FDOT plans to widen a 37 mile stretch of the Florida Turnpike

FDOT plans to widen a 37 mile stretch of the Florida Turnpike

Treasure Coast, Fl (treasurecoast.com)- FDOT is planning on widening a 37 mile stretch of the Florida Turnpike.

Two million drivers use the Florida Turnpike every day, but on the Treasure Coast, it’s only two lanes each way. That can be an issue during hurricane evacuations, but there are plans to widen this busy stretch of road. 

The Florida Turnpike is the self-proclaimed “less stressway.” But many people who drive the turnpike on the Treasure Coast would like to see more elbow room.  That’s something the Florida Department of Transportation is considering. FDOT has plans to widen the 37 mile stretch of Turnpike between Jupiter and Fort Pierce where there are currently only two lanes in each direction. 

FDOT plans to widen a 37 mile stretch of the Florida Turnpike

Some drivers say two lanes leaves little room for error when other drivers aren’t paying attention.  FDOT says it’s planning fort the projected growth over the next 25 years & note the turnpike is also a major hurricane evacuation route for Southeast Florida.

  There are two public participation events coming up soon. One on February 27th at IRSC in Martin County. The other March 5th at the Port St. Lucie Civic Center. Both meetings start at 5:30. An FDOT spokeswoman would not release any details on the plans Tuesday including how many more lanes would be added and would there be new interchanges. 

As to when the actual work would begin, that could be a ways off.

A final study on this project will be completed early next year.