Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans for a two-lane expansion of Interstate 75 Tuesday, fast-tracking a project to reduce congestion and improve safety along Florida’s state roads.
The project was not set to begin for another 10 to 15 years, the governor said when he unveiled the plans at a press conference at the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala. The expansion will add a 31-mile stretch of auxiliary lanes from State Road 44 in Wildwood to State Road 326 in Ocala.
“Both tourists and residents alike have seen what you can have in the way of traffic on I-75 and the Ocala area,” DeSantis said, emphasizing the highway’s essential function for tourists, major freight and hurricane evacuation.
The project’s acceleration, a $541 million move, comes as part of the Moving Florida Forward Initiative, a program with the Florida Department of Transportation that earmarked $4 billion from surplus state revenue for construction on state-owned roadways.
“To say we’ll get around to it in 2034, when it’s already intolerable now and we had the means to do something about it, wasn’t acceptable,” DeSantis said.
The expansion is expected to take three to four years to complete. The project will also include the construction of a new interchange on NW 49th street in Ocala, along with the opening of a Buc-ee’s convenience store off the highway’s exit in Marion County.
The efforts are expected to generate $2.3 billion for the regional economy, DeSantis said.
The I-75 expansion is one of at least 20 projects that have been expedited through the Moving Florida Forward program, DeSantis said.
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