SR 60 to Tampa Blocked for a Week Starting Monday

A seven-day closure of a rail crossing on State Road 60 in Hillsborough County will impact area residents who use the highway to reach destinations in Tampa and beyond.

Beginning Monday morning, July 17, CSX Transportation will close their rail crossing just east of Clarence Gordon Jr. Road. That location is between County Line Road and CR 39, a few miles west of the Willow Oak neighborhood. During the CSXT closure, motorists will not be able to cross the tracks.

Westbound traffic will be detoured north onto County Line Road to US 92, then through Plant City. It will be detoured around the downtown area with a course along Park Road to Alexander Street before returning to SR 60 along CR 39. That route will add more than 15 miles to the route.

Eastbound traffic on SR 60 will face the same detour, in reverse.

According to the Florida Department of Transportation, "Electronic message boards and detour signs will help redirect motorists along a lengthy bypass route. Drivers can expect heavy traffic, especially during peak-hour commutes. Alternate routes should be considered and adding time to trips through these areas is advised."

The obvious alternative route to the Tampa Bay area is the use of US 98 north from Bartow to the Polk Parkway, then west to Interstate 4. The Parkway charges a modest toll, but that should be insignificant when compared to the cost of driving the extra miles through Plant City. Time savings would also be significant, as the detour is likely to add 30 minutes or more to the normal one-hour trip to Interstate 75.

Detour questions? Please call the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) at 813-975-6060.