I-75 EXPANSION PROJECT Groundbreaking of a new 31-mile expansion project on I-75, adding auxiliary lanes from State Road 44 in Wildwood to State Road 326 in Ocala, happened on February 25th. The project, part of the Moving Florida Forward Infrastructure Initiative, is fully funded and moves construction 10 to 15 years ahead of schedule. Launched in 2023, the Moving Florida Forward initiative was designed to accelerate transportation projects across the state.
CITRUS The United States Department of Agriculture predicts that 12 million boxes of oranges will be harvested in Florida this season, including 1.2 million boxes of grapefruit and 300,000 boxes of tangerines and tangelos. Citrus growers have seen a 90 percent decrease in production over the last 30 years. Greening continues to be an issue with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences working on a genetically modified tree that will poison the psyllids who are spreading the disease.