Express lane faces delay

First phase of I-75 to open in summer

It is going to take a little longer to go a little faster on Interstate 75 between Interstate 595 and Griffin Road.

The opening of the first phase of I-75 express lanes has been moved from spring until some time in the summer. Planners blamed the delay on weather, inBroward cluding preparations for Hurricane Matthew.

The new lanes — designed to give motorists a faster alternative between central Broward and Miami-Dade — will be the first to open in South Florida since toll lanes were added to Interstate 95 in 2008 and I-595 in 2014.

Ultimately, I-75 will connect with express lanes on I-595, the Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike and the Palmetto Expressway, with all work completed in two years.

toll pricing will work the same as on I-95 and I-595. Prices will rise and fall depending on congestion, with a minimum toll of 50 cents. The toll amounts will be displayed on the white signs over the lanes.

The work now being done on I-75 includes:

Paving of the 15-mile stretch of express lanes.

Extension of a concrete wall along the median, down the center of I-75.

Installation of guardrails and some landscaping along the stretch of I-75.

Balancing and repaving of the northbound lanes of I-75 north of Royal Palm Boulevard in Weston.

Installation of 93 green directional highway signs and support structures and removal of 24 older signs. Some 19 white toll signs are being installed above the toll lanes.

None of the green directional signs will have lights. Motorists will have to rely on their headFlexible

lights to read the reflective signs.

Ten new electronic message board signs are going up, but four older ones will come down because they are blocking the view of several highway signs.

The state regulates placement of the new signs, said Gerdy St. Louis, with the I-75 Express Lanes Project.

Another way the state guides drivers is with the placement of road markers that indicate the correct lanes to access I-75, I-595 and the Sawgrass Expressway.

These markers were paved over but will be restored once the paving is done, St. Louis said.

The overnight closures of roads, lanes and exits will continue on I-75 as crews continue their work. The express lane construction won’t affect traffic much because it is confined to the 166-foot wide median along I-75.

WAYNE K. ROUSTAN/STAFF Green highway signs and Dynamic Message Signs are springing up along Interstate 75 in Broward and MiamiDade counties as part of the 75 Express toll lanes project.