Tampa’s West River BUILD Project To Extend Riverwalk and Link Neighborhoods by Early 2027

Construction crews are working on the Tampa West River BUILD Project. The plan? Extend the Riverwalk along the west bank of the Hillsborough River and make corridors safer for people walking and biking. City leaders expect completion of the final segment by early next year.

This work is part of a six-segment project that will create a 12.2-mile connected corridor — segments three through six focus on road improvements on the west side of the Hillsborough River, creating a loop with the existing Riverwalk and connecting downtown to Hyde Park, Old West Tampa, and Tampa Heights.

Planned improvements include separated cycling infrastructure along Platt Street, Rome Avenue, and Columbus Drive. Protected intersections, upgraded crosswalks, and wider sidewalks are also part of the plan.

"We're basically in a perpetual growth mode and so we're always looking for ways to better connect the community, whether that means making road improvements, traffic-calming, adding sidewalks, adding cycling infrastructure, whatever tools that we have available to us, we bring to bear to help get people around and this project in itself does really create a true network on the west side of the river," said Brandon Campbell, interim mobility director for the city of Tampa, according to FOX 13 News.

Campbell said the project surrounds much of the West Tampa area, including parks that have been improved over the last few years and the University of Tampa. The work connects all the way down into Bayshore.

"So we'll have, when all is said and done, a continuous connection from Ballast Point all the up to Columbus, and then back around to our major works," Campbell said.

Segments three and four were the focus of a pre-construction meeting held Tuesday at Beulah Baptist Institutional Church in Tampa. The meeting ran from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.