Interstate 75 South - Brooksville to Wesley Chapel

Four miles into Hernando County, I-75 south converges with U.S. 98/SR 50 (Cortez Boulevard) at Exit 301. Part of the Weeki Wachee River, Weeki Wachee Springs is located at the west end of SR 50 at U.S. 19/CR 550. With depths of nearly 300 feet, Weeki Wachee Springs are the deepest natural springs found in the U.S.

12/13/21

U.S. 98/SR 50 (Cortez Boulevard) overlap for 11.2 miles, joining the county seat of Brooksville with Ridge Manor to the east.

09/17/19

U.S. 98 travels north from Brooksville and combines with U.S. 19 to Homosassa Springs. South from SR 50 and Ridge Manor, U.S. 98 overlaps with U.S. 301 to Dade City.

09/17/19

Two lanes depart from I-75 south for U.S. 98/SR 50. SR 50 stretches across Hernando County east en route to Mascotte, Groveland, Clermont and Orlando.

12/13/21

Sign changes made for Exit 301 in 2021 removed Tourist Info Center. Croom Recreation Area was added on this assembly.

12/13/21

Construction started in July 2016 reconfigured the exchange with U.S. 98/SR 50 into a single point interchange. The $95 million project also widened a portion of Cortez Boulevard to six lanes. Work wrapped up in Fall 2019.¹

12/13/21

Interstate 75 shifts southwest from Exit 301 across a mixture of forest and ranch land to the Pasco County line at McClendon and Mud Lakes.

11/11/19

Interstate 75 presses seven miles southward toward County Road 41 (Exit 293) and 26 miles to the split with I-275 (Exit 274).

11/11/19

Crossing the Pasco County line along I-75 south. Pasco was established in 1887 from the southern third of Hernando County. The county primarily serves as a bedroom community for the greater Tampa metro area, with heavily developed suburban areas including Land O' Lakes and Wesley Chapel.

09/02/13

I-75 continues southwesterly on the one mile approach to County Road 41. CR 41 (Blanton Road) connects the freeway with U.S. 98/301 and Dade City to the southeast.

05/30/16

Blanton Road leads CR 41 south and east to Dade City, the seat of Pasco County. CR 41 continues west 0.8 miles to CR 577 (Lake Iola Road) and north into Hernando County, becoming CR 541 south of Spring Lake.

05/30/16

A loop ramp directs motorists to Exit 293 and Pasco County Road 41. High mast and street level lighting was added to the interchange when I-75 was widened from four to six lanes.

05/30/16

This confirming marker stands alongside Interstate 75 south of the entrance ramp from CR 41. A $47 million project from April 14, 2014 to Summer 2016 expanded 7.8 miles of I-75 south from the Hernando County line to a point just north of SR 52.²

05/30/16

Four exits (SR 52, Overpass Road, CR 54, SR 56) remain in Pasco County over the 18 miles preceding the wye interchange with Interstate 275 south. Downtown Tampa lies 33 miles away.

05/30/16

Interstate 75 meets SR 52 (Exit 285) in one mile. The state road runs 33.3 miles between Bayonet Point and New Port Richey on the Gulf Coast, and San Antonio and Dade City in east-central Pasco County.

11/11/19

$72 million expansion of I-75 south from SR 52 to north of SR 54 took place from May 29, 2014 into early 2018. Construction included redesigning the exchange at Exit 285 with a new loop ramp from SR 52 west to I-75 south and widening a portion of the state road to six lanes.³

11/11/19

Exit 285 parts ways with I-75 south for SR 52 near Pasco. The state road travels 11 miles west to U.S. 41 (Gowers Corner) and 14 miles to SR 589 (Suncoast Parkway). The stretch between SR 589 and U.S. 19 at Bayonet Point is a six lane urban arterial.

11/11/19

SR 52 east to CR 52 connects with the city of San Antonio and town of St. Leo, home of Saint Leo University.

11/11/19

1.3 miles east of Interstate 75, SR 52 was realigned onto the four lane Dade City bypass south of San Antonio and east to U.S. 98/301 in March 2023.

11/11/19

Interstate 75 lines the east side of the Tampa Bay Golf & Tennis Club community over the next two miles.

01/18/23

A diamond interchange with a flyover ramp at forthcoming Exit 282 links Interstate 75 with Overpass Road just east of Old Pasco Road in suburban areas of north Wesley Chapel.

01/18/23

Designed to open up additional areas for development, the exchange with Overpass Road opened to traffic on January 18, 2023. Development in anticipation of Exit 282 was already underway by Summer 2022.

01/18/23

CR 54, shown as SR 54 here, connects Interstate 75 with Wesley Chapel and nearby Land O' Lakes in four miles. Established in 2002, SR 56 follows at Exit 275, just north of the split with I-275 south in nine miles.

01/18/23

Overpass Road is a suburban arterial connecting newer subdivisions east from Interstate 75 to CR 577 (Curley Road). Planned extensions of Overpass Road lead east to CR 579 (Handcart Road) and CR 530 (Kossick Road) at U.S. 301.

01/18/23

Construction on the $64.6 million interchange joining I-75 with Overpass Road commenced on October 26, 2020.

01/16/23

Development of a distribution center got underway in late 2022 in anticipation of Exit 282 opening to traffic along Interstate 75.

01/18/23

A distance sign added as part of the Overpass Road interchange project references SR 54 for the succeeding exit with CR 54 (Wesley Chapel Boulevard). SR 56 and I-275 are omitted in favor of CR 581, Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

01/18/23

Interstate 75 south meets CR 54 (Wesley Chapel Boulevard) at a diamond interchange (Exit 279) in 1.25 miles.

01/18/23

When nearby SR 56 opened to traffic in March 2002, SR 54 northeast to SR 581 (Bruce B. Downs Boulevard) in Wesley Chapel was relinquished from state control. Both SR 54 and CR 54 are referenced at Exit 279 to alleviate motorist confusion.

01/18/23

Wesley Chapel Boulevard arcs 4.7 miles southwest from Exit 279 to SR 56, where SR 54 resumes westward through Land O' Lakes.

01/18/23

SR 54 takes over along Wesley Chapel Boulevard east of nearby SR 581 (Bruce B. Downs Boulevard) en route to Zephyrhills. A second branch of CR 54 extends north from SR 54 along Eiland Boulevard to U.S. 301 north of Downtown Zephyrhills.

01/18/23

A number of subdivisions abut the west side of the Interstate 75 right of way south of this reassurance marker including Saddle Creek Manor and Santa Fe at Westbrooke.

08/13/18

Rest areas are located along both directions of I-75 east of Cabbage Swamp.

08/13/18

A diamond interchange (Exit 275) joins I-75 with SR 56 one mile south of the rest area. SR 56 constitutes a four to six lane arterial across Wesley Chapel west to nearby SR 54 and Land O' Lakes and east to the Meadow Pointe development and Zephyrhills.

08/13/18

The Pasco County rest areas were reconstructed during a $25.1 million project between July 2010 and March 2012.⁴ Widening of I-75 south from CR 54 to SR 56 was completed in 2013.

08/13/18

A 12.85 mile long route, SR 56 initially opened 2.9 miles between SR 54 and SR 581 (Bruce B. Downs Boulevard) in March 2002. The state road was extended 3.8 miles east to Meadow Pointe Boulevard in July 2010 and another 6.77 to U.S. 301 near Zephyrhills on July 10, 2019.

08/13/18

Vacating the rest area, southbound I-75 gains an auxiliary lane to the partition with Interstate 275 at Exit 274.

08/13/18

Exit 275 departs I-75 south to SR 56. Heavy commercial development anchored by the Tampa Premium Outlets lines the six lane arterial in both directions.

01/16/23

SR 54 overtakes the arterial from SR 56 west of Wesley Chapel Boulevard (CR 54) to Land O' Lakes, Odessa, Seven Springs and U.S. 19 at Elfers. Located 28 miles to the west, Tarpon Springs lies south of Holiday along U.S. 19 ALT. New Port Richey lies north of Elfers, 24 miles from Exit 275.

01/16/23

Started in January 2019, FDOT Project 430573-1-52-01 converted the diamond interchange with SR 56 into a DDI. Work ran through late 2021 Summer / Fall 2022 April 2023.

01/16/23

FDOT recorded 76,000 vehicles per day (vpd) on SR 56 between I-75 and SR 54 in 2021. This is a 20,500 vpd increase from 2015.

01/16/23

I-75 south advances 1.4 miles south from the SR 56 overpass to the split with I-275. I-275 navigates 60 miles around the west side of Tampa Bay by both Downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg. Returning to I-75 in Manatee County (Exit 228), the freeway crosses the Sunshine Skyway over Tampa Bay. I-275 also connects to Tampa International Airport (TPA) and St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (PIE).

12/14/15

Port Tampa Bay (formerly the Port of Tampa) traffic is encouraged to continue south on Interstate 75 to divert commercial and hazardous cargo traffic from entering Ybor City's historic district. The port can be reached via I-75 south, I-4 west and the tolled Selmon Connector, which opened in January 2014.

05/05/16

With heavy commuter traffic entering from SR 56, a weaving traffic pattern unfolds south to I-275. Future work will add a distributor roadway from SR 56 to the I-75/275 split.

05/15/16

Southbound Interstate 75 spans Cypress Creek with six overall lanes one half mile ahead of Exit 274. I-275 heads 16 miles to the Downtown Interchange with I-4 in Tampa. Connections with SR 60 (Memorial Highway) in 21 miles lead travelers west to Clearwater.

07/02/19

The wye interchange (Exit 274) where I-75/275 split is locally known as the Apex. Three lanes depart for Interstate 275 into Tampa while I-75 shifts eastward toward Brandon.

07/02/19

A lane drop occurs along I-75 southbound at the County Line Road overpass and Hillsborough County border. I-75 south from SR 56 to SR 582 (Fowler Avenue) was widened to six or eight lanes during a $96.6 million project between October 14, 2011 and Summer 2016.⁵

05/31/16