South Tampa Street is closed at Brorein Street for about two years of Selmon Expressway work, as of Oct. 20. Here is the detour and what stays open downtown.
South Tampa Street has been closed at East Brorein Street in downtown Tampa since 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. The closure will last about two years.
Updated Oct. 22: the new traffic pattern is in place. The city’s Oct. 19 traffic advisory confirmed that the leftmost lane of East Brorein Street now carries two-way traffic, so drivers on South Tampa Street can still reach South Franklin Street.
Crews need the space to install support pillars for a wider Lee Roy Selmon Expressway. The City of Tampa announced the new traffic pattern on Oct. 13 in a release about the closure. The work is part of the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority’s South Selmon Capacity Project.
The detour
The city said drivers are sent to a temporarily converted eastbound lane on East Brorein Street. That lane leads directly to Franklin Street and the Tampa Convention Center’s upper loading docks.
What changes on Brorein Street:
- The leftmost lane is closed between South Morgan Street and South Florida Avenue.
- Signs, barricades and lane separators mark the new layout.
What stays open, according to the city:
- the Tampa Convention Center parking garage
- the convention center’s upper loading docks for the exhibit halls
The first night
There was an extra overnight closure while crews repainted the lanes. From 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, to 5 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21:
- East Brorein Street was closed between South Tampa Street and South Franklin Street.
- The convention center parking garage entrance was closed.
Why the expressway is being widened
The project covers 4.5 miles of the expressway, from west of Himes Avenue to east of Florida Avenue downtown. It adds one inside lane in each direction, for six lanes in all. All the work stays inside the authority’s existing right of way.
THEA says traffic on the expressway has grown by more than 80% in the past decade. The project fact sheet puts the cost at $362 million. The city said the money comes entirely from THEA toll revenue, not state or federal tax dollars.
The authority lists these benefits:
- an extra lane each way and longer merge areas to ease bottlenecks
- less cut-through traffic on Bayshore Boulevard and other neighborhood streets
- new sidewalks and lighting in the underpasses beneath the expressway
- noise walls in residential areas inside the project limits
- wrong-way driver detection and other traffic monitoring technology
- a redesigned Bay-to-Bay Boulevard and MacDill Avenue underpass, to become a multiuse park after more community input
The fact sheet gives this timeline:
| Stage | When |
|---|---|
| Construction contract awarded | September 2025 |
| Construction begins | Spring 2026 |
| East end complete | Spring 2028 |
| Whole project complete | Fall or winter 2030 |
What it means for you
- If you use South Tampa Street to reach Brorein Street or the convention center, plan a new route. Follow the detour signs onto Brorein Street.
- On Brorein Street, the left lane between Morgan Street and Florida Avenue is gone for the duration. Expect slower traffic at rush hour and on event nights.
- Questions go to THEA at info@southselmoncapacity.com or 813-659-6140. Project updates are on the South Selmon Capacity Project website.
For other closures this week, see our page on road construction and closures in Tampa. For parking and transit options, see getting around Tampa.
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