A newly opened northbound lane on I-75 is already making a big impact on traffic flow in Manatee County. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recently completed an approximately 2.7-mile auxiliary lane that begins at the SR-64 entrance ramp and continues uninterrupted to Exit 224 for US-301 in Ellenton.
This new lane not only eliminates the need for merging immediately onto I-75, but it also becomes a second exit lane for northbound drivers heading to US-301. The change is reducing congestion and improving safety along the busy corridor.
Before this improvement, the northbound entrance from SR-64 was a well-known bottleneck during weekday afternoon rush hours, often backing up onto the entrance ramp. Since the lane opened, commuters report a noticeable difference, with backups virtually eliminated and traffic flowing smoothly from SR-64 onto I-75.
This is the latest in a series of traffic enhancements tied to FDOT’s ongoing I-75/US-301 interchange reconstruction project.
As we previously reported, the new northbound US-301 to southbound I-75 entrance ramp bridge opened in December 2024, significantly easing morning rush hour traffic for southbound commuters.
In February 2025, FDOT opened two additional ramps to further improve connectivity and traffic flow. A new on-ramp from southbound US 301 to southbound I-75 replaced the old loop ramp, now requiring a left turn at a new traffic signal beneath the I-75 overpass. At the same time, a new off-ramp from I-75 northbound to US 301, located about one mile south of the previous exit, was opened, carrying traffic across a new bridge over the Manatee River.
This segment is part of FDOT’s larger $145 million effort to modernize the I-75/US-301 interchange by replacing the aging partial cloverleaf design with a more efficient tight diamond configuration.
For more information about the I-75/US-301 Interchange Improvement Project, visit FDOT’s project page.
