Why is Interstate 75 traffic so bad in Manatee County? Upgrades are coming, FDOT says
For anyone who’s hit the brakes and wondered about the chronically slow-moving traffic — and who hasn’t? — on Interstate 75 through Manatee County, there are reasons.
Chief among them, population growth.
In 2022, about 319,000 people moved to Florida, making it the fastest-growing state in the country.
From that influx, about 30,000 have been moving annually to Manatee-Sarasota in recent years.
They move to existing neighborhoods in Bradenton and Palmetto, and new neighborhoods in the Parrish-North River area, Lakewood Ranch and elsewhere.
Plus, there are the winter residents, the snowbirds and other visitors drawn to Manatee County beaches.
Florida officials plan I-75 improvements
The Florida Department of Transportation has several projects and studies underway focused on easing the congestion.
But they take time and money, and there are no quick fixes.
FDOT’s I-75 North Corridor Master Plan covers 40 miles from north of Moccasin Wallow Road in Manatee County to south of North River Road in Sarasota.
Under this plan, a $145 million project to redesign the I-75-U.S. 301 interchange in Ellenton is underway with completion forecast for early 2025.
Previously, FDOT spent hundreds of millions of dollars on new I-75 interchanges at State Road 64, State Road 70, and University Parkway.
“Without capacity improvements on I-75 from north of University Parkway to north of Moccasin Wallow Road, operating conditions along the corridor will deteriorate to an unacceptable level of service,” according to an FDOT study.
The study recommended widening I-75 to a 10-lane facility with two express lanes in each direction and three general-use lanes in each direction.
Express lanes in Manatee County?
“We are looking at growth continuing to run the next 20 years,” said David L. Hutchinson, executive director of the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization.
One of the options FDOT is studying to help facilitate the flow of traffic on I-75 is the addition of managed lanes, essentially toll roads like the Interstate 4 express lanes that run through Orlando.
The addition of managed lanes would help improve accessibility, mobility and safety, according to FDOT.
To date, managed lanes on I-75 through Manatee County remain a concept with no date planned for the start of construction.
Alternate corridors across Manatee River
FDOT is conducting a study to evaluate 10 corridor alternatives to connect the cities of Bradenton and Palmetto across the Manatee River to relieve some of the load on the DeSoto Bridge.
The DeSoto Bridge, now at the end of its service life, is scheduled to be replaced with a new bridge. Construction would start in 2027. The three-year project is funded at $168 million.
Still to be determined is whether the replacement bridge would be built to the east or west of the current bridge, which would remain in service throughout the construction project.
The new bridge would have four lanes like the existing bridge, but with new features to make it safer, including two shoulders and a multi-use path for pedestrians and bikers.
The bridge’s design could also potentially allow future expansion.
Proposed alternative bridge locations include crossings ranging from 43rd Street West in Bradenton to the vicinity of the Interstate 75 bridge. So far, there is no funding for the new corridors.
The alternative corridor study is the latest in a history of studies to address traffic capacity between Palmetto and Bradenton, which is the MPO’s No. 1 priority, Hutchinson said in an email.
The MPO, governed by a 17-member board, is the regional transportation planning entity for Sarasota and Manatee counties.
