   Gateway Expressway | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Road 686A, State Road 690 | ||||
 Aerial map of the Gateway Expressway | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Status | Open | |||
| Existed | 2024–present | |||
| History |
| |||
| State Road 686A | ||||
| South end |  SR 690 inSt. Petersburg | |||
| North end |  SR 686 atBayside Bridge | |||
| State Road 690 | ||||
| West end |  US 19 inPinellas Park | |||
| East end |  I-275 inSt. Petersburg | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Florida | |||
| Counties | Pinellas | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
TheGateway Expressway is acontrolled-accesstoll road inPinellas County, Florida completed in April 2024 at a cost of $598 million. The project consists of two branches: an elevated highway designated State Road 690 (SR 690) above 118th Avenue North betweenInterstate 275 (I-275) andU.S. Highway 19 (US 19) and a raised highway in the median ofSR 686 from 118th Avenue North to theBayside Bridge. Construction was approved in February 2014, began in November 2017, and completed on April 26, 2024.[1]
The Gateway Expressway consists of two connected segments:
Both segments are tolled usingelectronic toll gantries forSunPass transponders or toll-by-plate billing.[2]
The project includes express lanes on I-275 from south of Gandy Boulevard to 4th Street North, where they will meet express lanes under construction as part of the newHoward Frankland Bridge project.[1][3]
The intention of the Gateway Expressway project is to mitigate transportation problems in Pinellas County, where several expressway projects were cancelled in the 1970s and 1980s, leaving the county without any majorlimited-accessthoroughfares 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.[4]
The project was announced by GovernorRick 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 at a cost of $598 million.[5] The project was not expected to be funded for another 15–20 years.[6] Funding will be provided by theFederal Highway Administration ($153 million), Penny for Pinellas funds ($53 million), and the State of Florida (remainder of project costs).[4] The project was officially completed on April 26, 2024, and was open free of charge for 7 days.[7]
The entire route is inPinellas County.
| Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinellas Park |  US 19 north –Clearwater | Western terminus of SR 690 | |||
    CR 296 west (Bryan Dairy Road) toUS 19 south | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||||
  SR 686A toSR 686 (Roosevelt Boulevard)St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||||
| St. Petersburg | Gateway Toll Gantry | ||||
| CR 296 (118th Avenue North) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; no toll | ||||
| I-275 –Tampa,St. Petersburg | I-275 exit 30 | ||||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
The entire route is inPinellas County.
| Location | mi[8] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinellas Park | 0.000 | 0.000 |  SR 690 east –Tampa,St. Petersburg | Entrance from SR 690 west only | |
 SR 688 (Ulmerton Road) –Indian Rocks Beach | No southbound exit; tolled northbound entrance | ||||
| | St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |||
| Largo | SR 686 (Roosevelt Boulevard) –Largo | Northern terminus for northbound lanes | |||
| 4.192 | 6.746 |  CR 611 / Bayside Bridge –Clearwater | Northern terminus for southbound lanes | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
