Florida is turning a stretch of new pavement into a live experiment in how electric vehicles refuel, embedding wireless charging hardware directly into a highway so batteries can top up while traffic keeps moving. The project aims to chip away at range anxiety, cut downtime for commercial fleets, and test whether dynamic charging can work at scale on a busy regional corridor. If it succeeds, the road could become a template for how fast-growing states upgrade infrastructure for an era when plug-in vehicles are no longer the exception.
The plan centers on a short but strategically placed expressway west of Orlando that will double as a proving ground for high power wireless charging at highway speeds. Engineers, local transportation officials, and technology partners are betting that if they can make this system reliable in Florida’s heat, storms, and tourist traffic, it can work almost anywhere in the United States.
Why Florida Is Turning a New Highway Into a Power Strip
Few places in the United States are as defined by car culture as Florida, and that dependence on highways is exactly why the state is experimenting with charging vehicles in motion. Officials in central Florida are planning a new expressway that will connect fast-growing communities while also serving as a testbed for wireless charging, an attempt to align transportation expansion with the rapid rise of electric cars. Instead of treating EV infrastructure as an afterthought in parking lots and rest stops, planners are baking it into the concrete from day one so that the road itself becomes part of the energy network.
Local leaders see the project as a way to future proof a region that already leans heavily on toll roads and long commutes. According to reporting on the project, Officials in central Florida are framing the expressway as both a congestion fix and a clean transportation upgrade, pairing the new lanes with a multi use trail and advanced charging technology. The combination reflects a broader shift in how highway projects are justified, with climate goals and EV adoption now part of the core rationale rather than a side benefit.
Inside State Road 516, the Short Highway With Big Ambitions
The backbone of the experiment is State Road 516, a brand new toll route that will link US 27 near Clermont to State Road 429 near Winter Garden. Project documents describe State Road 516 as a limited access expressway designed to relieve pressure on local roads while improving access to jobs and attractions west of Orlando. The alignment is relatively modest in length but strategically placed, threading through fast growing suburbs where EV ownership is expected to climb quickly…