ConDig (19-Apr–23)  Lane Construction and its joint-venture partner Superior Construction have been named the preferred bidder on a $1 billion deal to upgrade the Westshore Interchange (I-275/SR 60) in Tampa.

Under the deal with the Florida Department of Transportation, Cheshire, Connecticut-based Lane and Superior will develop a multi-year program to rebuild one of the city’s busiest interchanges that is aimed at improving safety and increasing capacity to ease traffic flow.

The planning phase is to be completed by November this year, with construction – to be awarded as a separate contract – set to begin by spring 2024.

The project will increase capacity along the east end of the Howard Frankland Bridge to Lois Avenue and north of State Road 60 extending to State Road 589 (Veterans Expressway). It will include general use and tolled express lanes, as well as direct ramps to the Tampa International Airport. The aim is to improve the safety and ease the flow of traffic for more than 400,000 daily vehicles that are anticipated by 2045.

The Westshore district is the largest central business district in the state of Florida, with some 4,000 businesses, two shopping centers, 40 hotels and about 250 restaurants. It is also a few miles from downtown Tampa and the Raymond James Stadium. The district’s central location, its growing residential population and increased traffic to and from the airport have highlighted the urgency of the strategic project.

Tampa’s Westshore Interchange is the point where the I-275, SR 60 and Veterans Expressway converge. 

The contract brings the value of orders that Lane has acquired or is finalizing since the beginning of 2023 to $888 million, including one to increase the capacity and improve the safety at an interchange at Interstate 4 (I-4) and Sand Lake Road (State Road 482) in Orange County, Florida. Lane’s order backlog as a result has reached more than
$3 billion.

Lane has a significant presence in Florida. In Tampa, it is widening a busy downtown section of I-275. In the greater Orlando area in Osceola County, it is nearing the completion of the Poinciana Parkway. Elsewhere in Orlando, Lane is working on a beltway at the intersection of I-4, SR 417, and the nearly completed Wekiva Parkway (SR 429).