Pine Avenue and SR 464 Intersection Redesign: FDOT Keeps Three Southbound Lanes, Sets Construction Bids for 2028

The Florida Department of Transportation has reworked its plan for the intersection of South Pine Avenue (US 441/27/301) and SR 464 (SW 17th Street) in Ocala, and it will ask the Ocala Marion TPO Board for feedback at the board's 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, meeting in the Marion County Commission Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave. FDOT's slides in the board's agenda packet show a new concept that keeps three through lanes in each direction on Pine Avenue and adds dual northbound left-turn lanes onto SR 464.
The project, FDOT number 433660-1, is in design. FDOT's project page lists an estimated construction cost of $4.1 million, a design cost of $1.2 million and a letting date, when the contract goes out for bids, of March 29, 2028.

Image: FDOT District Five. The 2026 alternative concept; red marks areas of widening.

At a Glance

• Where: South Pine Avenue (US 441) at SR 464/SW 17th Street, Ocala. About 1,785 feet of Pine Avenue and 488 feet of SR 464, roughly 0.43 miles in all.


• What changes: dual northbound left-turn lanes, three through lanes kept in each direction on Pine, a new westbound right-turn lane and a longer westbound left-turn lane on SR 464.


• Why it was redone: design paused in January 2026 after traffic models showed queues reaching near or beyond the planned dual left-turn lanes.


• Trade-offs: some 10-foot lanes, no raised traffic separator, sidewalks at the back of the curb.


• Schedule: design update January to May 2027, utility coordination through November 2027, bids March 29, 2028.


• Cost: about $4.1 million for construction and $1.2 million for design, per FDOT.

What is FDOT changing at Pine Avenue and SR 464?

FDOT's project page says the project aims to improve safety and traffic flow at the intersection. Under the 2026 alternative concept in the slides:

• Northbound Pine Avenue gets two left-turn lanes onto westbound SR 464.


• Pine Avenue keeps three through lanes northbound and three southbound.


• Westbound SR 464 gets a new right-turn lane onto northbound Pine.


• The westbound left-turn lane on SR 464 is extended.

The project page also lists minor drainage, pedestrian, sidewalk, signal and lighting improvements. Its written description, last updated July 24, 2026, still reflects the earlier concept, including a longer southbound left-turn lane.

Why did FDOT pause the design?

FDOT chose its earlier design, called Alternative 5, after a 2014 study of six options because it had the best benefit-cost ratio and needed little right of way. That plan dropped one of Pine Avenue's southbound through lanes at the intersection and turned it into a right-turn lane. A public hearing on the project was held Oct. 29, 2015, according to the files on FDOT's project page.
In 2025, FDOT, the City of Ocala and the TPO met on Jan. 29 and June 18. Updated traffic forecasts from FDOT led to new traffic modeling, which showed that queues would back up near or beyond the proposed dual left-turn lanes. FDOT paused the plans update in January 2026 to look again at keeping three southbound through lanes. FDOT's slides also note that switching the signal to split phasing would help the heavy morning movement but could hurt the other approaches.

What are the trade-offs in the new design?

The corridor is limited to about 100 feet of right of way. Alternative 5 fit in 96 feet, but keeping a third southbound through lane does not fit without compromises. FDOT's slides list them:

• Narrower lanes: inside lanes drop from 11 feet to 10 feet, with 11-foot middle and outside lanes. That requires a design variation, and the slides note that trucks make up 14% to 16% of traffic.


• No raised median: the 4-foot traffic separator is removed and replaced with striping.


• Sidewalks: existing 5-foot sidewalks, narrower in some places, are used and sit at the back of the curb with no utility strip. The earlier design had 6-foot sidewalks. Light poles and signs would go behind the sidewalk.


• Tight fit: drainage structures and utility relocations are possible conflicts, and some work would be built right next to the right-of-way line.

Will it reduce delays?

FDOT's traffic analysis for 2045 compares a no-build scenario with three signal-timing versions of the new design. For the version FDOT highlighted, which uses lead/lag left-turn phasing on Pine Avenue, average delay at the intersection falls from 80.4 seconds to 64.1 seconds per vehicle in the morning peak and from 86.9 to 69.2 seconds in the evening peak. That moves the intersection from level of service F to E in both peaks. The 95th-percentile queue for the northbound left turn in the morning peak shortens from 675 feet to 400 feet.

When will construction start?

FDOT's slides lay out this schedule:

• Oct. 2, 2026, to Jan. 1, 2027: develop and approve an "SA," as the slides label the step, estimated at three months, which FDOT says it could try to speed up.


• Jan. 4 to May 3, 2027: plans update.


• May 4 to May 18, 2027: FDOT review and permit updates.


• May 3 to Nov. 1, 2027: utility coordination.


• Nov. 1, 2027, to Jan. 3, 2028: utility certification, final plans and specifications.


• Letting: fiscal year 2028. FDOT's project page lists March 29, 2028.

As of Oct. 22, 2026, FDOT's slides and project page give a letting date but no construction start date. Its project manager is Tyler Paura, 386-943-5466, and the design firm is Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. (VHB).

Why does this intersection matter?

Pine Avenue (US 27/301/441) and SR 464 are both on the list of corridors with the highest concentrations of deaths and serious injuries in the TPO's 2026 Commitment to Zero Safety Report, which TPO staff present at the same Oct. 27 meeting. FDOT's construction report for that meeting, covering SR 40 work that lengthens turn lanes from northbound South Pine Avenue, is summarized in our FDOT Marion County project update. For current closures, see Ocala road work for Oct. 25-31, and for getting around without a car, see public transportation in Ocala.
The meeting is open to the public, and public comment is limited to two minutes per speaker.

Sources: TPO staff memo and FDOT District Five project update presentation for FPID 433660-1, in the Ocala Marion TPO Board agenda packet for Oct. 27, 2026; FDOT project page for 433660-1 on CFLRoads.com, last updated July 24, 2026. Checked Oct. 22, 2026.