ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Florida Department of Transportation is now studying plans to redesign I-175 in St. Petersburg.
Called the I-175 Action Plan, FDOT is looking at ways to enhance the safety and connectivity around the small interstate that connects I-275 and 4th Street.
What You Need To Know
- FDOT is now studying plans to redesign I-175 in St. Petersburg
- The I-175 Action Plan will look at ways to enhance the safety and connectivity around the small interstate that connects I-275 and 4th Street
- Neighborhood coalition Reimagine I-175 would like to see the interstate removed and replaced with a boulevard to reconnect the city
- The findings are expected to be completed next April
That’s welcome news to Justin Cournoyer, co-founder of Reimagine I-175. It’s a coalition of neighbors who’d like to see the interstate removed and replaced with a boulevard to reconnect the city.
“We see it as the Berlin Wall of St. Pete,” Cournoyer said. “It’s literally just a wall of concrete and earth. For people like me living in Campbell Park, you have 7 blocks of this where you can’t get across.”
I-175 first opened in April 1980 to connect I-275 and 4th Street, but it effectively split the city and displaced neighborhoods.
45 years later, Cournoyer says not enough traffic uses it.
“It acts like a scar across the city. The permeability under the highway is not there. The connectivity is not there. It kind of separates our city into north and south St. Pete,” Cournoyer said.
The only way across the interstate now is a pedestrian bridge, which Cournoyer says just takes people out of their way.
“It’s kind of an eyesore. It’s covered in chain link. Graffiti most of the time. A lot of trash up here. It’s a neglected part of our city,” Cournoyer said.
These are all reasons a 2022 City of St. Petersburg mobility study recommended a reconfiguration of the interstate.
The study found that while I-175 is useful for emergency vehicles and connecting attractions, it comes at a cost to adjacent neighborhoods, especially has drivers go at high speeds.
Since the road is managed by FDOT, the agency is now building on that study to look at what the future of I-175 could be.
That comes as plans for a new ballpark at the Tropicana Field site fell apart in March.
“With or without a ballpark, I think removing 175 and replacing it with a boulevard is going to do wonders and be a huge positive impact on communities, especially disenfranchised communities in the south side,” Cournoyer said.
The I-175 Action Plan study started in January. The findings are expected to be completed next April.
