Some drivers in Tampa are calling what they’ve been dealing with for the past couple of days a traffic nightmare.
A U-turn closure, part of the Selmon Extension project, is forcing drivers who live in the Culbreath Key Condominiums to take a 13.2 mile detour to make a U-turn.
A press release from the Selmon Extension Project says in part, “Motorists traveling Westbound Gandy Boulevard may have to drive across the Gandy Bridge and make a U-turn to travel back Eastbound Gandy Boulevard due to a temporary U-Turn closure that was in place before the Gandy Bridge.
"The temporary U-Turn closure is a result of safety issues and will reopen once the area is adjusted. Traffic officers are assisting motorists coming out of Culbreath Key and directing them to turn Eastbound on Gandy Boulevard. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused, but safety of the traveling public is our number one priority.”
Residents we spoke to who live in Culbreath Key say traffic this past couple of days has been a mess. Dan and Joyce Belcher made the drive today.
“This is horrible,” Dan said. “You can see what the traffic is like every day coming in here and being 100 yards away from the light, and having to go back into St. Pete to come around is crazy.”
Mike Schick agrees. “We have to go across the Gandy Bridge to make a U-turn to get to Tampa. That’s ridiculous.”
Boaters leaving the launch across the street are in the same predicament. The Expressway authority says it closed the U-turn for safety because it wasn’t the proper size to handle trucks with boats.
“One of our big concerns is safety and making sure that the people who use the road are safe and our construction workers are safe, so this was just an intermediate step to get us through that hump,” said Sue Chrzan, director of Public Affairs and Communications with the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority.
Chrzan said the U-turn closure is only temporary and should be fixed by Saturday morning.
In the meantime, state troopers have been guiding traffic during rush hour. When officers are not there, drivers are forced to trek the bridge.
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