Ellis Road Project

Ellis Road is the No. 1 transportation priority for Brevard County and the Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization (SCTPO) as well as the Central Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The Ellis Road Innovation and Economic Corridor has been one of the highest priorities for Brevard County over the past 20 years, and through continued regional collaboration and partnership, the project is nearly ready for construction.

The Ellis Road widening project is a vital connection between the I-95 Interchange, economic generators, and the Melbourne Orlando International Airport as well as its 500,000 yearly passengers. It’s also an important gateway for the 20,000 aerospace, national defense, and other important employees who work in the surrounding vicinity. In its current state, this corridor is unable to accomplish its goals as a strategic intermodal system connector due to congestion and it lacks modern safety features.

The Ellis Road widening project limits span from John Rodes Blvd. to Wickham Road and improvements include the widening of the current undivided two-lane roadway to a four-lane divided multimodal roadway, with bike lanes and sidewalks. These enhancements will provide a safer transportation corridor for our residents and visitors as well as meeting the increased demands of commuters in our community. The widening will also address current vehicular congestion, safety issues, reduce freight bottlenecks, increase modal options, and improve stormwater drainage.

Right-of-Way acquisition is completely funded and underway. Efforts continue to fully fund construction. Brevard County, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and the SCTPO continue to collaborate and partner together with the Cites of West Melbourne and Melbourne to identify funding opportunities for the construction phase, The County working with its stakeholder partners submitted for a $47M Federal INFRA Grant on 18 August 2023 and hopes to hear back by April 2024. The County is also working closely with utility service providers to explore opportunities for them to perform their critical work before roadway construction begins as a way to potentially deliver the project sooner.

However, without funding assistance from the State or Federal government the construction will not be able to get started. Should full funding be received, construction is slated to begin in FY 2025-26.