Planners seek to ease your I-95 hassles

Drivers tied up in traffic jams at Interstate 95 exits in Palm Beach County have some improvements to look forward to down the road.

The Florida Department of Transportation is in the middle of planning and making changes to several busy interchanges to prevent traffic from backing up on side streets that lead to I-95 and exit ramps that get clogged with traffic during afternoon rush hours.

The department has begun a two-year study of the exits at Boynton Beach and Gateway boulevards to deal with current problems at those interchanges and to plan for future traffic demands.

As it is now, both interchanges easily handle current traffic volumes except during morning and afternoon rush hours. That’s when traffic starts backing up on entrance and exit ramps, said Thuc Le, a state transportation department

project manager.

“In the morning, traffic backs up on the side streets and it takes longer to get onto I-95,” he said. “There are traffic queues on the ramps in the evening.”

Without improvements, those traffic delays and long lines would only get worse. So the study will look at adding more turn lanes, making existing turn lanes longer to handle more vehicles, and widening side streets. The study also will take into account the possibility of express lanes being added to I-95 north of Linton Boulevard.

The study of these two exits is just a sampling of the state transportation department’s effort to improve traffic flow at all of the I-95 interchanges in Palm Beach County. Although the state widened the highway to 10 lanes in most of the county several years ago, it didn’t make many improvements to the interchanges. That will change over the next few years.

Some interchange projects have been completed, are underway or will soon begin.

Construction on the exit at Hypoluxo Road began in June. Contractors are adding two eastbound left-turn lanes on Hypoluxo that will lead to northbound I-95. Also, the southbound I-95 exit ramp to Hypoluxo will be widened so turn lanes leading to Hypoluxo can be made longer.

Similar improvements are planned at Woolbright Road and 10th Avenue North. Construction on those interchanges begins Oct. 20.

Woolbright will be widened between Southwest 18th Street and Southwest Second Street to create two eastbound left-turn lanes to northbound I-95. The I-95 northbound entrance ramp will be widened, and the I-95 southbound exit ramp will be reconstructed to allow a freeflowing right turn onto westbound Woolbright Road.

Tenth Avenue North will be widened from Barnett Drive to A Street to create two eastbound turn lanes onto northbound I-95. Also, the I-95 northbound entrance ramp will be widened and the I-95 southbound exit ramp will be widened from three to four lanes to create two left- and two right-turn lanes.

All of these interchanges handle some of the busiest traffic on I-95 in Palm Beach County. Traffic on the highway near these exits is between 187,500 to 216,000 trips a day.