Interstate 75 in Florida - Route Description

Route Description

Interstate 75 begins its northward journey at SR 826 (Palmetto Expressway) and SR 924 (Gratigny Parkway) in Hialeah, near Miami.

Leaving Hialeah, I-75 serves some of the western fringes of South Florida as an eight lane highway. After an exit with SR 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. At the junction of SR 869 (Sawgrass Expressway) and I-595, I-75 (while maintaining its north/south status) enters an east/west trajectory as it crosses the Everglades by way of Alligator Alley, a toll road which was constructed originally 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 US 27 interchange, the last interchange before the toll plaza. The Alligator Alley section west of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and east of Naples is due east/west and is one of only two sections of I-75 that are tolled (the other is the Mackinac Bridge). Just west of the Snake Road exit (exit 49), Alligator Alley crosses into Collier County and the Big Cypress National Preserve. Once near Naples at Collier County Road 951 (Exit 101), Interstate 75 makes a sharp turn and resumes its north-south trajectory. Interstate 75 runs parallel with the southwest coast of Florida and passes near Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sarasota and Bradenton before reaching the Tampa Bay Area metropolis consisting of Tampa and St. Petersburg.

In 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 (SR 618) and I-4. Within the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Area, many interchanges are far more complex than mere diamond, cloverleaf, or even SPUI interchanges. Aside from the large turbine interchange with I-4 (Exit 261), there are interchanges with Fowler Avenue (Exit 265) and Fletcher Avenue/Morris Bridge Road (Exit 266) that contain both loops and flyovers. A flyover ramp was built from southbound Bruce B. Downs Boulevard (Exit 270) to southbound I-75.

At the Hillsborough-Pasco county line (south of SR 56 (Exit 275)), I-275 rejoins I-75 (at Exit 274, southbound only) and I-75 changes into a northeast-southwest 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. 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/SR 50 (Exit 301) and the Hernando-Sumter County line, where it also crosses over the Withlacoochee River.

After the Florida Turnpike (accessible from southbound Interstate 75 only), Interstate 75 changes into a general northwest-southeast trajectory, which is sustained to the Georgia state line and beyond. Interstate 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, and passing by the cities of Gainesville and Lake City and crosses I-10 at an interchange before entering the state of Georgia, near Valdosta.

Interstate 75 runs closest to U.S. 41 except between Tampa and High Springs. It runs closer to U.S. 301 between Ellenton and Temple Terrace, and again from Dade City to Sparr. From Belleview to Lake City it runs closest to U.S. 441.