Crossing Alligator Alley: Tires, Spare and Fuel Plan

The road with nothing on it

Alligator Alley is the stretch of I-75 that crosses the Everglades between Broward and Collier counties. FDOT describes it as running from the Everglades toll plaza in Broward to the Alligator Alley West toll plaza in Collier. It's the fastest way from Fort Lauderdale or Weston to Naples and the Gulf coast.

It's also a road with very little on it: long, straight, flat, with water and sawgrass on both sides, few exits, and very few services between the two ends. That's what makes the drive pleasant, and it's why a little preparation goes a long way.

Before you leave: fuel and tires

Fill up first. Plan on leaving Weston, Fort Lauderdale or Naples with a full tank or a good charge. Along the crossing, the stop most drivers know is the Miccosukee Service Plaza at Exit 49, which sells fuel and has a store. Check its hours before relying on it, especially late at night.

Then the tires. A long crossing at highway speed, often in the afternoon heat, is exactly where an underinflated or worn tire shows itself. Take 15 minutes in the driveway:

1. Pressure, cold, in all four tires and the spare, against the driver's door placard. USTMA defines cold as parked for at least three hours. Our guide to checking tire pressure shows how.
2. Tread, in three grooves on each tire. Afternoon storms are common in the wet season, and standing water on a fast highway is where worn tread matters. Our post on why 4/32 matters in Florida rain explains the line.
3. Sidewalls: no bulges, cuts or deep cracks.
4. Anything in the tread: a nail or screw is far better found in your driveway than at mile marker 40.

Heat on the long straight

A summer crossing means hot pavement and an hour or more at steady highway speed. Tires warm up as they run, and USTMA says pressure rises about 1 to 2 psi for every 10°F of temperature change. So a gauge reading at the Exit 49 plaza will be higher than the cold reading you took at home.

That's normal. Don't let air out of a warm tire to match the placard; it will be low once it cools. What matters is that the cold pressure was right before you left. If one tire reads noticeably lower than the others, even warm, look for a nail or a leak before you carry on.

Know your spare before the Alley

This is the most important check for this particular road. AAA says about 30 percent of new cars now come without a spare, carrying a sealant and inflator kit or run-flat tires instead. On a road with few exits, it matters a lot which one you have.

Our spare tire types guide explains each option, and our glovebox tire kit lists what to carry, including a gauge and an inflator.

If a tire goes on the Alley

1. Hold the wheel firmly and ease off the gas. Let the car slow down; don't brake hard.
2. Get onto the shoulder, as far from the travel lanes as you can, on firm ground. Be careful near the canal edges.
3. Hazard lights on. Florida's Move Over law, as FLHSMV describes it, now covers any vehicle stopped with its hazards flashing, a flat tire included. Approaching drivers must move over or slow to 20 mph below the limit.
4. Dial *347.

*347 reaches the Florida Highway Patrol and FDOT's Road Rangers, who FDOT says change flat tires, supply emergency fuel, jump-start cars and help clear disabled vehicles from the lanes, at no charge. FDOT District Four's Road Ranger guidelines include I-75 from the Miami-Dade County line to mile marker 50, west of the Alligator Alley toll plaza, with a patrol beat assigned to that stretch. The Collier County side falls under FDOT District One.

While you wait, FDOT's advice is to stay inside your vehicle once you're out of the flow of traffic. Keep water in the car; it's a hot place to sit.

One catch: Road Rangers change a flat with your spare. No spare, no tire change. If the car needs more than they can do, FDOT says FHP will contact a tow company at your expense.

After the crossing

A donut or a sealed tire is a way to reach a tire shop, not to finish a road trip. At the far end:

• Have the tire inspected before driving on. A tread puncture can often be repaired from the inside; sidewall damage can't. Can My Tire Be Repaired? shows the limits.
• Tell the shop if you used sealant.
• Recheck the other tires cold the next morning.

For more on the roadside steps, our post on a flat tire on I-95 goes into detail.

Coming home to Broward

If the crossing turned up a tire problem, we can help at the Broward end. In Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach we install at our Sunrise shop, or our mobile van can come to you at home, including in Weston. Need new tires before the next trip? Shop by size or vehicle. Shipping is free to the 48 contiguous states and DC.