Who Operates And Maintains the Toll Roads in the Tampa Bay Region?

Many different governmental agencies, companies, organizations, and elected officials are involved in the planning, construction and maintenance of toll roads. It can be confusing to understand which organizations own and operate which toll roads in our community.

The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) is the owner and operator of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway. The Selmon Expressway is a 15-mile, four-lane, limited-access toll road that crosses the city of Tampa from Gandy Boulevard and MacDill Air Force Base in the south, through downtown Tampa and east to Brandon. THEA uses the tolls for operations, maintenance, renewal and replacement of infrastructure. THEA also reinvests the tolls back into the community in the form of community projects and partnering opportunities.

In total, the Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) operates and maintains 483 miles of toll highways. FTE’s system includes the Mainline from Miami to Central Florida, as well toll roads in South, Central and North Florida. In the Tampa Bay area, FTE owns and operates Veteran’s Expressway, the Suncoast Parkway, the Polk Parkway, and the Selmon Expressway / I-4 Connector. Tolls collected on all FTE roads are put in a state system account and then allocated back to each area.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is an executive agency, reporting directly to the Governor. FDOT’s primary statutory responsibility is to coordinate the planning and development of a safe, viable, and balanced state transportation system serving all regions of the state, and to assure the compatibility of all components, including multimodal facilities. FDOT owns the Skyway Bridge and the Bayway Bridge, although FTE collects the tolls for FDOT

• Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA): Owns and operates the Selmon Expressway
• Florida Turnpike Enterprise (FTE): Owns and operates Veteran’s Expressway, Suncoast Parkway, and the Selmon Expressway / I-4 Connector
• Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT): Owns and operates the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and the Bayway Bridge