I-95’s predecessor was US 1, which runs parallel to I-95 for nearly its entire length. US 17 was the predecessor only on the northernmost part between Jacksonville and the Georgia border, as US 1 veers inland there. Another major route that I-95 paralleled was State Route A1A, which runs mostly right along the shoreline from Key West to the Georgia border. This is the southernmost numbered road in the United States.

According to Topschoolsintheusa, US 1 was rapidly widened to 2×2 lanes for the construction of I-95 in the second half of the 1950s, in 1960 almost no part of I-95 was open, but US 1 was already almost complete widened to 2×2 lanes as a temporary solution. In 1954, the first Fuller Warren Bridge over the St. John in Jacksonville opened to traffic. On May 9, 1959, the viaduct that connected to it opened and distributed traffic from downtown over the bridges to Atlantic Boulevard and Philips Highway. Construction of I-95 first began outside the Miami area between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, the entire route being opened between 1965 and 1967. The part around Melbourne, Cocoa and Titusville was also constructed during that time.

Around 1967, a short stretch of freeway also opened along West Palm Beach. In the late 1960s, the northernmost section between Jacksonville and the Georgia border opened up. By 1970, there were still some missing links, particularly between Miami and Melbourne, as Florida’s Turnpike had already opened here and the competing toll-free I-95 was taking a little longer. In 1976 the highway was completed to Fort Pierce. The last section to be constructed was between Fort Pierce and Palm Beach. This was because Florida’s Turnpike already ran in this area and there was a concern that a toll-free I-95 parallel to the turnpike could disrupt the toll road.would make it unprofitable. This part was eventually constructed and was completed on December 19, 1987. In 2002 the bridge over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville was replaced by a new one. The interchange with I-10 in Jacksonville was also subsequently renovated, which was completed in September 2010.

Miami

Construction on I-95 began in Miami in 1959. In December 1961, the first section was opened from downtown to the north of the city of Miami, covering approximately 6 kilometers. In 1964 a much longer section as far as Fort Lauderdale opened to traffic, including the immense Golden Glades Interchange. By 1969 the section through Miami was completed. The highway was originally constructed with 2×3 lanes, except for downtown, where there were 2×4 lanes from the start. Between 1988 and 1995, most of Miami and Dade County was widened to 2×5 lanes with HOV lanes.

Opening history

From	Unpleasant	Length	Date
Exit 4	exit 8	6 km	00-12-1961
exit 8	Exit 25	27 km	00-00-1964
Exit 3	Exit 4	2 km	00-00-1964
Exit 1	Exit 2	3 km	00-00-1968
Exit 25	Exit 26	2 km	00-00-1968
Exit 2	Exit 3	2 km	00-11-1969
Exit 26	Exit 42	26 km	00-00-1977

I-95 express lanes

Interstate 95 is provided with express lanes throughout the Miami metropolitan area, these are toll lanes that are located in the middle of I-95. Stretching from Miami to just before Linton Boulevard at Delray Beach, these 2×2 lane express lanes are the longest set of 2×2 lane express lanes in the United States, measuring 78 kilometers in length.

The express lanes have been constructed in different phases. First, the express lanes were built closer to Miami, between I-395 at Downtown Miami and the Golden Glades Interchange with Florida’s Turnpike, which opened in 2008-2009 for a length of 15 kilometers.

The express lanes of I-95 were extended northward from the Golden Glades Interchange to Broward Boulevard past I-595 in Fort Lauderdale in the second phase between 2011 and 2015. The express lanes have since been 30 kilometers long. The express lanes consist of 2 lanes in each direction, whereby the existing HOV lane has been cancelled. The physical widening was 1 extra lane in each direction, creating 12 lanes. The extended express lanes opened for traffic up to Exit 16 on June 15, 2015.

Phase 3 of the express lanes runs from Broward Boulevard to Linton Boulevard in Delray Beach. Phase 3 covers 37 kilometers and has been completed in several sub-phases, construction of phase 3a from Broward Boulevard to SW 10th Street started in August 2016 and was completed in October 2019, but not yet in use as toll lanes. Work started in 2018 on Phase 3b-1 between SW 10th Street and Glades Road, with completion on October 29, 2021. Work started in November 2019 on Phase 3b-2 from Glades Road to Linton Boulevard, which is due to be completed by the end of 2023. Phase 3C includes work to connect the express lanes of I-95 with the express lanes of I-595. When completed, the express lanes from Downtown Miami to Delray Beach will be 77 kilometers long. These will be the longest 2×2 lane express lanes in the United States.

The opening dates of the express lanes:

from	nasty	length	date
I-395	Golden Glades Interchange	15 km	05-12-2008
Golden Glades Interchange	Broward Boulevard	15 km	15-06-2015
Broward Boulevard	SW 10th Street	21 km	10-2019
SW 10th Street	Glades Road	7 km	29-10-2021
Glades Road	Linton Boulevard	9 km	2023

Widenings

I-95 at Fort Lauderdale.

After 2010, several stretches between West Palm Beach and Daytona Beach were widened to 2×3 lanes, to widen I-95 integrally to 2×3 lanes along the east coast of Florida.

In 2012 and 2013, I-95 between Cocoa and Titusville was widened to 2×3 lanes. Between Sebastian and Malabar, I-95 has been widened from 2×2 to 2×3 lanes for 20 kilometers. This project was completed in December 2014. As of 2015, I-95 between New Smyrna Beach and Daytona Beach has been widened to 2×3 lanes.

The section along Daytona Beach was last widened to 2×3 lanes for 22 kilometers, from SR-44 at New Smyrna Beach to US 92 at Daytona Beach. This project cost $205 million and was completed in February 2020. This was the last section of I-95 between Miami and Jacksonville that had 2×2 lanes left.

Between November 2012 and July 2016, a 47-mile stretch from Titusville to New Smyrna Beach at Daytona Beach was widened to 2×3 lanes. This was the part east of the Orlando area. This was a simple project and cost only $130 million, in some places the surfacing was already available in the form of a left hard shoulder and elsewhere there was a space reservation in the central reservation for 2×3 lanes. A further widening of I-95 from New Smyrna Beach to I-4 in Daytona Beach was completed shortly afterwards and was completed in 2016. This segment is 16 kilometers long.

Between May 2013 and November 2016, the portion from Vero Beach to Sebastian in Indian River County was widened to 2×3 lanes from Exit 147 to the Brevard County border for 13 miles.

exit numbering

Until 2002, I-95 had sequential exit numbering. This was replaced in that year by exit numbering according to distance, a more common system in the United States.

Population along I-95

I-95 serves one of the longest conurbations in the world, Miami ‘s, which stretches along I-95 for about 100 miles. In traffic-free conditions, it takes about 2 hours to cross the urban area from south to north. But virtually the entire east coast of Florida is densely populated, which is why traffic intensities are so high. Below is a list of counties through which I-95 runs from south to north.

County	Population (2018)
Miami-Dade	2,762,000
Broward	1,951,000
Palm Beach	1,486,000
Martin	161,000
St. Lucie	321,000
Indian River	157,000
Brevard	597,000
Volusia	548,000
flagler	112,000
St Johns	254,000
duval	950,000
Nassau	86,000
total	9,385,000

Toll

I-95 Express Lanes

In Miami, there are 48 miles of express lanes along I-95, from I-395 at Downtown Miami to Linton Boulevard in Delray Beach. The express lanes have a layout of 2×2 lanes, out of a total of 2×6 to 2×7 lanes in this corridor. The toll is via Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) and based on traffic volume.

The express lanes in Miami handle approximately 62,000 vehicles per day, in addition to the 204,000 vehicles on regular lanes. The use of the express lanes is markedly higher towards the south (morning rush direction) than towards the north (evening rush hour). The difference is nearly 10,000 vehicles per day.

Traffic intensities

I-95 to the north of Jacksonville.

The I-95/I-195/SR-112 interchange in Miami.

The intensities below are north of the relevant connection.

Location	2010	2017
Exit 1	80,500	65,500
Exit 2	165,500	158,500
Exit 3	208,000	210,500
Exit 4	246,000	285,000
Exit 7	256,000	265,500
exit 8	261,000	298,000
exit 12	160,000	269,000
Exit 14	208,000	278,000
Exit 19	248,000	261,000
Exit 22	278,000	272,000
Exit 24	299,000	251,500
Exit 27	304,000	306,000
exit 32	222,000	275,000
exit 38	217,000	212,000
Exit 42	190,000	199,000
exit 48	172,000	229,000
Exit 52	173,000	203,000
exit 57	199,000	218,000
Exit 60	208,000	234,000
Exit 69	191,000	232,000
Exit 76	153,000	253,000
Exit 87	87,000	83,500
Exit 96	67,000	80,500
exit 110	53,000	65,500
Exit 124	69,000	78,500
Exit 138	35,000	44,000
Exit 147	35,000	39,000
Exit 184	78,000	87,500
Exit 212	42,500	38,500
Exit 231	24,500	29,000
Exit 256	51,000	51,500
Exit 260	70,500	62,500
Exit 273	67,000	62,000
Exit 298	45,000	60,500
Exit 318	63,500	86,000
Exit 329	87,800	116,000
Exit 337	95,000	124,500
Exit 344	139,000	144,000
Exit 347	121,000	136,500
Exit 350	94,500	163,000
Exit 354	108,000	127,000
Exit 358	69,500	88,000
Exit 362	82,500	107,500
Exit 373	44,000	53,500
Exit 380	56,500	68,000

Lane Configuration

From	Unpleasant	Lanes
Exit 1	Exit 2	2×3
Exit 2	Exit 3	2×4
Exit 3	Exit 16	2×6
Exit 16	Exit 24	2×5
Exit 24	Exit 27	2×6
Exit 27	exit 38	2×5
exit 38	Exit 50	2×4
Exit 50	Exit 64	2×5
Exit 64	Exit 69	2×6
Exit 69	Exit 87	2×5
Exit 87	Exit 129	2×3
Exit 129	Exit 138	2×4
Exit 138	Exit 351	2×3
Exit 351	Exit 353	2×4
Exit 353	Exit 380	2×3