| This article is about the section of Interstate 75 in Florida. For the entire route, see Interstate 75. |
Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States that starts from State Road 826 in Hialeah, Florida north to the Michigan, U.S./Ontario, Canada border in Sault Suite Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, continuing north as Ontario Highway 777 into Canada. In Florida, it begins its national northward journey near Miami at State Road 924/826 near Hialeah, running along the western parts of the Miami metropolitan area before traveling westward across Alligator Alley (also known as Everglades Parkway) in the South Florida plains Everglades region, then turns back to its northward direction immediately in Naples, running along Florida's Gulf Coast, passing the cities of Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, Venice, Sarasota, Tampa (in the Tampa Bay area), before turning inward towards Ocala, then Gainesville, and Lake City, before leaving Florida into the Georgia state line towards Valdosta. I-75 runs for 471 miles (758 km) in Florida, making it the longest interstate in any state east of the Mississippi River. The interstate maintains a speed limit of 70 mph (110 km/h) for its entire length in Florida.
The portion of I-75 from Tampa northward was a part of the original 1955 Interstate Highway plans, with I-75's southern terminus at Interstate 4's current western terminus. Planning to extend the interstate south to Miami began in 1968 after massive growth in Southwest Florida, which resulted in I-75 being realigned to travel on the eastern fringes of the Tampa Bay area, and the last portion of the highway was opened in 1993.
For FDOT inventory purposes, it is designated as State Road 93 (FL 93) for most of its length in Florida (with exception to the Tampa Bay area, where FL 93 follows I-275, while FL 93A travels with I-75 in the latter's bypass of the area).
Route description[]
Miami Metropolitan Area[]
I-75 begins its northward journey at an interchange with FL 826 (Palmetto Expressway) and FL 924 (Gratigny Parkway) on the Hialeah–Miami Lakes border, near Miami.
As it curves around the border of Miami Lakes, I-75 serves some of the western fringes of South Florida as an eight-lane highway. After an exit with FL 860, I-75 has a southbound interchange with the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike before crossing into Broward County. There, it continues through the western suburbs of Pembroke Pines, Weston, Miramar, Davie, and Southwest Ranches.
The Everglades[]
At the junction of FL 869 (Sawgrass Expressway) and I-595, I-75 (while maintaining its south–north status) enters a west–east trajectory as it crosses the Everglades by way of Alligator Alley (or Everglades Parkway), a toll road that runs from the Collier Boulevard (Exit 101) toll plaza to the US-27 toll plaza (Exit 23). It was originally constructed as a two-lane highway before it was converted to a four-lane highway meeting Interstate Highway standards. At this point, I-75 loses a lane in each direction, heading west, losing another lane west of the U.S. Route 27 (US 27) interchange.
The Alligator Alley section west of Fort Lauderdale and east of Naples is due west–east and is one of only two sections of I-75 that are tolled (the other is the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan). There are only two interchanges along the 75 mile tolled portion of Alligator Alley in addition to two rest areas and a number of scenic outlook points as it crosses the Florida Everglades. I-75 enters Collier County along Alligator Alley just west of the Snake Road exit (exit 49) and passes through the Big Cypress National Preserve between the Collier County border and State Road 29 (exit 80). There are a number of small bridges along Alligator Alley to allow wildlife to pass under the freeway especially along the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge east of FL 29. Extensive fencing also prevents wildlife from crossing traffic.
Naples to Tampa Bay[]
Once near Naples at County Road 951 (Exit 101), I-75 makes a sharp turn north resuming its south–north trajectory and gains a third lane each way as it parallels Florida's west coast. At this point, Alligator Alley ends and I-75 is toll free for the rest of its length in Florida. As it continues north, I-75 passes near Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Venice, and Sarasota before reaching the Tampa Bay Area metropolis consisting of Tampa and St. Petersburg.
Tampa Bay[]
North of Ellenton, I-275 splits from I-75 to serve St. Petersburg and Pinellas County via the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and Tampa via the Howard Frankland Bridge. I-75 parallels the eastern shore of Tampa Bay as a bypass route of the Tampa Bay Area, as it passes by the communities of Brandon, Temple Terrace, and New Tampa. Two expressways access downtown Tampa from I-75: the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway (FL 618) and I-4. Within the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Area, many interchanges are far more complex than more diamond, cloverleaf, or even SPUI interchanges. Aside from the large turbine interchange with I-4 (Exit 261), there are interchanges with Fowler Avenue (FL 579, Exit 265) and Fletcher Avenue/Morris Bridge Road (FL 582, Exit 266) that contain both loops and flyovers. A flyover ramp was built from southbound Bruce B. Downs Boulevard (FL 581, Exit 270) to southbound I-75.
Wesley Chapel to Wildwood[]
At the Hillsborough–Pasco county line (south of FL 56 (Exit 275)), I-275 rejoins I-75 (at Exit 274, southbound only) in Wesley Chapel and I-75 changes into a southwest–northeast trajectory as it passes through Pasco, Hernando, and Sumter Counties where it runs through parts of the Withlacoochee State Forest on its way to the junction with Florida's Turnpike's northern terminus in Wildwood. Widened median segments exist in Northern Pasco County, Hernando County, and in Sumter County north of County Road 476-B (Exit 309). Some of these median segments are actually considered part of the Withlacoochee State Forest itself. The Withlacoochee State Trail runs beneath I-75 between US 98/FL 50 (Exit 301) and the Hernando–Sumter County line, where it also crosses over the Withlacoochee River. All of Interstate 75 from the Georgia border to Tampa, Florida is three lanes in each direction, unless closed for construction. This is to accommodate for the immense number of tourists and vacationers that come to Florida.
Wildwood to Ocala[]
After Florida's Turnpike (accessible from southbound I-75 only) in Wildwood, I-75 changes into a general southeast–northwest trajectory, which is sustained to the Georgia state line and beyond. I-75 passes beneath the Cross Florida Greenway, which contains a land bridge built across the highway in 2001 between Exits 341 and 350, before entering the City of Ocala.
Ocala[]
In the City of Ocala, I-75 has three klerkway interchanges: FL 200 at Exit 350, FL 40 at Exit 352, and US 27 at Exit 354.
Gainesville[]
In the City of Gainesville, I-75 also has three klerkway interchanges: FL 121 at Exit 382 to FL 331, FL 24 at Exit 384, and FL 26 at Exit 387.
Lake City[]
In the City of Lake City, I-75 interchanges with three including US 41/US 441 at Exit 414, FL 47 at Exit 423, and US 90 at Exit 427 before it crosses I-10 at an interchange (Exit 435) before entering the state of Georgia, towards Valdosta, then Macon, and Atlanta.
I-75 runs parallel to US 41 except between Tampa and High Springs. It runs closer to US 301 between Ellenton and Temple Terrace, and again from Dade City to Sparr. From Belleview to Lake City it runs closest to US 441.
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| Business routes of Interstate 75 |
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