Roads Into MacDill Air Force Base To Be Improved With State Grant

TAMPA, FL — The city of Tampa will receive $117,000 to improve roads and reduce traffic congestion for those who commute to MacDill Air Force Base.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced $1.6 million will be distributed to four Florida communities with military bases as part of the Defense Infrastructure Grant Program.

Administered through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and Enterprise Florida Inc., the program provides grant funding to defense-dependent communities to support local infrastructure projects.

DeSantis said the road improvements around MacDill are designed to improve traffic flow, reduce commute times, improve delivery schedules and reduce emissions.”

Traffic congestion at the four main entrances to the Air Force base — the Dale Mabry gate, the Tanker Way gate, the Bayshore gate and the MacDill Avenue gate — have long been a bone of contention for those who live off-base and commute to MacDill AFB each day.

According to the Air Force base, about 6,000 vehicles arrive through these four gates ever weekday morning with wait times to enter the base as long as 30 minutes during the peak time between 6:45 and 7:30 a.m.

To help ease congestion and improve safety, in January, the city of Tampa proposed an $8 million plan to improve the 2.93-mile Interbay Boulevard corridor just north of the base.

This project will reduce vehicle speeds, improve operations, enhance access and improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists along the corridor by converting Interbay from the current two-lane undivided road to a three-lane divided road west of Dale Mabry Highway.

Plans also include widening portions of the road to accommodate a two-way left-turn lane along the corridor from West Shore Boulevard to Dale Mabry.

Other proposed improvements include:

• The addition of a 10-foot-wide trail on one side of the corridor.
• New sidewalk segments where gaps occur on the roadway side, opposite of the trail.
• Approximately eight new Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon mid-block crosswalks.
• The addition of a center turn lane.
• Roundabouts and turn lane widening and signal modifications at Interbay and West Shore, Lois Avenue and MacDill Avenue.
• Improvements at the Dale Mabry Highway intersection.
• And possibly a new signalized intersection at Himes Avenue.

The city hasn't announced how it plans to use the additional $117,000 from the state.