(The Center Square) – Expansion of traffic-clogged Interstate 75 in central Florida near Ocala is being planned, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday.
The expansion of the vital north/south artery with new auxiliary lanes from State Route 44 to State Route 26 is being done under the Move Florida Forward program.
The program was passed by lawmakers in 2023 and allocates $4 billion from the General Fund’s surplus to vital infrastructure projects. It allows Florida Department of Transportation to expedite projects, many of which DeSantis said were planned for the next decade, to relieve congestion on the state’s roads.
“We know we have some areas that have some significant issues around the state and we’re obviously here (in Ocala) for one of those reasons,” DeSantis said. “These billions of dollars are being put to use and they are going to make a difference on quality of life.”
DeSantis said 20 major interstate and roadway projects have been expedited by Move Florida Forward, including an expansion of lanes on Interstate 4 in Polk and Osceola counties, where massive population growth has increased congestion on the east/west connector across the central Florida peninsula.
He also said the addition of regular express lanes on Interstate 275 in Pinellas County have reduced travel delays by 85% and adds more lane capacity for evacuations like the ones for Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The two-term Republican governor said Moving Florida Forward funds are being used to redesign the Golden Gate/Glades intersection on Interstate 95 in Miami-Dade County and converting an intersection on Interstate 75 in Sarasota to a diverging diamond design.
In the Panhandle, DeSantis said the funds will also be used to widen U.S. 98 to provide better access to Panama City.
“What better way to be an example for government efficiency than to deliver more infrastructure and deliver it faster,” said Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue. “This I-75 project was just an idea two years ago, but we went from an idea to construction in just two years because of the governor’s leadership and this idea to bring general revenue surplus to infrastructure when Florida is growing faster than it’s ever grown before.”
Interstate 75 had an annual average daily traffic of 95,500 vehicles, according to data from the Florida Department of Transportation.
