WILDWOOD, FL (352today.com) – The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has completed improvements at the interchange of U.S. 301 (State Road/SR 35) and Florida’s Turnpike in Wildwood, delivering operational and safety enhancements along this heavily traveled corridor.
The project added a through lane in each direction beneath the bridge and extended the southbound U.S. 301 left turn lane to southbound Florida’s Turnpike to increase capacity and improve traffic flow. This work marks the completion of Phase 1 of the first of three projects planned along U.S. 301 in Sumter County as part of the state’s Moving Florida Forward Infrastructure Initiative.
Phase 2 of the first project is underway and will realign a 2-mile section of U.S. 301 from Industrial Park Drive to Warm Springs Avenue. Crews will construct this new roadway around the east side of the City of Coleman with two travel lanes in each direction and a grassed median. Construction of this phase is expected to be completed in late 2027. However, the new roadway will not open to traffic until the two other related projects are completed in 2030.
The second project will widen U.S. 301 from County Road 470 to Industrial Park Drive, with construction expected to begin in summer 2027. The third project will complete the widening from Warm Springs Avenue to Florida’s Turnpike, with construction anticipated to begin in fall 2027. Both projects are anticipated to be finished in 2030.
When all three projects are complete, U.S. 301 will feature two travel lanes in each direction, separated by a raised median, from Florida’s Turnpike to CR 470. New 12-foot-wide shared-use paths will be built on both sides of the roadway to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians, and new traffic signals will be installed at Industrial Park Drive and at Warm Springs Avenue. A roundabout will also be constructed at Marsh Bend Trail to help drivers move through the area more safely and efficiently.
For more information about these projects, visit cflroads.com/project/430132-4.