Express lanes set to open on I-75

Motorists may be able to use them in a few weeks

Drivers could be zipping through western Broward County in new express lanes on Interstate 75 in the next few weeks.

But it will be years before they can do the same on Interstate 95 in northern Broward and southern Palm Beach counties.

The new toll lanes should open sometime in March between Interstate 595 and south of Miami Gardens Drive, project managers said.

Unlike on previous roads, tolls here will be charged as soon as the lanes are open to traffic. There will be no introductory free rides.

“The express lanes are really for the long-distance commuters,” said project manager Tony Castro. “So travelers going from north Broward County to Miami-Dade, for example, they can jump on the express lanes and bypass all the local traffic and that helps both the longand short-distance commuters.”

The lanes will have the same flexible toll pricing as on I-95 and I-595, starting at 50 cents.

The price will rise and fall depending on the time of day and the amount of traffic.

In Miami-Dade, express lane tolls have hit as high as $10.50.

Most of the express lanes ready to open on I-75 have been paved and striped, with overhead signs in place. But there is still work to do on the expanded I-75 interchange with the Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike, which is 80 percent complete.

A separate project will extend the I-75 express lanes to the Palmetto Expressway by the fall, officials said.

Meanwhile, on I-95, construction is continuing on the project to add two express lanes in each direction between south of Broward Boulevard and Southwest 10th Street in Deerfield Beach.

Work includes upgrading electronic connections within the median for lighting, signage and camera technology. There is also road widening, lane repaving, and work on exit and entrance ramps among other things. The construction is scheduled to be done by 2020.

The next phase of the project will extend the express lanes from Southwest 10th Street to Glades Road in Boca Raton by late 2021, and on to Linton Boulevard in Delray Beach by mid-2023. The last express lane gap — between Stirling Road and Broward Boulevard — will be finished in 2024.