add site
services
publishers
database
health videos
toolbar
stats
live show
health store
more stuff
JOIN/LOGIN
| advertise add site services publishers database health videos
| | about toolbar stats live show health store more stuff JOIN/LOGIN |
Florida's Turnpike (TPK), which has carried the Ronald Reagan Turnpike legislative designation since 1998, is a north-south toll road that runs 312 miles (502 km) through 11 counties in the Florida peninsula, from U.S. Route 1 in Florida City, running through Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach where it parallels Interstate 95, and Orlando where it crosses Interstate 4, to its northern terminus at Interstate 75 near Wildwood. The Turnpike was originally known as the Sunshine State Parkway (SSP) from its opening in January 1957 to July 1969, when the Turnpike Authority was absorbed by the new Florida Department of Transportation and the road was renamed Florida's Turnpike. Many old county plat books and several Turnpike maintenance buildings show the Turnpike with the former name. The Turnpike itself is in two sections. The first is the Mainline, a 269-mile (433 km) route from the Golden Glades Interchange north of Miami to Wildwood that carries the hidden designation of State Road 91 (SR 91). The second is the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (HEFT) that runs from Florida City (near Homestead) through the suburbs to the west and north of Miami, connecting to the Mainline four miles (6 km) north of the Golden Glades Interchange. The Florida Turnpike is considered one of the busiest highways in the country (according to the IBBTA, the highway is the nation's 3rd most heavily traveled toll road[2]).
[edit] Route description
[edit] Miami to Ft. PierceFor route info regarding exits 1-47 of Florida's Turnpike, please see Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike. The Turnpike begins at the Golden Glades toll plaza, just north of the Golden Glades Interchange in Miami Gardens. It passes by the stadium before intersecting with the northern end of the Homestead Extension at the Miami-Dade/Broward County line, picking up the Extension's mileage. Just north of the Cypress Creek Toll Plaza, it intersects with the Pompano Beach Service Plaza, where the Turnpike's operations center is located. Just north of the SR 786 interchange in Palm Beach Gardens, I-95 parallels the Turnpike to the east for about 20 miles, with I-95 visible from the turnpike as it crosses SR 706 in Jupiter and into Martin County, where it breaks off as it crosses the Thomas B. Manuel Bridge and I-95 just south of the SR 714 interchange. The turnpike intersects I-95 one last time just south of SR 70 (exit 152) in Ft. Pierce, as I-95 continues to head up the east coast of Florida and the turnpike curves inland towards Orlando. [edit] Ft. Pierce to OrlandoFrom exit 193 in Yeehaw Junction to Kissimmee, the turnpike enters a 49 mile (47 miles southbound) stretch without an exit, although the Canoe Creek Service Plaza is at located at mile marker 229. The interchange located at Kissimmee Park Road is named for Senator N. Ray Carroll, longtime Osceola County banker, citrus grower and cattle rancher. [edit] Orlando to WildwoodAfter passing the I-4 interchange, the turnpike moves in a northwest direction for the rest of its journey, first passing by the Turkey Lakes Plaza, where the Turnpike headquarters are located. Travel between Exit 304 and the northern terminus is considered to be a "free movement" as there is no toll for anyone traveling only within this section. The tollway ends at I-75 near Wildwood, about 20 miles south of Ocala. [edit] TollsTolls on the turnpike are an average of 7.5 cents per mile for cars and other two-axle vehicles.[3] The ticket system is operated between the Lantana and Three Lakes Barrier tolls and on a coin system south of Lantana and north of Kissimmee. The turnpike was originally entirely on the ticket system, but due to congestion in the Miami and Orlando metro areas, a coin system was implemented in those sections of the turnpike in the 1990s.[4] The SunPass electronic toll collection system, in use since 2003, has become the primary method of paying tolls on the turnpike, with 60% of customers using the electronic tolling as of 2007.[5][6] SunPass can be used on all Florida toll roads, and with conjunction with other electronic toll collection systems in Florida (E-Pass and LeeWay). SunPass users benefit from an average of a 25% discount on tolls and access to SunPass-only exit ramps.[7] SunPass transponders are available at the gift shop and gas stations at all service plazas, as well as Publix and CVS/pharmacy stores statewide.[8] In November 2009, it was announced that the HEFT segment of the Turnpike will be converted to a total "toll-by-plate" system,[9] similar to Ontario's 407 ETR toll road. The change in toll system will begin in 2011, with expansion on the main Turnpike in Broward County in 2012. It is unknown if or when the remaining Turnpike, or any other Turnpike-maintained facility, would be converted. As the Turnpike and its system of roads are primary routes for emergency evacuations, tolls may be suspended, in cooperation with the state's emergency operations center and county governments, when a state or national emergency, most common being a hurricane watch, warrant rapid movement of the population.[10] [edit] Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Florida's Turnpike is owned and operated by the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, part of the Florida Department of Transportation. It began as the Florida State Turnpike Authority in 1957, and was absorbed in the newly-created Florida Department of Transportation in 1969 as the "Turnpike District", and received it's current name in 2002.[5] In addition to the Turnpike mainline, the Turnpike Enterprise owns Polk Parkway (SR 570), Suncoast Parkway (SR 589), Veterans Expressway (SR 568/SR 589), Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869), the northern end of Seminole Expressway (SR 417), the southern six miles (10 km) of Southern Connector Extension (SR 417), the southern 11 miles (18 km) of Daniel Webster Western Beltway (SR 429) and the western eight miles (13 km) of Beachline West Expressway (SR 528).[11] The Turnpike collects tolls on the portion of I-75 known as Alligator Alley, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, the Pinellas Bayway System, the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority system, the LeeWay system of toll bridges in Lee County, Osceola Parkway in Kissimmee, and the Beachline East (State Road 528) — all FDOT-owned roads and bridges. It also provides toll collection services for the Garcon Point and Mid-Bay Bridges in Florida's Panhandle as well as the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway in Tampa.[5] [edit] History[edit] PlanningIn the years following World War II, Florida was experiencing unprecedented growth in population and tourism, along with a revitalized citrus industry recovering from a harsh freeze early in the decade; the increased traffic load quickly burdened the state's highway system. South Florida businessman and accountant firm owner Charles B. Costar was concerned that a trip down the east coast of Florida would take days on the available road network, passing through every small beachside town, siphoning off the traffic before visitors reached South Florida. After driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike during a vacation there, he envisioned a similar high-speed turnpike in Florida. In 1953, Costar led a lobby group that resulted in state legislature creating the “Florida Turnpike Act," which Governor Dan McCarty signed into law on July 11, 1953, as well as the Florida State Turnpike Authority, which had the ability to plan, design, and construct bond-financed toll roads, in which Costar was instrumental to create, to be repaid through the collection of tolls from Turnpike customers.[5] Thomas B. Manuel, known as the “Father of the Turnpike,” served as chairman of the Florida State Turnpike Authority from January 1955 to January 1961. Manuel debated with state legislature members opposed to tollways, emphasizing the need for a good highway system in a tourism-driven state. During the 1955 legislative session, many small-county legislators and others opposed to the Parkway, formed a “kill the ‘Pike’” coalition; Manuel won over the legislators at his headquarters in the Floridan Hotel near the capitol. Only four votes against the turnpike were entered at the end of the session's roll call, and the Legislature granted permission to build with a $70 million bond issue in June 1955. A Turnpike bridge in Stuart bears his name to honor his contributions.[5] [edit] ConstructionConstruction on the Parkway began on July 4, 1955, starting at what is now the Golden Glades Interchange. In October 1956, all work on the Sunshine State Parkway north of Ft. Pierce was abandoned and plans for a state-long turnpike were shelved due to passage of the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, which provided for construction of limited-access highways in the corridors that had been under study for the Parkway Extension. One was Interstate 95, which was slated to connect Jacksonville with the rest of the state in a similar alignment to the planned Sunshine State Parkway Coastal Route. This resulted in completion of a truncated 110 miles (180 km) highway that ran from Miami to Fort Pierce, opening on January 25, 1957.[5] In January 1959, Governor LeRoy Collins, favoring a Parkway extension from Fort Pierce to Orlando, stated that building the Parkway north of Orlando would be unnecessary due to the interstate highway system. In late May 1959, the Board authorized a study for the Parkway Extension to Orlando, and connecting the Interstate routes in Florida. In the early 1960s, Governor Collins approved the sale of $80 million in bonds to finance the parkway extension from Fort Pierce to Wildwood, adding another 156 miles (251 km) of roadway and shifting Interstate 75's route six miles (10 km) eastward from its original alignment. The extension was open to traffic in 1964.[5] [edit] I-95 realignmentThe Bureau of Public Roads approved an Interstate 95 alignment that used 41 miles (66 km) of the Turnpike from Ft. Pierce south to PGA Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens. In January 1966, the State Road Department authorized traffic counts be conducted to determine if the separation of Interstate 95 from the Turnpike was feasible, with arguments that using a concurrent alignment was costing Florida money for Federal Highway funding.[12] Over time, the interstate adopted a route closer to U.S. Route 1, including parallel between Stuart and Palm Beach Gardens, with the road completed in 1987.[13] [edit] System expansionWith Florida still growing in population in the 1960s, preliminary studies began for expanding portions of the Turnpike to six lanes in South Florida and additional north-south highways in that area. Dade County and the State Road Department developed a plan for the West Dade Expressway (now known as the Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike), beginning at the Turnpike near the Dade County/Broward County line, turning westward and southward, terminating at Florida City in southern Dade County. In 1967, the Florida State Turnpike Authority was authorized to perform engineering and feasibility studies on the West Dade Expressway, and the Bee Line Connector extension, now known as the Martin Andersen Beachline Expressway. The results of the studies came in December 1968, but due to an uncertain bond market and an unknown future for the toll authority, decisions on the roads were delayed.[5] The Florida Department of Transportation was created in July 1969, with the Florida State Turnpike Authority becoming a part of the new FDOT. Soon after, FDOT and Orange and Dade County officials agreed the Bee Line Connector and Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike would be financed by revenue bond issues as extensions of Florida’s Turnpike. The Beeline Expressway opened in 1973 and the Homestead Extension opened in 1974 as a part of the Turnpike mainline.[5] [edit] Services[edit] Service plazasEight service plazas are located along the Turnpike mainline, spaced about 45 miles (72 km) apart. A convenience store/gas station is located at the Snapper Creek plaza on the Homestead Extension of the Turnpike, while the remaining seven are full-service plazas. Other services at all eight plazas include Internet access, travel and tourism info and tickets, picnic areas, TV news, gift shops offering Florida Lottery, family-friendly restrooms, and public phones. Three of the service plazas now provide E85 ethanol. The seven full-service plazas also feature Dunkin' Donuts. Other restaurants that may be seen at the service plazas include KFC, Nature's Table Cafe, Nathan's Famous, Earl of Sandwich, Edy's Ice Cream, Cheeburger Cheeburger and Checkers. Prior to Areas U.S.A., restaurants included Starbucks, Burger King, Popeye's and Miami Subs Grill.[14] The operation of Sunshine State Parkway gas stations and service centers were originally bid out under separate contracts, and as a result, such brands as Standard Oil and Atlantic Richfield operated concurrently along the Parkway, with varying levels of service and pricing. This practice was discontinued in 1995 when all service center operations were combined to improve supply and continuity of service; with Martin Petroleum, a Florida Corporation, operating the stations with Citgo brand fuel at its stations. Since then, the Venezuelan government, under President Hugo Chavez, nationalized Citgo, and in 2006, political controversy resulted in a movement to remove the brand from the turnpike.[15] The Citgo brand was replaced by Shell when Areas U.S.A. took over service center operation in 2009, under a 30-year contract. It will begin renovating all eight service plazas in 2010, to be completed in 2013, costing $160 million.[16] [edit] Intelligent transportation systemsFlorida's Turnpike Enterprise is operating with an intelligent transportation systems (ITS), used to detect and manage incidents on the Enterprise's roadways. The ITS are managed by two traffic management centers (TMC), one located in Pompano Beach, and the other located in Ocoee, operated by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The system, consisting of closed-circuit television (CCTV) traffic cameras, dynamic message signs (DMS), highway advisory radio (HAR), and radar vehicle detection system (RVDS), allow the TMC to see anything from congestion to crashes, to disabled vehicles that may pose a threat to the Turnpike's motorists. When necessary, the TMC will activate the dynamic message signs (DMS) and highway advisory radio stations (HAR) to alert motorists of the potential situation, as well as AMBER Alerts.[17][18] [edit] Road RangersThe Safety Patrol, also known as Road Rangers, offers free roadside assistance on Florida's Turnpike mainline and Homestead Extension. Utility trucks and light wreckers patrol one of 14 designated zones looking for stranded motorists to provide services such as fuel, tire changes, use of a cellular phone; and also watching out for crashes and road debris. The Traffic Management Center dispatches them to accidents, debris removal, disabled vehicles, or anything that may potentially affect the traveling public; they also assist the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) with traffic maintenance with incidents involving blockage of lanes.[19] [edit] Call boxesMotorist-aid call boxes are located on both outside shoulders of the road every mile (1.6 km), and send a signal indicating the need for gasoline, repair (tire or engine), or emergency services (police, ambulance, or firefighters).[20] [edit] Current constructionCurrently the mainline of Florida's Turnpike is six lanes wide from Golden Glades to milepost 88 (the Lantana toll plaza), and eight lanes wide between US 441 in Kissimmee and Interstate 4 in Orlando, between 4 and 8 lanes wide in the northern Orlando metro area, and four lanes wide for the remainder of the tollway. Work began in 2006, and is ongoing as of July 2009, along the Turnpike in Broward County to widen the section from Griffin Road (exit 53) to Atlantic Boulevard (exit 66) from six to eight lanes.[21] Plans are in the works to widen the road from the Lake Worth Road interchange (exit 93) to the Martin County line from four to eight lanes.[22] In June 2007, a $197.4 million project to add two lanes in each direction between Interstate 4 and Beulah Road began, which include improvements being made at the Interstate 4, State Road 408 and State Road 429 interchanges, with auxiliary lanes being added between State Road 408 and State Road 429. The project is scheduled to be completed in August of 2010.[23] Further widening, from Beulah Road to SR 50 west of Winter Garden, began in January 2009 and will be complete in 2012.[23] A study is currently under way to eventually reconstruct the northern end of the Turnpike at its junction with Interstate 75 to improve the traffic merge pattern between I-75 and State Road 44, with congestion and weaving on I-75 between the Turnpike and SR 44 a major issue in the area.[24][25] The project is not scheduled for construction funding until 2015.[24] The Turnpike Enterprise is also studying possible developer-funded future interchanges near mile marker 279 (servicing Minneola and Clermont) and at Sumter County Road 468 (mile marker 300, servicing The Villages and Lady Lake). Neither project is funded or scheduled for construction at this time.[26] [edit] Exit listExits on Florida's Turnpike are on the mile-log system, starting from the south end of the Homestead Extension, and have been since 1989, 13 years before Florida's interstates integrated it into their system.[27][28][29] The Turnpike originally used a sequential system, and then a hybrid where adjacent exit numbers differed by 4 south of SR 60 (exit 60 at the time) and 5 north of SR 60.[27] North of the HEFT/mainline intersection, the mainline continues the numbering from mile 47. The spur of the mainline south of the HEFT to the Golden Glades Interchange assumes an alternate numbering system that suffixes an X to each exit number.[28] Any exit or location in parentheses that does not have an exit number—the number indicates the approximate mile of the location. All tolls described assume the toll is paid in cash.[30]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 27°57′55″N 81°05′05″W / 27.96529°N 81.08459°W Categories: Toll roads in Florida | Expressways in Florida | Expressways in Miami-Dade County, Florida | Expressways in Broward County, Florida | Expressways in Palm Beach County, Florida | Roads in Martin County, Florida | Roads in St. Lucie County, Florida | Roads in Okeechobee County, Florida | Expressways in Osceola County, Florida | Expressways in Orange County, Florida | Expressways in Orlando, Florida | Roads in Lake County, Florida | Roads in Sumter County, Florida | Freeways in the United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ↑ top of page ↑ | about thumbshots |
>
