Interstate 75 in Lee and Collier counties may be widened within the next few years as the Florida Department of Transportation works toward its I-75 South Corridor Master Plan. The South Corridor covers exit 143 at Bayshore Road in North Fort Myers down to exit 101 at Collier Boulevard in East Naples.
The plan, which is expected to be finalized in the summer, seeks to examine the existing I-75 corridor and find deficiencies while defining projects to plan for future needs due to traffic increases up to 2045. Improvements include expanding interchanges along with adding lanes to the mainline of the actual highway.
Some of the interchanges, such as Immokalee Road and Alico Road, will meet capacity and need improvements by 2025.
For the mainline projects, two different strategies were identified for capacity improvements. FDOT pinpointed a need for additional general-use lanes along with additional auxiliary lanes in key locations along the South Corridor. 
From exit 105 at Golden Gate Parkway to exit 123 at Corkscrew Road, an additional general-use lane will be added in both directions along with an additional auxiliary lane, for a total of 10 lanes. From Corkscrew Road north to exit 141 at Palm Beach Boulevard in Fort Myers, the agency is considering adding manage lanes, which will act as thru lanes separated from traffic wanting to access interchanges. It will create a separation of drivers traveling longer distances from those making shorter trips.
“At this time, we are not proposing any vehicle restrictions, but we will be looking at that during the future phases,” FDOT Environmental Project Manager Josh Jester said. “We’re not currently proposing that it would be tolled, but we are doing an independent tolling study in coordination with Florida’s Turnpike.”
FDOT began public outreach regarding the proposals this week. Visitors to the agency’s website can use an interactive maneuvering tool on their computer to see the project plans. There will be a virtual question and answer session tonight on the website and an in-person session from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at North Collier Regional Park.
Naples City Council member Ted Blankenship wants FDOT to present more than just the South Corridor Master Plan to the public. Although not part of the Master Plan, FDOT is considering improving the partial interchange at Everglades Boulevard. The Collier County Metropolitan Planning Organization also requested FDOT evaluate Vanderbilt Beach Road for a potential interchange.
“When you use the terminology ‘master plan,’ people tend to think it’s all-encompassing. So, it would be helpful if you included these other projects that are under consideration, or already moving forward into design or construction phase, so that people get a total holistic view of what’s happening with I-75,” Blankenship said. 
