Traffic this weekend is expected to return to normal after all Interstate 75 southbound lanes reopened following repairs from a fatal crash Thursday afternoon.
Crews began repairing asphalt damage near mile marker 394, located north of Gainesville, at 5:30 p.m. Friday and worked until about 1 a.m. Saturday, said Troy Roberts, the Florida Department of Transportation spokesperson for Northeast Florida. At 1:15 a.m., workers reopened all three southbound lanes.
In order to complete repairs safely, crews closed two of the three southbound lanes, leaving one for motorist and causing slow moving traffic, Roberts said.
Crews started work earlier in the evening than anticipated to avoid any cold weather conditions, which affect the asphalt repairs, Roberts said. The repairs were completed at night to impact fewer motorists.
“One of the biggest concerns that we had was the cold weather,” Roberts said. “That’s one of the reasons we started earlier, then we had a better shot of getting everything completed last night.”
The cost of the repairs is still not known but will be apparent in the coming days, he said.
