S Curve under the Selmon closes Oct. 20, sending downtown drivers onto Brorein Street for about two years

AI-generated illustration. Illustration of a portable detour sign, striped barricade and lane separators beneath an elevated roadway. Inspired by the story and Tampa.

Drivers who use the S Curve, the stretch of South Tampa Street that bends beneath the Selmon Expressway near the Tampa Convention Center, will lose that route at East Brorein Street starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) expects the new traffic pattern to stay in place for about two years.

The change comes in two steps, according to a notice the city updated Oct. 9 on its Convention Center construction page. First, East Brorein Street itself closes overnight for restriping. After that, drivers will be sent through a temporarily converted eastbound lane on East Brorein to reach South Franklin Street. The start date is weather permitting and could shift if unforeseen problems arise.

The first night: Brorein and the garage entrance close

East Brorein Street between South Tampa and South Franklin streets will be closed from 8 p.m. Oct. 20 until 5 a.m. Oct. 21 so crews can restripe the road before the detour begins. The Convention Center parking garage entrance will also be closed during those hours, which matters for anyone attending or working a late event that night.

Once the restriping is done and the detour is in place, the city says full access will be kept to the garage entrance on East Brorein and to the Exhibit Hall upper loading docks on Franklin Street. Detour signs, barricades and lane separators will be installed around the area.

Why the road is closing for so long

The closure gives crews room to install support pillars for the South Selmon Capacity Project, THEA's $362 million widening of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway. The project adds one inside lane in each direction, taking the expressway to six lanes between west of Himes Avenue and east of Florida Avenue, a corridor THEA describes as 4.5 miles long.

The city's notice puts the end of the traffic pattern at November 2028 and labels that date an estimate. When finished, the city says, the project should help reduce downtown congestion, improve safety and upgrade underpass lighting and sidewalks.

THEA says the project is paid for with toll revenue and bonds rather than tax dollars, and that it will not raise toll rates. The authority also says in its project FAQ that lane closures will be limited to off-peak hours and that detours will be provided whenever a road must close completely.

What to do before Oct. 20

If you are downtown after 8 p.m. Oct. 20, plan to avoid both the S Curve and the block of East Brorein between South Tampa and South Franklin streets, which stays closed until 5 a.m. Oct. 21. If you are headed to the Convention Center that evening, allow for the garage entrance being shut during those same hours.

From the morning of Oct. 21 on, S Curve drivers should expect to use the converted eastbound lane on Brorein to reach Franklin Street. The city says further updates will be posted on its Convention Center construction page, and questions can go to THEA at info@southselmoncapacity.com or (813) 659-6140.