Motorists traveling on Interstate 75 through Marion County are facing heavy delays this afternoon following a pair of traffic accidents and a nearby brush fire that have caused congestion.
According to active incident reports from the Florida Department of Transportation and local emergency services, multiple disruptions have bottlenecked the interstate’s southbound lanes.
A minor vehicle crash was reported at 4:27 p.m. on I-75 Southbound at mile marker 340, which has left the left shoulder blocked and traffic slowed in the immediate area.
Further north, a separate incident involving a brush fire has triggered severe traffic congestion across a four-mile stretch. Local transportation officials updated tracking data at 4:35 p.m. indicating heavy congestion on I-75 Southbound stretching from mile marker 359 down to mile marker 355.
Drivers navigating the corridor are advised to exercise extreme caution or seek alternative routes as first responders work to clear the scenes and smoke impacts visibility.
The traffic comes as motorists deal with a major traffic shift following the long-term closure of the SW 66th Street bridge over I-75, which was shut down on June 15 as part of the state’s Moving I-75 Forward initiative. While that bridge replacement is underway, local traffic is being detoured to the SW 43rd Street Road bridge.