US 27 in Highlands County is a designated FDOT Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) facility and is a part of the FHWA National Highway Freight Network (both Critical Urban and Critical Rural Corridor). Per the District One Freight Mobility and Trade Plan, US 27 is the main truck route in the central portion of the State operating as the main trade and distribution network for the Heartland region. Highlands County has an extensive agricultural history that continues to this day with substantial citrus and cattle industry operations. There are currently no freight or intermodal logistics facilities within the study corridor. However, US 27 is one of the main regional access roads to the Central Florida Intermodal Logistics Center. As surrounding counties continue to experience trade and logistics growth, freight will increasingly utilize central Florida's transportation corridors.
Similar to the land use analysis, an area of influence was used to understand freight impact in the region. Figure 9 shows proximity of US 27 to major freight activity centers. Per Florida Traffic Online (2023), the northern and southern portions of the study corridor feature high truck percentages, 20%-43%, with daily truck volumes of 4,200 south of SR 66. The urbanized areas experience daily truck volumes between 2,800 and 3,400.
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