the median of Gandy Boulevard, will cut some commutes by at least 35 percent.

The extension project is expected to be completed by the fall of 2020.