Florida’s population has been booming for years, and the trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, according to World Population Review. That growth is reaching even rural parts of the state, including Indian River County on the Treasure Coast in southeast Florida. The population in the remote area has increased, with the state anticipating further growth.
To accommodate the growing population, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and general contractor Halley Engineering Contractors Inc. are working on the SR 9/I-95 at CR 606/Oslo Road New Interchange and CR 606/Oslo Road Widening Project.
In 1995, as part of a long-range plan, the Indian River County Metropolitan Planning Organization identified a need to increase the connection points to Interstate 95 (I-95) in Indian River County. This would shorten the distance residents must travel to reach an evacuation route, in the event of a hurricane or other emergencies.
Currently, the closest evacuation route from the project area is approximately 4 miles away. The project will change that by doubling the number of evacuation routes.
Large, undeveloped tracts of land and farmland surround the project area, though residential neighborhoods are expanding to the east. The area's population has historically been economically disadvantaged. The county is working to attract biotech labs and facilities to improve the area’s economic standing and create high-wage jobs.
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Oslo Road is a major route in the area with an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 9,000. It is expected to triple by 2045, reaching 27,000. Interstate 95, the main north-south highway on the East Coast, passes through Indian River County. The AADT on I-95 in the county is 58,000, and it is expected to reach 90,000 in 2045.
Oslo Road, a major rural collector road, does not currently connect to I-95.
“Business owners, farmers, commercial traffic, and more are coming from the east and west, and they don’t have an access point at I-95,” said Carolyn Gish, Senior Project Engineer at Creative Engineering Group, the company serving as a consultant to the state.
Along with adding more access points to I-95, the project will also:
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- Construct a new partial cloverleaf interchange with ramps at I-95 and Oslo Road to improve traffic operations and accessibility.
- Signalize 66th Avenue to enhance safety and visibility.
- Improve signalization on 58th Avenue to enhance safety and traffic operations.
- Install intersection lighting on multiple avenues along Oslo Road, as well as interchange and ramp lighting at I-95 to enhance safety and visibility.
- Relocate the alignment of 82nd Avenue to improve traffic operations. The previous alignment conflicted with the northbound on-ramp to I-95.
- Update signage to enhance safety and traffic operations.
- Install wrong-way detection to enhance safety. This will include physical flashing lights that activate when drivers enter the interchange off-ramps from Oslo Road in the wrong direction. The system will also communicate with nearby traffic management centers and send alerts to law enforcement.
- Widen Oslo Road from a two-lane to a four-lane divided roadway to improve traffic operations.
- Install new technology such as Intelligent Transportation System components, including dynamic messaging signs to enhance safety and traffic operations.
- Add bike lanes and sidewalks to enhance safety and pedestrian connectivity.
- Install or replace the county-owned sanitary, water, and reuse water mains to enhance long-term resilience.
- Construct a new stormwater management system, including a closed drainage system and three drainage ponds to enhance long-term resilience.
The primary element of the project is the interchange. Gish noted that the design team considered three alternatives before settling on the one they did.
“It was determined that the partial cloverleaf with loops in the north and southeast quadrants would have the least impact on the aerodrome community,” she said.
Environmental studies on the Oslo Road project began in 2013, federal approval was received in 2016, and design began in 2022.
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By the time FDOT let the project in 2023, they were ready to see construction begin and end as soon as possible. FDOT’s new post-letting specification encourages collaboration and innovation between project teams and contractors to identify ways to safely accelerate project delivery and minimize impacts on the traveling public. It allows contractors to propose early completion and receive financial incentives for finishing ahead of the allowable contract time.
The project team partnered with Halley Engineering Contractors to evaluate sequencing, efficiencies, and construction strategies that could bring this infrastructure investment online sooner. Through collaborative effort, Halley proposed a voluntary early completion timeline well ahead of the originally anticipated summer 2027 target. The project is currently anticipated to be completed in early 2027, pending weather, holidays, and unforeseen circumstances.
“One of the ways Halley has been able to speed up delivering the project is that instead of working sequentially as per the original contract, they were granted the opportunity to work out of sequence and concurrently in multiple areas of the contract at the same time,” Gish said.
This helped accelerate bridge construction, which started early in the project.
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The team ran into a challenge during the rainy season in 2025. A high water table was encountered during construction of the westbound travel lanes, and the contractor could not achieve the required densities.
“We found that rainwater was being trapped between the surface and a layer of hardpan,” Gish said. “We had to coordinate with the geotechnical and drainage engineers and came up with a plan that changed the pavement design to maintain structural capacity.”
The revised plan incorporated a separation geotextile between stabilized subgrade layers, and a second layer of geotextile between the subgrade and the first lift of base material. This modification successfully restored constructability and allowed achievement of the specified density and stable base conditions.
Halley Engineering Contractors Inc. is a full service, civil construction engineering company focusing on the infrastructure space, specifically transportation for highways, bridges, and intelligent transportation infrastructure projects in Florida. The firm is headquartered in Miami, Florida.
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Halley submitted the lowest bid and won the project.
“We were pleased that they were selected, as they have a long history of partnering and delivering successful projects for the FDOT,” Gish said. “They meet expectations and complete projects on budget and on schedule. If issues arise, Halley negotiates to find the best solution for the project.”
The construction budget for the project is just under $96 million. Currently, the project is on budget.
Ultimately, the issues related to the water table and the underrun of utilities canceled each other out, so the budget was not affected.
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When the Oslo Road project is complete, drivers will have direct access to I-95 from southern Indian River County. The project will improve safety and connectivity, relieve congestion, and enable improved emergency response times. It will also stimulate economic growth in the region and provide residents with better access to evacuation routes.
- Owner/Designer/Engineer: Florida Department of Transportation
- General Contractor: Halley Engineering Contractors Inc., Miami, Florida
- Consultant: Creative Engineering Group LLC, Miami Lakes, Florida
- Design Engineer of Record: GFT Infrastructure, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Stantec, Edmonton, Canada
- Other Contractors: Cone & Graham Inc., Tampa, Florida
