What ever happened to the I-75/466 interchange?

[FloridaGuy66]

I've run across multiple articles stating in 2003 that it was "fasttracked" and "being built soon". It's like it's development was stopped dead in it's tracks without any explanation.

I-75 exit moving quickly| ocala.com (https://www.ocala.com/story/news/2003/05/02/villages-i-75-exit-moving-quickly/31278409007/)

I-75 exit on the fast track | ocala.com (https://www.ocala.com/story/news/2003/05/08/i-75-exit-is-on-the-fast-track/31278695007/)

[Normal]

I've run across multiple articles stating in 2003 that it was "fasttracked" and "being built soon". It's like it's development was stopped dead in it's tracks without any explanation.

I-75 exit moving quickly| ocala.com (https://www.ocala.com/story/news/2003/05/02/villages-i-75-exit-moving-quickly/31278409007/)

I-75 exit on the fast track | ocala.com (https://www.ocala.com/story/news/2003/05/08/i-75-exit-is-on-the-fast-track/31278695007/)

Does it even matter? 75 is a cluster daily from Wildwood to Ocala. We drove it the other day and it took a little over an hour to drive from Wildwood to College in Ocala. Hoporeal traffic change comes when 301 is done.

[FloridaGuy66]

Does it even matter? 75 is a cluster daily from Wildwood to Ocala. We drove it the other day and it took a little over an hour to drive from Wildwood to College in Ocala

Seems to me part of the problem is lack of interchanges.

[Kenswing]

I would imagine with Costco coming this will be revisited.. All the folks coming down from Ocala will need easier access.

[Mleeja]

The I-75 and CR 484 interchange is a complete mess! It took 45 minutes to go 1/2 mile to get onto I-75. An interchange at CR 466 would help.

[Jim 9922]

What happened to the proposal? It went the way many other half-baked Villages sales pitches have gone. Originally it was sold to new Villagers as the "new" quick way to get onto I-75 without lengthy travels to either Wildwood or HY 484. Then lots of land was bought South of 466A, so a new half interchange with the Fla. Turnpike was proposed (and partially graded) on Warm Springs Ave (billed as easy on/off to Orlando, the airport, etc.). But then much more land was purchased and is being developed further South, so it died too. Now, at least, the existing one further South on the Turnpike is actually being rebuilt.

Perhaps, when building far enough South, the new proposed "super interchange" sales pitch will be a special one to the theme parks giving us Villagers and Middleton-ites a fast back door entrance to all such fun places as the Morse's deem appropriate. :D

[Bogie Shooter]

Well thats all a stretch to blame TV because an interchange wasn’t built.

[Jim 9922]

Well thats all a stretch to blame TV because an interchange wasn’t built.

If I correctly remember the press releases and newspaper articles (not necessarily only the Daily Sun), at the time, the Developer was pushing lots of political state and federal buttons and committing some financial infrastructure and construction assistance incentives to get the projects accomplished. I believe the land for the Turnpike interchange was and still is owned by the developer which is currently planned for non-residential use.

[MSchad]

If I correctly remember the press releases and newspaper articles (not necessarily only the Daily Sun), at the time, the Developer was pushing lots of political state and federal buttons and committing some financial infrastructure and construction assistance incentives to get the projects accomplished. I believe the land for the Turnpike interchange was and still is owned by the developer which is currently planned for non-residential use.
Just because the developer was pushing buttons and committing funds trying to get this done, doesn’t mean they are in charge of FDOT.

[asianthree]

What happened to the proposal? It went the way many other half-baked Villages sales pitches have gone. Originally it was sold to new Villagers as the "new" quick way to get onto I-75 without lengthy travels to either Wildwood or HY 484. Then lots of land was bought South of 466A, so a new half interchange with the Fla. Turnpike was proposed (and partially graded) on Warm Springs Ave (billed as easy on/off to Orlando, the airport, etc.). But then much more land was purchased and is being developed further South, so it died too. Now, at least, the existing one further South on the Turnpike is actually being rebuilt.

Perhaps, when building far enough South, the new proposed "super interchange" sales pitch will be a special one to the theme parks giving us Villagers and Middleton-ites a fast back door entrance to all such fun places as the Morse's deem appropriate. :D

When was the last time you listened to a “sales pitch” ? We didn’t get any inkling of any possible interchange coming with any VLS in 2007/2009/2010/2011/2012/2014/2020/2022. So when exactly did you get your “sales pitch”

There was articles in the shall remain nameless online site, maybe those articles are what you remember.

[Normal]

It will be interesting to see the design of the newest interchange where 470 meets the turnpike. The intersection has seen a dramatic increase in use! We know the bridge has to be both lengthened and widened and the on and off ramps need serious upgrades for all 4 entry and exits. What will FDOT do to accommodate one of the newest and soon to be perhaps one of the busiest interchanges? I suspect it will be massive.

[Altavia]

Here's the most recent I75 Interstate Master Plan 7/09/3024

Near/mid-mid term emphasis appears to be widening the I75 corridor and improving exits in the Ocala area.


https://www.cflroads.com/project-files/105/2024-07-11_I-75%20Master%20Plan%20Report_Final.pdf

[Normal]

Here's the most recent I75 Interstate Master Plan 7/09/3024

Near/mid-mid term emphasis appears to be widening the I75 corridor and improving exits in the Ocala area.


https://www.cflroads.com/project-files/105/2024-07-11_I-75%20Master%20Plan%20Report_Final.pdf

Oh boy, within the next 10-15 years for Phase 1 (page 18)! I get it with the widening of the turnpike as the priority, but it does seem far off.

[Marathon Man]

What happened to the proposal? It went the way many other half-baked Villages sales pitches have gone. Originally it was sold to new Villagers as the "new" quick way to get onto I-75 without lengthy travels to either Wildwood or HY 484. Then lots of land was bought South of 466A, so a new half interchange with the Fla. Turnpike was proposed (and partially graded) on Warm Springs Ave (billed as easy on/off to Orlando, the airport, etc.). But then much more land was purchased and is being developed further South, so it died too. Now, at least, the existing one further South on the Turnpike is actually being rebuilt.

Perhaps, when building far enough South, the new proposed "super interchange" sales pitch will be a special one to the theme parks giving us Villagers and Middleton-ites a fast back door entrance to all such fun places as the Morse's deem appropriate. :D

I think you must have dreamt this.

[kkingston57]

Seems to me part of the problem is lack of interchanges.

Politely disagree. Wildwood is where 75 and Turnpike converge,

[FloridaGuy66]

Politely disagree. Wildwood is where 75 and Turnpike converge,

That's a different issue altogether.

For those of us that go to Ocala or Gainesville on a regular basis, there's almost always a slowdown through Ocala and south of Ocala especially southbound in the afternoon and evening. For those going to Oxford, FL or the northern parts of TV, the only option from I-75 is to exit at SR 484, or go down to Wildwood and exit at SR 44. That's a huge gap between exits considering the population in the surrounding areas.

[Normal]

That's a different issue altogether.

For those of us that go to Ocala or Gainesville on a regular basis, there's almost always a slowdown through Ocala and south of Ocala especially southbound in the afternoon and evening. For those going to Oxford, FL or the northern parts of TV, the only option from I-75 is to exit at SR 484, or go down to Wildwood and exit at SR 44. That's a huge gap between exits considering the population in the surrounding areas.

More exits and entrances won’t solve the volume of traffic. 301 and 75 need widened all the way to Ocala. The bottleneck is atrocious and should be fixed through eminent domain, construction, and expediency by the state of Florida.

[Stu from NYC]

Just because the developer was pushing buttons and committing funds trying to get this done, doesn’t mean they are in charge of FDOT.

Developer has huge power in Florida.

Generally speaking if he wants it he gets it.

[Number 10 GI]

Florida, like every other state, has a list of 100's and probably thousands of proposed highway projects. Every city and county believes that their pet highway project is the most important one in the state. There aren't enough construction companies to do all these projects in the time frame everyone wants it done. There also isn't nearly enough money available to fund all of them in the time frame everyone demands they be completed in. Additionally, the highway dept can't just decide they are going to put an exit on a federal highway. The feds have to approve it, environmental studies have to be conducted, and it takes time for eminent domain to obtain any land from private owners. On top of that all it takes is one individual to make the claim that they observed a protected species that would be affected in that area. They aren't required to provide proof of this claim, but the state will have to conduct a study to prove or disprove the claim. Then if it is finally approved the project will go on the list of things to do but will be scheduled after any previously approved projects.
As far as the Morse family just snapping their fingers and the state jumps to their demand, please!!!! They may have a bit of pull with the state, but they aren't the only deep pockets in the state and there are some that have even more pull. Do you really think a county representative from the panhandle, or the Keys will worry about upsetting the Morse Family? Every county rep wants to the bring home the bacon to their constituents and they will fight tooth and nail to get what they want.

[Cliff Fr]

I may be mistaken but I think that since the interstate system is Federal there are a lot of Federal matching funds that make such projects possible. In the past few years here in Ocala there have been several road projects that built bike paths and crosswalks along major roadways. Very few people are using the new crosswalks and bike paths that cost millions to build. Perhaps that's where the money went.

[BogeyBoy]

Your browser is not supported | ocala.com (https://www.ocala.com/story/news/2003/05/02/villages-i-75-exit-moving-quickly/31278409007/)

(It may say your browser is not supported but the link worked for me)

[Normal]

Your browser is not supported | ocala.com (https://www.ocala.com/story/news/2003/05/02/villages-i-75-exit-moving-quickly/31278409007/)

(It may say your browser is not supported but the link worked for me)

I’m thinking any ideas or plans made more than 20 years ago aren’t relevant to today’s world. Most of the politicians and state workers back then that were involved have since retired. Back then the Developer had promised they weren’t going to develop south of 466 and the population of the Villages was almost 20,000 people? But hey, we survived Y2K and cell phones were bigger.

[dtennent]

Oh boy, within the next 10-15 years for Phase 1 (page 18)! I get it with the widening of the turnpike as the priority, but it does seem far off.
Combine that with the very long time for road construction to be completed…yep, I will be dead by the time it is completed.

[CybrSage]

Seems to me part of the problem is lack of interchanges.

Somebody should create a proposal to build a new interchange.

[justjim]

OP is correct. It seemed a “done deal” 10-12 years ago that 466 would have an exit on to I75. In short, It didn’t happen and The Villages Developer moved on south. With Costco coming it could really happen this time around.

That said, highways can never keep pace with “uncontrolled” growth. Florida, since the 60’s, fits that picture. Answers: 1. Manage the population growth. (Politically not feasible because taxes would necessarily be raised in Florida- but nice try. ) 2. Short term: More lanes where I75 and Turnpike merge and the 466 exit on to I75 while at the same time widening I 75 to eight lanes to north of Ocala. 3. Longer term goal: Extend turnpike west and north to Interstate 10 easing I75 traffic a bit. “You’re never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream” C.W. Lewis.

[graciegirl]

The I-75 and CR 484 interchange is a complete mess! It took 45 minutes to go 1/2 mile to get onto I-75. An interchange at CR 466 would help.

Oh Gosh. We will NEVER be able to get out of our Village then, sigh.

[justjim]

Oh Gosh. We will NEVER be able to get out of our Village then, sigh.

You win my Blue Ribbon for that post!