Gateway Expressway


The Gateway Expressway is a planned toll road in Pinellas County, Florida. The project consists of two branches: an elevated highway to be designated State Road 690 above 118th Avenue North between Interstate 275 and U.S. Highway 19 and a raised highway in the median of SR 686 from 118th Avenue North to the Bayside Bridge. Construction was approved in February 2014 and began in November 2017. The expressway is expected to be completed by late 2022.

Route description

The Gateway Expressway consists of two connected segments:
Both segments will be tolled using electronic toll gantries for SunPass transponders or pay-by-plate billing.

History

The intention of the Gateway Expressway project is to solve transportation problems in Pinellas County, where several expressway projects were cancelled in the 1970s and 1980s, leaving the county without any major limited-access thoroughfares except for I-275. Significant upgrades to US 19 in the 2000s improved traffic flow north–south in the county. However, only local roads travel east–west. The Gateway Expressway project had been identified for a long time as a priority project to improve traffic flow in Pinellas County.
The project was announced by Governor Rick Scott in a press conference with local officials on February 17, 2014. It had been in the works for 15 years. Construction began in November 2017 and is expected to be complete in late 2022 at a cost of $545 million. The project was not expected to be funded for another 15–20 years. Funding will be provided by the Federal Highway Administration, Penny for Pinellas funds, and the State of Florida.

Major intersections

State Road 690

State Road 686A express lanes