Interstate 75 North - Bradenton to Riverview

Interstate 75 passes over the West Fork of Cooper Creek, a tributary of the Braden River, just north of this confirming marker posted after University Parkway.

04/17/22

Interstate 75 meets SR 70 at a parclo interchange (Exit 217) in two miles. Located north of Bradenton and the Manatee River, Palmetto is 14 miles to the northwest along U.S. 41 and U.S. 301.

04/17/22

Interstate 75 spans the Braden River between the Riva Trace and Willowbrook developments. Widening of I-75 north from University Park 6.75 miles to a point south of SR 64 commenced in October 2018. The work was anticipated to run for 30 months.^1,2

04/17/22

Traveling across the Florida peninsula, SR 70 stretches east from U.S. 41 at Oneco to U.S. 1 in Fort Pierce along the Treasure Coast. Locally the six lane urban arterial runs by a mixture of mobile home resorts, golf course subdivisions and shopping centers.

04/17/22

East from Exit 217, SR 70 continues from I-75 through the upscale Lakewood Ranch community en route to Arcadia.

04/17/22

41 miles away, Arcadia, seat of DeSoto County, is the next populous area along SR 70 east beyond Lakewood Ranch. SR 70 west connects with U.S. 41 north to Bradenton and SR 684 (Cortez Road) west to Bradenton Beach.

04/17/22

Finished in early 2022, the $119 million expansion project along I-75 included reconstructing the exchange at Exit 217 by eliminating the loop ramp (Exit 217 B) to SR 70 west in 2019 and replacing other entrance and exit ramps.^1,2

04/17/22

Interstate 75 passes between the Creekwood community and an industrial park before curving westward through a semi rural area east of the Braden River.

04/17/22

SR 64 converges with Interstate 75 on the east side of Bradenton in 2.2 miles. The succeeding exit is with U.S. 301 along the north bank of the Manatee River at Ellenton in seven miles.

04/17/22

Shifting northwest near the Manatee County Landfill, I-75 advances to within nine miles of Exit 228 for I-275 to St. Petersburg and 42 miles of Exit 261 for I-4 to Tampa and Orlando.

04/17/22

A $39.1 million² redesign of the six-ramp parclo interchange (Exit 220) with SR 64 got underway on June 9, 2017. Work eliminated the loop ramp (Exit 220 B) for SR 64 west and expanded I-75 to accommodate future tolled Express lanes. Work was completed in Fall 2019.³

04/17/22

State Road 64 travels west from Bradenton to Gulf Drive on Anna Maria Island and east eight miles to Lake Manatee State Park.

04/17/22

SR 64 heads six miles west from Exit 220 to Downtown Bradenton. SR 64 xtends east from I-75 to Zolfo Springs and Wauchula, both of which are located along the U.S. 17 corridor.

04/17/22

Exit 220 A was renumbered to Exit 220, rebuilt and expanded to serve both directions of SR 64 during 2017-19 road work. Two lanes separate from I-75 north for SR 64 west to Bradenton and east to Zolfo Springs.

04/17/22

Beyond Lakewood Ranch, SR 64 is primarily a two lane rural route as it continues to U.S. 27 and U.S. 98 in Avon Park. Zolfo Springs was named by Italian phosphate dredgers for the strong sulfur smell in the water. Incorporated in 1902, Wauchula is the county seat of Hardee County.

08/28/22

Interstate 75 curves to the northwest by Manatee River Bayou and a number of waterside subdivisions toward U.S. 301 and Ellenton in four miles.

08/28/22

Just short of 1100 miles, U.S. 301 stretches from Downtown Sarasota (U.S. 41) to Delaware State Route 1 at Biddles Corner. Tampa lies 40 miles beyond the exchange with U.S. 301.

05/19/19

Interstate 75 bends back to the north at Branches Hammock two miles ahead of U.S. 301. For travelers visiting the area, a tourist information center is located adjacent to Exit 224 at the Ellenton Prime Outlets retail center.

08/28/22

Coupled with increased commuter usage, traffic to the adjacent Ellenton Premium Outlets often back ups along from loop ramp to U.S. 301 onto the J.D. Young Bridge spanning the Manatee River. A congestion sign was installed here by FDOT in 2016.
Previously anticipated to start in 2020,³ $145 million in construction from late 2021 to early 2025 redesigns the exchange with U.S. 301 and widens 3.95 miles of I-75 north from SR 64.⁴

08/28/22

U.S. 301 parallels the Manatee River west through Ellenton to Palmetto. The I-75 at US 301 Interchange Improvements project adds new bridges over the Manatee River for the northbound exit ramp and southbound entrance ramp. Work reconfigures the folded diamond interchange at Exit 224 into a tight diamond, and expands I-75 to accommodate future tolled Express Lanes.⁴

08/28/22

The Manatee River measures 36 miles in length, beginning near the northeast corner of the county and flowing westward into the Gulf of Mexico beyond Bradenton.

11/25/12

Adjacent Ellenton is home to Gamble Plantation Historic State Park, a one time site of an extensive sugar plantation and the only surviving plantation house in south Florida. The city of Palmetto lies four miles to the west, where U.S. 301 joins U.S. 41 south on the Desoto Bridge across the Manatee River into Downtown Bradenton. U.S. 301 northeast least toward Parrish and Sun City Center.

08/28/22

Confirming marker posted beyond the adjacent Ellenton Premium Outlets and ahead of the Mendoza Road overpass.

05/19/19

The three-wye interchange (Exit 228) with I-275 lies just over two miles ahead. The 60 mile long loop passes through the St. Petersburg-Tampa urban area between north Manatee County and I-75 at Wesley Chapel (mile marker 274).

03/22/20

I-275 overlaps with U.S. 19 across the famous Sunshine Skyway bridge spanning Tampa Bay. Tampa is still around a 35 minute drive from the upcoming exchange via I-75 and at least 15 minutes longer via I-275.

03/22/20

I-275 connects with U.S. 41 south of Port Manatee. Currently the closest deep water seaport to the Panama Canal, the port represents an important transportation link for Florida's shipping industry, moving about 9 million tons of cargo annually.

03/22/20

Home to Tampa Bay Rays MLB team and the Grand Prix, which utilizes several Downtown streets as a road course each year, the city of St. Petersburg lies 16 miles to the northwest along I-275. Fort DeSoto County Park may be reached via the Sunshine Skyway and the Pinellas Bayway (SR 682).

03/22/20

Historically, the route of I-275 through St. Petersburg and Tampa was slated to be I-75W then I-75, while the course of I-75 around the east side of Tampa Bay was planned as I-75E. However with the elimination of suffixed routes in 1976, the alignments changed to their current configuration.

03/22/20

The systems interchange joining I-75/275 was completed in 1981. An $8 million, 10 month long project started in July 29, 2018 redecked the flyover linking I-275 south with I-75 north.⁵

12/26/11

Interstate 75 diverges from coastal areas northeast and next meets CR 683 Road (Moccasin Wallow Road) in one mile. Moccasin Wallow Road leads east 4.8 miles to U.S. 301 at Parrish.

03/22/20

An unsigned route, CR 683 parallels I-75 north from Ellenton along 36th Avenue E to Moccasin Wallow Road. Moccasin Wallow Road doubles as the eastern leg of CR 683, from 36th Avenue E at Gillette to U.S. 301.

12/26/11

The bulk of the remaining rural land surrounding the diamond interchange with Moccasin Wallow Road succumbed to suburban development. Original bridge stamps at Exit 229 identify Moccasin Wallow Road as SR 675, alluding to a previous extension of CR 675 (Rutland Road) west from Parrish to U.S. 41.

03/22/20

Moccasin Wallow Road connects U.S. 41 to the west with U.S. 301 and Parrish to the east. Little Manatee River State Park is a 10 mile drive via U.S. 301 north.

08/30/14

The westernmost 0.75 miles of Moccasin Wallow Road, between 36th Avenue East and U.S. 41 at Gillette is an unmarked segment of County Road 675.

08/30/14

I-75 traverses rural areas northeast from Exit 229, 4.4 miles to the Hillsborough County line.

03/22/20

The succeeding northbound interchange (Exit 240) on I-75 is with SR 674 in nine miles. Ruskin lies just west of the freeway along U.S. 41 in thirteen miles while Tampa is still a half hour away.

08/28/22

A forested median separates the Interstate 75 roadways as the freeway winds eastward across the Hillsborough County line west of Sundance.

08/28/22

The first rest area along Interstate 75 northbound since the shuttered facility in Charlotte County, located 78 miles previous, lies four miles north into Hillsborough County.

08/28/22

Heading north from the Valroy Road overpass, I-75 crosses over the Little Manatee River. The river winds nearly 40 miles from its head waters near Fort Lonesome into Tampa Bay west of Ruskin. Both Little Manatee River and Cockroach Bay Preserve State Parks line the river.

08/28/22

The rest area for northbound lies beyond Little Manatee River Preserve. The next area is in Pasco County, 41 miles away.
Completed by November 3, 2021, FDOT project 437638-1-52-01 replaced the facility, including the building, parking lots and ramps with Interstate 75. The design build project commenced on June 13, 2019.

04/17/22

Progressing northeast beyond the 24th Street SE overpass, I-75 meets SR 674 at Exit 240 in one mile. SR 674 (College Avenue / Sun City Center Boulevard) links the freeway with Ruskin to the west and Sun City Center to the east.

08/28/22

State Road 674 stretches 25.51 miles overall between U.S. 41 and SR 37 in Polk County.

08/28/22

A six-ramp parclo interchange (Exit 240) joins I-75 with SR 674 at Ruskin and Sun City Center.

08/28/22

I-75 crosses over SR 674 midway between U.S. 41 and U.S. 301. SR 674 east serves unincorporated Sun City Center and Wimauma over the ensuing five miles.

03/22/20

11/24/07

Interstate 75 turns 1.25 miles north by the Cypress Creek golf course community before shifting eastward again beyond the 19th Avenue NE overpass.

08/28/22

Advancing from Exit 240 (SR 674), I-75 next connects with Apollo Beach and Gibsonton. Both unincorporated areas line U.S. 41 south of the Alafia River.

08/28/22

I-75 passes by the Bullfrog Creek Wildlife Environmental area ahead of the folded diamond interchange (Exit 246) with CR 672 (Big Bend Road).

04/17/22

Mostly unsigned, CR 672 follows Big Bend Road between U.S. 41 near Apollo Beach and U.S. 301 near Riverview. CR 672 continues east along Balm Road from U.S. 301 south to CR 39 in east Hillsborough County.

04/17/22

Commencing in December 2021, Improvements at Exit 246 widen Big Bend Road to six lanes between Covington Garden Drive and Simmons Loop. Work runs through Summer 2025.

04/17/22

Interstate 75 advances northward by the Golden Aster Scrub Preserve over the next two miles. This shield ahead of milepost 246.5 was removed by the end of 2015.

11/23/13

Riverview (5 miles) and Brandon (12 miles) are unincorporated suburbs of Tampa, which lies 19 miles to the northwest from Exit 246.

08/28/22

Exit 250 joins I-75 with Gibsonton Drive one mile north of the Symmes Road underpass.

04/17/22

Gibsonton Drive is an arterial connecting Interstate 75 with the nearby community of Gibsonton and the more suburban area of Riverview.

04/17/22

Exit 250 leaves I-75 north for Gibsonton Drive. The diamond interchange lies midway between Gibsonton and Riverview, which both lie along the Alafia River.

04/17/22

03/02/14