County Transportation Planning Organization releases 2050 plans

[Image courtesy Ocala/Marion County Transportation Planning Organization]

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Posted October 3, 2025 | By Belea T. Keeney, [email protected]

Big changes are coming to the highways, streets and roads in Marion County as state and local transportation officials fine-tune plans to fix major trouble spots and to allow for future growth in the area.

“Over the next five years (2025 to 2030), residents will see a number of impactful projects,” said Robert Balmes, director of the Ocala/Marion County Transportation Planning Organization. The projects will be “constructed with federal, state and local sources of funding. These projects will improve mobility and safety.”

In a meeting held Sept. 29 at the Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place in Ocala, about 25 members of the public looked over project plans, talked with TPO staffers and were able to offer comments on the proposals.

The 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) public hearing is set for 3 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Board of County Commissioners auditorium.

“There will be a public comment period for citizens to speak to the TPO Governing Board,” so area residents can voice their opinions, Balmes said.

 

Projects for I-75, interchanges and avenues

Balmes highlighted the traffic-enhancing projects slated for the next five years. He stated that auxiliary lanes will be added on “I-75 from State 44 in Sumter County to State Road 326 in Marion County with the addition of a travel lane in each direction between the interchanges. The project also includes interchange improvements at State Road 40 and State Road 326.”

These lanes will help with overall regional transportation as drivers moving through the area and locals who use I-75 will also see positive changes, Balmes said.

That stretch of the interstate highway often has issues. The Florida Department of Transportation reports that on one out of nine days, all lanes on I-75 are closed due to an incident. Every 13 hours, at least one lane of the crucial interstate highway is closed, and that duration is typically about three hours, the department stated.

The cost for the additional lanes is estimated at $447 million.

Most of the scheduled improvements are on the west and south side of the county.

The addition of a new interchange at Northwest 49th Street and I-75 will help support the future Buc-ee’s complex slated for the Northwest 35^th Street area and help with the logistics parks in that area. The new interchange will allow the semi-trailers coming out of Auto Zone, Amazon, Fed Ex and Chewy to head directly northbound instead of driving south down to US 27 to get onto I-75. The total cost for the project is estimated at $161 million. Additionally, interchange improvements are slated for US Highway 27 and State Road 326. Check our prior reporting at Improvements to I-75 coming in 2025 | Ocala Gazette

Also on the west side of the county, Southwest70^th/Northwest 80th Avenue will expand to four lanes up to Northwest 49^th Street to hook into that new interchange at I-75. This will improve traffic to and from On Top of the World, Calesa Township and Stone Creek going past West Port High School and all the way to the World Equestrian Center.

North-south traffic will see improvements

Another four-lane expansion will be for Southwest 49^th Avenue, moving traffic south from the Marion Oaks area through to the Heath Brook Market shopping center area and eventually, connecting to Southwest/Northwest 44^th Avenue.

“These will offer significant mobility improvements for north-south travel,” Balmes said.

He added that other projects include the US 41 at State Road 40 intersection, State Road 40 at Southwest 27th Avenue and US Highway 441/Pine at Southwest 17^th Street/State Road 464 intersection improvements.

Further into the future, Balmes said, “The LRTP outlines improvements from 2031 to 2050 based on current projected amounts of federal, state and local funding to projects in Marion County.”

Some key projects include: the Marion Oaks Manor Road extension and flyover I-75; the widening of County Road 484; intersection and widening improvements on State Road/County Road 464/Maricamp and Baseline Road intersection; widening of State Road 40 widening from the end of four lanes to County Road 314; and widening Southwest 20th Street from State Road 200 to I-75. These projects will assist with east-west traffic flow.

Balmes said many traffic issues and problems will be solved with the proposed changes.

“Over the next five years, the funded improvements will support better north-south mobility in Marion County. More localized mobility options will also be available with the SunTran service enhancements. The intersection/interchange projects planned will also help support safer and improved traffic flow,” he said.

In addition to the public meeting on Oct. 28, the public is encouraged to comment directly to the TPO via email to [email protected] or by phone at (352) 438-2630. More information is available at ocalamariontpo.org