Gov. DeSantis announces Fruitville I-75 Interchange along with grants to increase supply chain capacity

BRADENTON, Fla. - More and more people are moving to the Sunshine State, and that means more cars in traffic and a heavier burden on Tampa Bay area roads. Residents are feeling the frustration of daily backups.

Governor Ron DeSantis made a stop in Manatee County on Friday to announce the groundbreaking of the Fruitville I-75 Interchange – a diverging diamond. The announcement includes $18 million in funding through grants to help Florida’s supply chain to speed up infrastructure improvements. 

The awards are the first of $100 million to be invested over five years.

READ: Major FDOT projects to improve road safety in Tampa Bay area begin

"We are accelerating these projects. We are accelerating the road projects. We know how important it is to be able to do it," said DeSantis. 

Part of the money will go to CSX to design a new terminal in Plant City. It’ll include 20 acres of storage and 250,000 tons of aggregate, which is the main ingredient that goes into asphalt and concrete. 

"You want to see projects get done, things get moved, you’ve got to have the materials to be able to do it," said DeSantis. 

Port Tampa Bay will also get $6.2 million for construction of berth 219 aggregate terminal and an additional 500,000 tons of limerock annually.

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"This will help relieve the construction materials shortages that the state is seeing. One hundred percent of these materials will also be utilized at our great partners at FDOT road projects throughout the state of Florida," said Paul Anderson, the President and CEO of Port of Tampa Bay.

The supplies will help with the construction of the diverging diamond at Fruitville Road and I-75. DeSantis said the construction will increase volume capacity by 40,000 drivers. 

The project was scheduled to start in 2030, but will now be finished by 2027. 

Drivers like Ryan said it’s a needed relief, but one that will likely come with headaches as construction begins. 

"I think it would probably be a good thing for the community with moving traffic, it will just be painful getting from this point where we are today to a finished product at the end," she said.

Other projects include:

• $3.7 million to Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad to design and construct a new aggregate terminal in Lake City to accommodate 200,000 additional tons of aggregate annually and 48 rail cars.
• $1.5 million to Capital Asphalt to design and construct a new aggregate terminal in Tallahassee to accommodate 80,000 additional tons of aggregate annually.
• $2.6 million to JAXPORT to begin the project development and environment phase to increase rail capacity and accommodate 15 acres of yard storage and an additional 240,000 tons of aggregate annually.

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