I-95 exit ramp eases traffic

Drivers may find the trip into downtown Fort Lauderdale a little easier now that one of the tightest exit ramps on Interstate 95 has doubled in size.

The exit to eastbound Broward Boulevard from northbound I-95 now features two lanes, after decades of squeezing an average of 10,000 vehicles per day on a single-lane ramp.

The two lanes opened Friday, and though there were some bumps they were quickly corrected, said Andrea Pacini, with the Florida Department of Transportation’s 95 Express project.

“There were issues with the [traffic] signal timing,” she said. “But, we got that squared away during the weekend.”

Besides the ramp widening, the work included the installation of new conduits, construction of stabilizing earth-walls on the east side of the ramp, and construction of a triangular median to separate the two right turn and two left turn ramp lanes.

There is more work to do but it will occur overnight Sundays through Thursdays, as needed.

Crews still have to repave the two new lanes and a stretch of road between Northwest 18th and 22nd avenues, east of where the ramp joins Broward Boulevard.

Repaving the two left turn lanes to westbound Broward Boulevard, along with other improvements will be completed by 2018.

Other I-95 exits between Broward Boulevard and Southwest 10th Street in Deerfield Beach will be getting similar upgrades as part of the $303 million 95 Express Phase 3A project scheduled for completion in 2020.