I have taken seceral trips over the years to Miami and whenever I pass through Ocala or get to the Florida Turnpike/I-75 junction traffic is always tied up. I can understand the later but why is I-75 through Ocala so congested?
Three exits, about one mile apart, but with the same number of lanes on I-75 as when the exits are 8-9 miles apart. The greater Ocala area probably has about 100,000 residents, by my estimation, so it's one of the more congested areas of I-75 in Florida...Gainesville is a little bigger, but the exits are roughly 2 miles apart (except between SR 24 and 121) so there's less swerving from the left to the right exits, and through traffic accommodating merging traffic.
I've also heard that Ocala PD and Marion County Sheriffs like to patrol that area, which which might also explain some of the slow-down.
Just drove on 6 May and Florida State Troopers were everywhere! I saw at least two on a 100-mile stretch of I-75 from Lake City through Ocala and to the Turnpike exit, and also saw about 4 or 5 on I-10 from the Alabama state line through the interchange with I-75. I have never seen that many cops out in speed traps - and I never saw any county sheriffs either, just troopers.
Anyway, formulanone's response sounds spot-on. I-75 is three lanes from the Turnpike all the way to the Georgia state line I believe. The Turnpike and I-75 are both major thoroughfares for through traffic, so when both of these roads merge (or split, in which case people are working to orient themselves in the correct lanes for their destination), or when going through major cities with no additional lanes for traffic only driving past one or two exits, that can add a substantial amount of traffic and congestion. I-4 in Orlando is notorious for this, as traffic around downtown and Disney can slow way, way down at times.
Some years back, on the way to Miami for summer vacation, my brother and I drove through Gainesville/Ocala on I-75. I can't remember which city it was in, but this was during the widening phase of the early 1990s.
Anyway, it was a 2 lane interstate there with a speed limit of I think 50 in the construction zone. We passed a cop who was riding along in the right lane at near highway-speed, but with one hand on the radar gun, so he could clock every single driver going past him in the middle of rush hour. No one was speeding past him because a: it was a construction zone and b: it was afternoon rush hour, so traffic was already moderate to heavy. It just seemed like such a dick-ish move by the cop to hold up 2 lanes of traffic, just so he might pull someone over doing 51 in a 50 when no construction work was actually happening.
Do not mess with Marion County. They do not play.
I used to go visit family using the BeeLine>Turnpike>I-75>I-10 until I started seeing first hand how ugly they can get. After that, it was I-95>I-10 all they way...
Quote from: BamaZeus on May 11, 2012, 12:01:25 PM
Some years back, on the way to Miami for summer vacation, my brother and I drove through Gainesville/Ocala on I-75. I can't remember which city it was in, but this was during the widening phase of the early 1990s.
Anyway, it was a 2 lane interstate there with a speed limit of I think 50 in the construction zone. We passed a cop who was riding along in the right lane at near highway-speed, but with one hand on the radar gun, so he could clock every single driver going past him in the middle of rush hour. No one was speeding past him because a: it was a construction zone and b: it was afternoon rush hour, so traffic was already moderate to heavy. It just seemed like such a dick-ish move by the cop to hold up 2 lanes of traffic, just so he might pull someone over doing 51 in a 50 when no construction work was actually happening.
Man! That's crazy!