Hillsborough County commissioners approved up to $200,000 for preliminary engineering and design of a proposed Riverwalk underpass beneath the Cass Street Bridge. The county acted at its October 21 meeting, and Tampa has committed another $200,000 in in-kind contributions, according to WUSF and Tampa Bay 28.
Early work precedes a construction decision
The proposed route would carry pedestrians and cyclists beneath the bridge, avoiding the need to cross Cass Street at West Tyler Street at street level. The Friends of the Riverwalk would receive and administer the funding. The initial work covers surveys, geotechnical investigations, testing and preliminary design development, Tampa Bay 28 reported. The county’s funding decision does not authorize construction; further design, permitting and funding approvals would be required.
County documents cited by Tampa Bay 28 record 15 reported pedestrian incidents at the Cass Street and West Tyler Street intersection between January 2020 and December 2024. The count documents incidents reported during that period; it does not establish that the location is the Riverwalk’s most dangerous crossing.
The route would link riverfront destinations
The planned underpass would connect Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park with future Riverwalk extensions near the Straz Center for the Performing Arts and the Tampa Museum of Art, according to Tampa Bay 28. WUSF reported that the route would connect the trail directly to the Straz Center. Each institution is spending more than $100 million on renovations and expansions, WUSF reported.
Friends of the Riverwalk has described the proposal as a way to improve safety and reduce congestion, according to WUSF. The nonprofit has also said that a rendering in public circulation is an early concept, not a final design, and that planning remains in its early stages, Tampa Bay 28 reported. There is no established completion date. Commissioner Harry Cohen told WUSF he would like the project completed within three or four years; that is his preferred window, not a confirmed schedule.
A separate expansion is underway
The Cass Street proposal is part of a wider period of Riverwalk investment. County figures reported by Tampa Bay 28 put visitation above 2 million in 2025 and show 1,166 housing units and 649 hotel beds added in the surrounding area since 2014. Friends of the Tampa Riverwalk separately estimates more than 2 million annual visitors, according to the Business Observer.
The separate West River BUILD project broke ground in October 2025. The roughly two-mile Riverwalk expansion is part of a $56.8 million project, with completion targeted for early 2027, the Business Observer reported. The City of Tampa says the project is expected to create about 500 short-term construction jobs and at least 1,000 direct and indirect jobs annually over the longer term; its description also includes 1,500 feet of living shorelines, scenic overlooks, pedestrian bridge underpasses and a connector to the existing Riverwalk. The city’s project information is available from the City of Tampa.
