More than two years have passed since the Florida Department of Transportation abandoned a proposed extension of Florida’s Turnpike through Levy and other North Central Florida counties. Many residents, however, remain wary of what the future may hold.
Opposition groups, including Residents United for Rural Levy (RURL), continue to monitor the long-discussed Turnpike extension they believe is likely to return.
“We are under no illusions that they will never try again,” said Laura Parks Catlow, a co-founder of RURL, which formed in late 2023 to oppose a proposed sand mine operation and continues to advocate for Levy’s rural way of life.
In August 2022, after significant public opposition and concerns about environmental impacts and community disruption, FDOT officially ended its study of a Northern Turnpike Extension, which aimed to extend Florida’s Turnpike from its current terminus at Interstate 75 near Wildwood to U.S. Highway 19 in Levy County. Four potential corridors would have impacted large areas in Citrus, Levy, Marion and Sumter counties.
Instead, FDOT chose to prioritize improvements to I-75. Michael Williams, FDOT’s deputy communications director, said that decision was “a direct result of conversations with the communities along the corridor during the Northern Turnpike Extension study.”
The “I-75 Forward” project plan, part of the $4 billion Moving Florida Forward Infrastructure Initiative funded by the Legislature in 2023, includes:
- Adding auxiliary lanes throughout 30 miles from State Road 44 (near the I-75/Turnpike interchange) north to State Road 326 in Marion County
- Replacing four bridges along the same stretch – at County Road 462, County Road 475, Southwest 66th Street and Northwest 63rd Street – and widening bridges at State Road 44 and Southwest 20th Street
- Improving interchanges at State Road 40 and State Road 326
- Constructing a new interchange in the area of I-75 and NW 49th Street in Ocala.
Williams said the I-75 improvements are on “an accelerated course,” with construction set to begin in phases throughout 2025.
“I-75 was constructed in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s when Florida’s population was less than 5 million,” Williams said. “Present day, the state’s population is more than 22 million and is growing rapidly. Furthermore, our data shows that every 13 hours, a lane on I-75 is closed due to an incident, and once every nine days, all lanes are closed due to an incident. This is why the department is focusing on proposed plans for I-75.”
That focus is one citizens and localities encouraged during the Turnpike extension study.
Michael McGrath of Sierra Club Florida led the No Roads to Ruin coalition, which brought together 118 partners to oppose the Turnpike extension. They lobbied various cities and counties to formally oppose the project. Several passed “No Build” resolutions, including the Citrus County and Levy County boards of county commissioners, as well as the towns of Dunnellon, Inglis, Yankeetown and Inverness.
“Sierra Club Florida and the No Roads to Ruin coalition always stand at the ready to push back against this ill-advised proposal should it ever be resurrected,” McGrath said.
The addition of auxiliary lanes on I-75 is expected to ease congestion, improve safety, and ultimately allow the existing lanes to work more efficiently.
“An auxiliary lane is an extra lane connecting the on and off ramps between two consecutive interchanges,” Williams said. “The additional lane allows drivers wanting to merge onto the interstate a longer distance to do so. This reduces bottlenecks and congestion caused by drivers attempting to enter or exit the interstate.”
Other FDOT projects in Levy County are either underway or being studied to address traffic concerns between I-75 and Florida’s west coast.
Construction on improvements at Lebanon Station – located southwest of Williston at the intersection of U.S. 19, State Road 121, and County Road 336 in Levy County – are set to begin this summer and be completed in 2029. The $61 million project will reconfigure the intersection to improve safety, while providing free-flow traffic conditions on U.S. 19.
FDOT also is resurfacing eight miles of U.S. 19 and State Road 55, from the downtown Chiefland area north to the Gilchrist County line. The $18.4 million project began in July 2023 and is expected to be completed this year.
Finally, FDOT has begun a study to consider improvements to U.S. 19 in Citrus and Levy counties. This project is exploring ways to improve traffic flow along U.S. 19 from the terminus of a 10-mile extension of the Suncoast Parkway toll road in Citrus County – construction is scheduled to begin in late 2025 – north to NW 140th Street in Chiefland.
While welcoming improvements up and down I-75 and along U.S. 19, local residents plan to respond quickly should FDOT reconsider an extension of the Turnpike.
“At first whisper of FDOT resurrecting the Turnpike [extension], RURL, No Roads to Ruin, Sierra Club, Florida Springs Council and every other organization, as well as citizens with interest of protection for this area will join together again,” Catlow said. “The Turnpike has been proposed many times, literally for decades, and each time the Nature Coast has fought back.”
Publisher’s note: This story was independently written by Mike Dame and underwritten by a grant from the rural journalism fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida. To learn more or contribute to the fund, visit www.cfncf.org/localnews.
Good work, Mike.
As a resident on proposed route – we received written notification that the turnpike extension was “paused” not cancelled. Within the last week, it was reported that pre-construction activity was occurring on US19 at terminus for proposed plan B.