New Entrance To PIE Airport Opens Overnight

CLEARWATER, FL -- As part of the Gateway Expressway construction project, a new entrance to St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport was opened overnight.

Motorists coming from the south (driving north from Ulmerton Road/SR 688) on Roosevelt Boulevard (SR 686) will exit to Terminal Boulevard about one-quarter mile sooner than the previous intersection. Drivers coming from the north will exit a quarter-mile later.

While this signalized intersection of Roosevelt Boulevard and Terminal Boulevard is the new, permanent airport access location, the area will remain an active construction zone as work continues in the Roosevelt Boulevard corridor.

As a result of the Gateway Express Project:
• The main traffic light and entry/exit from the airport is being relocated by the Air Traffic Control Tower.
• Direct access from 46th Street to Airport Parkway will no longer be available. Visitors must use the main entrance to the airport at the new traffic light.
• For access to the Key Lime PIE Economy Parking Lot and airport employee parking lots, turn onto 144th Ave.
• The Strawberry PIE Economy Parking Lot will only be accessible on PIE’s internal roadways by taking Airport Parkway to Fairchild Drive.
• Please plan extra travel time to accommodate construction in and around the airport. Parking lot shuttles may have longer wait and route times to get to/from economy parking lots to the terminal.
Additionally, PIE’s Ground Transportation Lot is closed for 30 to 60 days as part of the
ongoing airport parking and roadway project. Airport ground transportation and hotel, super shuttle and offsite rental car shuttle providers will pick up passengers in front of the terminal.

PIE’s short-term parking lot will be closed for approximately six months. Visitors are encouraged to use the cell phone lot for awaiting passenger pick-up or the long-term parking lot.

For airport information, call 727-453-7800.

The Gateway Expressway project will create two new four-lane elevated tolled roadways.

The project is made up of two components:

1. The construction of the Gateway Expressway, which will provide express connections from U.S. 19 to I-275 and from the Bayside Bridge to I-275.
2. The widening of I-275 to create express tolled lanes (one lane in each direction) from south of Gandy Boulevard to 4th Street North.

The project component along I-275 includes the design and construction of one tolled express lane in each direction (one northbound and one southbound) from south of Gandy Boulevard to north of 4th Street North.

The new express lanes are in addition to existing general purpose (non-tolled) lanes.

Express lanes are a congestion management tool used in urban areas across the United States to ease congestion, improve the flow of traffic and give drivers travel options.

Express lanes are dynamically priced to maintain steady traffic flow in the lanes themselves. With dynamic pricing, prices increase as the express lanes become more congested and decrease as congestion goes down. For more information on how express lanes work, click here.

Overall, the Gateway Expressway project will change the existing roadway system to enhance safety, add capacity and improve mobility.

Among the project improvements:

• Construct SR 690, a new four-lane tolled expressway connection from U.S. 19 to west of I-275. The tolling will be “static,” meaning the cost will remain the same at all hours.
• Construct State Road 686A, a new four-lane elevated tolled (static) expressway from the Bayside Bridge (CR 611) to just west of I-275.
• Reconstruct existing Roosevelt Boulevard from the Bayside Bridge to Ulmerton Road.
• Reconstruct sections of existing U.S. 19 and 118th Avenue North, including new ramps and flyover structures.
• Include various improvements to interchanges, intersections and ramps within the project limits.

Work in front of the St. Pete-Clearwater International (PIE) Airport includes:

• Construction of a new airport access road parallel to SR 686.
• Construction of a new signalized intersection at Terminal Boulevard.
• Construction of a permanent roadway connection at Fairchild Drive north of the existing signal at Airport Parkway from Westbound SR 686.

The $545 million project is expected to be completed in late 2021.

For Gateway Expressway construction updates, click here.

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