Interstate 75 | |
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Route information | |
Length: | 1,786.47 mi (2,875.04 km) |
Major junctions | |
South end: | SR 826 / SR 924 in Miami Lakes, FL |
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North end: | Canadian border on Int'l Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie, MI |
Location | |
States: | Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan |
Highway system | |
Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, one of the longest in the U.S., from southern Florida to the northern tip of Michigan. It travels from State Road 826 (SR 826, Palmetto Expressway) and SR 924 (Gratigny Parkway) on the Hialeah–Miami Lakes border (northwest of Miami, Florida) to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Canadian border. I-75 is the seventh longest Interstate Highway, the second longest north-south after I-95, and passes through six different states: Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan.
Due to high traffic levels on the Interstate, much of the route is six lanes even in rural areas.
I-75 starts at an interchange with SR 924 and SR 826 on the Hialeah–Miami Lakes border in suburban Miami. After an intersection with the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike and an interchange with I-595 and the Sawgrass Expressway, the Interstate leaves the Miami metropolitan area and turns westward to travel through the Everglades along the tolled Alligator Alley, which brings the highway to the Gulf Coast and Naples, where it again heads north. Passing through Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, and Sarasota, I-75 encounters a series of construction projects that will increase the lane count from two lanes in each direction to three in each direction. The freeway enters the Tampa Bay metropolitan area before the interchange with I-275 northbound, which handles St. Petersburg-bound traffic. Within the Tampa metro are three more major junctions: One with the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway which carries traffic into downtown Tampa; one with I-4 which carries traffic across the center of the state to the East Coast; and another as I-275 traffic defaults back onto northbound. The freeway proceeds to enter suburban portions of Pasco, Hernando, and Sumter counties on its way to Ocala and Gainesville. At Lake City, Florida, the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway, I-10, intersects with I-75, providing routes toward Jacksonville, Florida; Tallahassee, Florida; Pensacola, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; New Orleans, Louisiana; and points westward. Afterward, the northmost stretch of I-75 in Florida exits the Sunshine State into southern Georgia.