Welcome to the Interstate 4 section at Interstate275Florida.com!

This section of Interstate275Florida.com is dedicated to the only interstate highway in the state of Florida that does not go into another state, Interstate 4.  Running about 132 miles across Florida beginning at Interstate 275's Exit 45B and passing Plant City and Lakeland on its way to the Orlando metro area and terminating at Interstate 95 just outside Daytona Beach, Interstate 4 is Florida's first interstate highway to be constructed from its humble beginnings as a small four lane highway to today's six lane traffic megapolis with room for expansion to ten lanes or the addition of high speed rail (and the high speed rail option seems somewhat unlikely).  Interstate 4 has a lot of history during the years it has existed as an interstate highway.

There are only a few interstate highways in the United States that terminate at a three-digit interstate highway, and Interstate 4 at its western terminus with Interstate 275 is one of these interstates.  Here at Interstate275Florida.com we will explore Interstate 4 from its terminus at Interstate 275 to just east of Interstate 75 at Hillsborough County Road 579, Exit 10.

How did Interstate 4 begin

A few years after the Interstate Highway System was signed into law by President Eisenhower in 1956, the first section of Florida's first interstate highway started popping up in 1959 when a section of Interstate 4 opened from Plant City to Lakeland.  At the same time segments of Interstate 4 were being constructed in Tampa as well as the Howard Frankland Bridge (which opened in 1960).

In 1961 more segments of Interstate 4 opened, this time from Lakeland to Orlando and construction on yet another segment was underway from Lake Helen to Daytona Beach.  Around 1963 or so sections of Interstate 4 were opened in the Orlando area, leaving one more gap in the Interstate 4 puzzle.  This gap was in Tampa from Armenia and Howard Avenues (today's Interstate 275 Exit 42) to the 21st Street and 22nd Street complex (Exit 1), as the interchange which would be the southern terminus of Interstate 75 that we Tampa Bay area residents know as "Malfunction Junction" was not built yet.  In 1964 Malfunction Junction was completed and opened to traffic.

Once the missing gap was completed Interstate 4 became a cross state interstate highway from Ulmerton Road/FL 688 (Interstate 275's Exit 31) to Interstate 95 just outside Daytona Beach.  In its early heydays the Howard Frankland Bridge when it opened in 1960 carried the Interstate 4 designation but that would not last for long.

The Interstate 4 Numbering Game

When Interstate 4 was proposed it was supposed to begin in St. Petersburg, somewhere around South Pasadena providing access to St. Pete Beach.  Instead, Interstate 4 took another turn, instead staying on the eastern side of St. Petersburg where Interstate 275 stands today.

After Malfunction Junction was constructed in 1964 it was built with a stub highway to the north (a stub highway is a highway that temporarily leads to nowhere in anticipation of an extension being built in the future).  Meanwhile, Interstate 75 was being built in leaps and bounds and in 1966 Interstate 75 was constructed from Bearss Avenue (Interstate 275's Exit 53) south to Malfunction Junction.

Soon after Interstate 75 was built and open in 1969 it was decided that Interstate 75 would be routed over the Howard Frankland Bridge into St. Petersburg, thereby moving the western terminus of Interstate 4 to where it is located today at Malfunction Junction.  Then came the early 1970's and the decision to extend Interstate 75 to Miami including the proposed Tampa bypass, which would have been signed as Interstate 75E.  Unfortunately the route designation for the Tampa bypass didn't sit well with the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) as interstate route numbers bearing suffixes were no longer being approved; the Florida DOT decided instead (with the blessing of AASHTO and the US DOT's Federal Highway Administration) to designate the Tampa bypass route as Interstate 75 and to redesignate the Interstate 75 that was built earlier as Interstate 275.

So, Interstate 4 originally began in St. Petersburg but it was truncated to Malfunction Junction when Interstate 75 was put through.  Interstate 4 at its western terminus with Interstate 275 is here to stay.

Four Score (Lanes) and Several Years Ago

As Interstate 4 was originally built it featured four lanes of travel from Tampa to Daytona Beach (with a six lane segment in Orlando).  In the 1960's four lanes from Tampa to Orlando was adequate given the time era.

Interstate 4 would see a dramatic increase of traffic utilizing the little four lane highway from Tampa to Orlando and vice versa.  Development along the Interstate 4 corridor would grow in leaps and bounds over the years.  But increased development and traffic meant that the little four lane interstate could not keep up with growth.

So, enter the long backups for miles on end on Interstate 4, not to mention the accidents that have frequented the corridor.  Guardrails constructed down the median strip on Interstate 4 helped cut down on the accidents of the head on type.

In the 1990's it was time for a major overhaul of Interstate 4 in the Tampa Bay area, which meant years of construction aggravation for congestion weary motorists as Interstate 4 underwent a total reconstruction from four to six lanes in segments throughout Hillsborough County beginning at US 41 (Exit 3) as well as the segment in Polk County from County Line Road to Memorial Blvd. in Lakeland.  That meant old overpass bridges were replaced with more modern and wider overpasses and interchange ramps were reconfigured and reconstructed for better traffic flow to keep up with today's rapid growth pace.  The narrow 1960's-era median strip was replaced with a much wider median strip to either accommodate a further expansion of Interstate 4 to ten lanes or for a high speed rail link between Tampa and Orlando.  It was well worth the wait, but there's light at the end of the tunnel.

The Future of Interstate 4

The future for Interstate 4 looks bright.  As of 2006 the segment of Interstate 4 in Tampa from east of Malfunction Junction to US 41 (Exit 3) is being totally reconstructed in conjunction with the reconstruction recently completed at Malfunction Junction itself.  Like the other sections of Interstate 4 that were reconstructed interchanges are being reconfigured to better allow for improved traffic flow, as well as bridges being either refurbished or replaced.

A connector highway from Interstate 4 to the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway (FL Toll 618) is on the drawing boards.  This would enable motorists (especially tank trucks headed to or from the Port of Tampa) to easily reach the Crosstown from Interstate 4 and vice versa without having to encounter local traffic on 21st Street or 22nd Street through Tampa's historic Latin quarter, Ybor City.

When all of this six laning and reconstruction is done not only in Tampa but in the Orlando area as well Interstate 4 will be a continuous six lane highway from Tampa to Orlando making travel between the Tampa Bay area and the land of Mickey Mouse less strenuous.

Sources

Most of this information for Interstate 4 comes from my memories back in my younger years, as well as examining the year inscribed on the beginnings of overpass bridges.  Information on the history of Interstate 4 also was researched from the Florida DOT Interstate History site.

Continue on to the Interstate 4 Pictures!