ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – Florida’s governor visited Volusia County on Thursday to announce a major upgrade to a long-awaited interchange project — and revealed construction will begin years ahead of schedule.
The interchange at Interstate 95 and U.S. 1 in Ormond Beach will be redesigned as a diverging diamond interchange. The governor said his administration moved the construction start date up nearly a decade, a move that drew praise from residents who have pushed for safety improvements at the location for decades.
Ormond Beach city leaders have reported hundreds of accidents at the interchange in just a few years. The governor cited safety as the driving force behind accelerating the project’s timeline.
“This interchange was built in the 1960s — it’s one of the oldest on our state highway system,” the governor said.
[WATCH: Construction on I-95 interchange in Volusia County begins (from 2025)]
Ormond Beach resident Peggy Farmer said the problem has been building for years.
“In a four-year period, we had seven fatalities and over 700 accidents and it’s because of that original design in the 1960s and the curve is just too dangerous,” Farmer said.
Farmer and other residents say the curves are dangerous for large trucks, and the long signal cycles back up traffic on both U.S. 1 and I-95.
“When this was designed, Ormond Beach was one-fifth the size it is now,” Farmer said.
The area has grown significantly since the interchange was built in the 1960s, and the surrounding corridor has become a major destination for motorcyclists, with Destination Daytona and a Love’s Truck Stop drawing heavy traffic to the area.
“I think that’s where the accidents really escalated because the trucks, some of them just tipped over,” Farmer said.
The Florida Department of Transportation says the redesign will eliminate the tight ramp curves and lengthy signal phases, replacing them with a diverging diamond configuration. The design moves traffic more fluidly and prevents vehicles from crossing each other’s paths directly.
“Of course, it’s going to take a little while once it gets going, but we will be patient with that! As long as we see progress being made, we’re just so thankful,” Farmer said.
The governor also announced the project’s estimated cost was reduced from more than $200 million to $130 million. Construction is expected to begin within the next few weeks and will take approximately three years to complete.