A proposed new Interstate 75 interchange near the Hillsborough-Manatee county line took another step forward after the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners approved an amendment adding the project to the county’s long-range transportation plans.
Commissioners approved Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPA) 26-11 during a public hearing on July 16. The amendment updates Hillsborough County’s Corridor Preservation Plan Map to include a future Fort Hamer Road extension and a proposed interchange on I-75.
The proposed interchange would be located between State Road 674 and Moccasin Wallow Road in the southernmost portion of Hillsborough County.
The amendment does not authorize construction of either the roadway or the interchange. Instead, it preserves the corridor needed for future transportation improvements while additional planning, engineering and environmental studies continue.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) began a feasibility study this spring to evaluate the proposed interchange on I-75 and the extension of Fort Hamer Road needed to reach it. The study area extends along I-75 from the Manatee County line north to the Valroy Road bridge and is expected to be completed in winter 2027.
Fort Hamer Road currently ends just south of the Hillsborough County line. Reaching the proposed interchange would require extending the roadway north through Manatee County into Hillsborough County. That extension is already included in Manatee County’s long-range transportation plans, although funding for construction has not been identified.
The proposed interchange also fits into a broader long-range vision for improving east-west transportation across the region.
The Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization’s current Long-Range Transportation Plan includes the proposed Commerce Connector, a future two-lane roadway intended to link U.S. 41 with Fort Hamer Road. The plan also identifies future extensions of Fort Hamer Road north toward Buckeye Road and County Line Road, creating a regional transportation network that could ultimately connect U.S. 41, I-75 and growing industrial and commercial areas in Northern Manatee County.
Those additional roadway projects are separate from FDOT’s current feasibility study and have not been approved for construction. Each would require its own planning, engineering, environmental review, public involvement, right-of-way acquisition, funding and additional state and local approvals before construction could begin.
Supporters of the proposed interchange said it could improve regional connectivity, provide additional access between Hillsborough and Manatee counties and help relieve traffic at the existing I-75 interchanges serving State Road 674 and Moccasin Wallow Road as development continues throughout SouthShore and Northern Manatee County.
Others have expressed concerns about potential impacts on wetlands, wildlife habitat, rural land and environmentally sensitive areas near the Little Manatee River watershed.
Approval of CPA 26-11 adds the proposed transportation corridor to Hillsborough County’s official planning maps, but it does not guarantee the interchange will be built. If FDOT ultimately determines the project is feasible, it would still need to move through environmental review, engineering, design, right-of-way acquisition, funding and additional state and local approvals before construction could begin.
The project is not currently funded for final design, right-of-way acquisition or construction.