DeSantis hopes Moving Florida Forward plan will ease traffic in busy SWFL areas

Reporter: Gail Levy Writer: Paul Dolan
Published:

Governor Ron DeSantis plans to ease the bumper-to-bumper traffic in Southwest Florida.

DeSantis focuses on easing traffic in two areas, one on Corkscrew Road to Golden Gate Parkway. The second will aim to improve the congestion on Pine Ridge Road and I-75. These two spots are notorious in Southwest Florida for having bad traffic.

For I-75, DeSantis plans on adding a 20-mile expansion converting the six-lane highway to eight from Corkscrew Rd. to Golden Gate Pkwy.

The graph DeSantis showcased during the press conference. CREDIT: WINK News

Driving on I-75 during rush hour will give drivers all the proof they need that adding two lanes will be beneficial.

And if you think traffic in Florida is bad now, the Florida Department of Transportation said Florida’s population is expected to grow by 600 people every day for the next 30 years.

Estero resident, Amelia Browning, hops on I-75 and faces her traffic troubles.

“I do a lot of Uber Eats. So I’m on the road constantly. So yeah, I get stuck in traffic a lot,” Browning said.

Browning was pumped after telling her about the governor’s new Moving Florida Forward initiative. The project will invest $7,000,000,000 into 20 infrastructure projects if DeSantis gets his way.

“I think that’s probably a good idea, considering how many tourists we have out here and how backed up it gets,” Browning said.

One of the areas DeSantis hopes to ease traffic in. CREDIT: WINK News

“We’re looking to do things like widen existing roadways, making existing highway connections more efficient, expanding interchanges to be more free-flowing,” DeSantis said.

Including a diverging diamond interchange at Pine Ridge Road and I-75. It’s the same kind of interchange that’s under construction at Colonial Blvd. and I-75.

Dean Crocker, a Lee County resident, hasn’t ever driven on a diverging diamond before. But, if the Florida Department of Transportation says that kind of interchange will help with the congestion, he likes the idea.

“It’s a very good idea,” Crocker said.

For the governor to get his way, he needs lawmakers to pass his plan. It calls for the state to invest $4,000,000,000 from the general revenue surplus and redirect another $3,000,000,000 in spending to the Florida Department of Transportation over the next four years.

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