Overpass Rd./I-75 Interchange Is Open & Making News

By JOHN C. COTEY john@NTNeighborhoodNews.com

It’s been nearly 20 years in the making, but the long-anticipated interchange at I-75 and Overpass Rd. officially opened last month.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced the morning of Jan. 18 that the project, which began construction in October 2020, was officially open to traffic.

Located at the new Exit #282 off I-75, the interchange is situated halfway between S.R. 54 (Exit 279) and S.R. 52 (Exit 285) and provides drivers in and around Wesley Chapel with another option to enter and exit the intrstate.

According to FDOT, the new interchange addresses the projected increase in traffic in the area and is expected to “significantly” reduce the volume of traffic on S.R.s 52 and 54, which, if Facebook comments are any indicator, already seems to be happening.

The diamond-shaped interchange includes a flyover ramp for those traveling west on Overpass Rd. and seeking access onto southbound I-75.

It is expected to be a boon for the area, which is growing quickly and already includes Cypress Creek middle and high schools on the west side, and to the east, the Connected City and neighboring Villages of Pasadena Hills projects, which upon completion could add roughly 40,000 more homes and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial projects to the area.

The Overpass Rd. Interchange project, first studied in 2005, cost $64.6 million. It first received federal approval in 2014 and overcame a roadblock in 2017, when thenGovernor and current U.S. Senator Rick Scott vetoed $15 million in state funds for the project.

However, the request was re-inserted into the budget in 2018 and spared another veto, pushing the project forward.

The interchange itself is only part of the project, which includes the widening of Overpass Rd. from two lanes to four between the interstate and Old Pasco Rd. to the west and six lanes (including two auxiliary lanes) between the interstate and Boyette Rd. to the east.

Also, Blair Dr. has been realigned to connect with Old Pasco Rd., and McKendree Rd. has been realigned to connect with Boyette Rd.

A 10-foot-wide sidewalk has been constructed on the north side of Overpass Rd. (next to the westbound traffic lanes), and a 6-foot-wide sidewalk is open on the south side (next to the eastbound traffic lanes).

In The News

The new interchange was in the news just two weeks after it opened when a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper was injured in a shootout with two other men on Feb. 4.

According to FHP, at roughly 3:15 a.m. a trooper came upon two pickup trucks with two adult males near the northbound 279 milepost.

The men, who appeared to be attempting to steal the second truck or something in it, then fled north to Hernando County, with the trooper in pursuit. Other troopers joined the chase, which reversed direction and, eventually, the assailants exited at Overpass Rd.

A trooper performed a precision immobilization technique, or PIT maneuver, forcing the pickup truck to turn sideways, lose control and come to a stop. A gunfight ensued with a trooper and one of the men. The trooper was struck in the torso right below his bullet-proof vest, while the assailant was killed.

The trooper was airlifted to an area hospital and listed in stable condition. As of our deadline Feb. 10, he remains in the hospital recovering from a serious injury, according to FHP spokesperson Steve Gaskins.

The second assailant was apprehended by troopers and is awaiting charges.