A concrete support pier for an unfinished $350-million reversible-lane elevated toll road in Tampa sank 20 ft April 13 due to an unexpected sinkhole. Two construction workers suffered minor injuries.
At 7:15 a.m., the pier in the median of the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway between Interstate 75 near Brandon and downtown Tampa sank 20 ft, causing two 150-ft elevated segments supported by it to buckle in the middle, forming a V, says Trooper Larry Coggins of the Florida Highway Patrol. Traffic on either side of the at-ground median was shut down for two hours, with one lane eventually reopening, says Coggins.