OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Infrastructure projects are ubiquitous. Every time you find yourself driving somewhere, there seems to be reminders, whether it’s workers, heavy equipment, signs or barricades.

However, some projects are simply necessary when it comes to maintenance and making things easier for a community as it grows.

The Florida Department of Transportation presented the priority projects in its work program over the next six years at the Ocala Marion County Transportation and Planning Board meeting on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, at the McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium.

One of the priority projects in the FDOT work program concerns the southwestern part of Marion County along U.S. 41 from SW 110 St. to north of SR 40. The objective is to widen approximately four miles of U.S. 41, said Katherine Alexander-Corbin, FDOT program management administrator.

“Since 2015, the design of the project has changed, from a suburban typical section to an urban typical section, for the quarter south of SR 40, the updated plans include features to help slow traffic down to a 45-mph target speed within the urban typical section. The department received updated plans in August 2025, all of the right-of-way has been purchased on this project,” said Alexander-Corbin.

The project is currently in 90 percent completion, and the engineering team has taken a deep dive into the plans, to see what they can do in terms of cost savings and in terms of delivering the project, said Alexander-Corbin

“They’ve actually performed an in-depth evaluation, and they’re in the process of looking at strategic options to deliver the project,” said Alexander-Corbin. “That could be retaining the original widening limits, possibly adjusting the project delivery, different options for design build, design bid-build, maybe segmenting a project or identifying additional cost savings to bring the cost down. That project has fluctuated from $36 million at the original inception to over $100 million. So, what they really want to do, is isolate the cost of what the project is to be able to deliver it.”

The FDOT looks at the feasibility for a project before it gets introduced into the work program. It considers the context of the project, the roadway, the location and then identifies the best source of funding. The department tries to maximize all of those factors, particularly with large-scale projects.

“You want to bring in as much as you can to make it whole,” said Alexander-Corbin.

Truck parking

Traffic is an essential part of the state’s growth as well as an economic stimulus for the state. The construction on a truck parking facility within the region promotes efficient movement of people and goods throughout Florida. Alexander-Corbin said while it promotes the state’s economic competitiveness, an important effort is that the investment the department is putting into truck parking in Florida is also going to address safety and mobility, enhance the state’s supply chain and contribute to driver productivity, reducing costs for businesses and consumers.

“I-75 is a vital artery, north and south for the State of Florida, and what the department has introduced is a location that’s going to be either in Sumter or in Marion County, it’s still to be determined,” she said. “The design has been added in fiscal year 2029, and construction will begin in 2031. So, it’s more than $26 million of investment for truck parking along I-75 in this region. This does continue the department’s effort going along I-4, which is a key truck traffic corridor, the state received an INFRA (Infrastructure for Rebuilding America) grant of over $100 million to help support that, so we have projects that are going out this year in Volusia, Seminole, Osceola and Orange County. Osceola and Orange were introduced this cycle.”

A lot of coordination and outreach occurred between the state and the trucking industry, finding out what they needed and what had to be done to meet their needs, said Alexander-Corbin.

“You’re going to have a lot of amenities, like showers, electric power, connectivity to Wi-Fi, and it’s exclusive to trucks,” said Alexander-Corbin.

Maintenance and improvements

The resurfacing program is the largest component of the FDOT’s work program, and there are 10 projects in Marion County, to the tune of a little over $92 million. That includes two resurfacing projects; one is along SR 35, 464 to SR 40, and then there’s one along 326, with both following the same protocols–the design is going to start in 2027, which is the first year of the work program, and construction will begin two years later.

In terms of sidewalk projects, those are projected for 2028, the work program’s second year, and it’s $890,000 of investment, said Alexander-Corbin. Sidewalks will be constructed on NE 95th St. and then NE 7th with construction starting in 2029 for both of those projects.

The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) project around Belleview Elementary, is scheduled for design in 2029 with construction in 2031.

Changes from the adopted work program

Sometimes there is the need to move and defer projects. Changes can result from shifts in priority or an administrative change that has occurred, or it can be something the FDOT has subsequently coordinated with its local partners.

There are a couple of projects that have been deferred; those have been moved down in the order over the upcoming five years. The top two are local agency projects with Marion County and were deferred due to coordination with the local agency. The projects were bundled and the construction got deferred, said Alexander-Corbin.

The I-75 south boundary surfacing project was deferred to the reprioritization of the funding needs of other areas, said Alexander-Corbin.

Sometimes the department has to move out a project, that means it goes outside of the 5-year work program. The interchange modification for I-75 and 326 was moved out due to the I-75 project coming in. They’ll come back and review 326 to see what’s the best for that interchange. Interim improvements are being done at 326, which made it easier to move the project out. Those interim improvements are still intended to be constructed, said Alexander-Corbin.