Work on $145M project to improve Manatee’s I-75 drive has started, but expect delays
The granddaddy of all Interstate 75 interchange projects in Manatee County, costing $145 million, has quietly gotten underway at I-75 and U.S. 301 in Ellenton.
The project starts just north of Ellenton Premium Outlets and extend south to the interchange with State Road 64.
Originally, the construction start date was early 2021. Although no reason for the delay has been offered, supply chain issues and labor shortages have been widespread during the pandemic.
Planned are the reconstruction of the interchange from a partial cloverleaf interchange to a tight diamond configuration.
New bridges will be constructed over the Manatee River for a northbound exit ramp and a southbound entrance ramp, and the existing bridge will be rehabilitated to extend its life span.
The project will provide for an eight-lane divided roadway with 12-foot inside and outside shoulders.
The redesign is expected to handle the existing six lanes of traffic more efficiently, and accommodate up to 10 lanes (two express lanes and three general use lanes in each direction). The planned improvements are intended to extend the acceptable level of service for I-75 well beyond 2050.
Crews are now clearing right of way for a northbound auxiliary lane from State Road 64 to the Manatee River, Adam Rose, a communications specialist for the Florida Department of Transportation, said Wednesday.
In mid-2022, work is expected to begin to widen the Salt Marsh Bridge, located south of the Trooper J. D. Young Bridge that spans the Manatee River, and on the new bridges over the Manatee River.
Work is expected to start in late 2022 on reconstructing the U.S. 301-I-75 interchange, Rose said.
In late 2024, work is scheduled to begin on rehabilitating the Trooper J.D. Young Memorial Bridge to extend its life.
Completion date is estimated for mid-2025, but the schedule is tentative, Rose said.
FDOT’s master plan calls for replacing all I-75 intersections in Manatee and Sarasota counties. That plan started with the $75 million diverging diamond on University Parkway. The diverging diamond project, which was completed in 2017, was so unusual that it spawned a bumper sticker: “I survived the diverging diamond.”
FDOT followed up by replacing the I-75-State Road 64 interchange, at a cost of $39.1 million, and is now finishing work on the I-75-State Road 70 interchange, which started in 2018 at a budgeted cost of $80.7 million.
The I-75-SR 70 interchange is nearing completion, although an anticipated completion date has not been announced.
This story was originally published January 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
