MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Growth near Silver Springs State Park is bringing traffic concerns to Marion County.

What You Need To Know

  • Marion County resident Kathy Evans says it’s difficult to turn left at the SR-40 and CR-315 intersection

  • More traffic in the area has made left turns challenging, Evans says

  • The Florida Department of Transportation has a plan to widen SR-40 in the area

  • But the agency said a traffic signal isn’t needed at the intersection with CR-315

With the population growing and traffic increasing, it’s difficult to turn left at the State Road 40 and County Road 315 intersection, Marion County resident Kathy Evans said.

“You come up to the left here, you can sit here 10 minutes before you can get to 40,” Evans said, as she drove on CR-315.

Her longtime partner, Tony Sabastano, said the long wait leads to drivers taking chances to make the turn.

“The people in the right lane creep further and further, and then you lose vision over there,” Sabastano said. “So then you have to take your life in your hands to get across.”

The couple said a traffic signal is needed.

The Florida Department of Transportation said it studied the intersection in 2019, but based on that analysis, it determined that a traffic signal wasn’t needed.

The state has a construction project planned for the area. It would widen SR-40, but current plans don’t call for a traffic signal at CR-315.

“People get frustrated waiting and they pull out when they think it’s safe, and there’s actually somebody almost there,” Evans said. “I mean, it’s been a couple of close calls.”

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