OCALA, Fla. – A portion of Interstate 75 in Florida will be expanded with more lanes through part of Central Florida, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The governor said the project will add more auxiliary lanes from State Road 44 to State Road 326, covering 31 miles from Wildwood to Ocala.
“I think that both tourists and residents alike have seen what you can have in the way of traffic on I-75 here in the Ocala area. You can have major backups, standstill traffic. And again, that’s not necessarily just limited to rush hour,” DeSantis said during a news conference Tuesday in Ocala. “This is one of the most used, if not the most used tourist corridor.”
This project is made possible with Moving Florida Forward, a Florida Department of Transportation initiative, and there will be $541 million going toward this expansion.
“That is going to make a difference for people. That is going to make it better for traveling in this direction,” he said.
Local residents and businesses were optimistic about the potential benefits.
“This is a much-needed development,” Ocala resident Deanna Harrison told News 6. “We are all on top of one another. It’s just too difficult to get anywhere. The traffic on I-75 has been a challenge for years.”
However, some concerns remain about the short-term impact of construction on daily commutes. Transportation officials have assured the public that efforts will be made to minimize disruptions and maintain traffic flow during the construction period.
DeSantis said this project was originally planned 10 to 15 years from now but with a new interchange near Northwest 49th Street in Ocala and a new Bucee’s coming, the governor said, “We got to get going now.”
This expansion is part of the state’s overall effort to improve infrastructure over the next five years, totaling almost $70 billion.
