Florida's Turnpike

The main section of Florida's Turnpike begins at the northern end of the Golden Glades Interchange in Miami Gardens as a six-lane highway, and passes through the Golden Glades Toll Barrier, a cashless toll point, similar to the ones on the HEFT. About 2 miles (3 km) north of the toll gantry, it passes by Hard Rock Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League, to the west before intersecting with the northern end of the HEFT at the Miami-Dade/Broward County line 4 miles (6 km) from Golden Glades, continuing the HEFT's mile marker. The highway goes through the inland suburbs of Miramar, Hollywood, and Davie, with an exit at Hollywood Boulevard (SR 820) at mile 50, and passing west of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood just south the Griffin Road (SR 818) interchange (exit 53). In Davie, about 8 miles (13 km) north of the Homestead Extension interchange, it intersects with I-595, providing direct access to Alligator Alley and Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. After two more interchanges, one with Sunrise Boulevard (SR 838) in Plantation and Commercial Boulevard (SR 870) in Tamarac, it crosses the Cypress Creek Toll Plaza in North Lauderdale, the second on the mainline. Just 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the toll plaza, it intersects with the Pompano Beach Service Plaza, the first of seven full-service plazas on the mainline, and where the Turnpike's operations center is located. Still in Pompano Beach, it has a northbound-only exit (and southbound-only entrance) at Atlantic Boulevard (SR 814), followed by full interchanges with Coconut Creek Parkway/Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (County Road 912) (exit 67) and Sample Road (SR 834) (exit 69). It then enters Deerfield Beach with an interchange with the Sawgrass Expressway in Coconut Creek (exit 71), the final interchange in Broward County. The Turnpike then enters Palm Beach County, with one interchange each in Boca Raton (Glades Road, exit 75), Delray Beach (Atlantic Avenue, exit 81) and Boynton Beach (Boynton Beach Boulevard, exit 86).[3][4][5]

In central Palm Beach County at mile marker 88, the ticket system of the turnpike begins at the Lantana Toll Plaza. The turnpike narrows to a four-lane highway as it goes through a less developed portion of Palm Beach County, crossing interchanges with Lake Worth Road, followed by the Lake Worth/West Palm Beach Service Plaza at mile marker 94. In West Palm Beach, the highway has interchanges with US 98/SR 80 (Southern Boulevard), a SunPass-only interchange at Jog Road, followed by an interchange at Okeechobee Boulevard (exit 99) that heads directly into downtown West Palm Beach. North of the interchange, the highway enters stretch of sparse development between this point and Port St. Lucie, intersecting with the Beeline Highway, another SunPass only interchange before leaving West Palm Beach. Just north of the SR 786 interchange in Palm Beach Gardens (exit 109), I-95 parallels the Turnpike to the east for about 20 miles (32 km), with I-95 visible from the turnpike as it has an interchange with SR 706 (exit 116) in Jupiter and into Martin County. It breaks off as it crosses the Thomas B. Manuel Bridge over the St. Lucie Canal,[6] crossing I-95 without an interchange just south of the SR 714 interchange, the only exit in Martin County. I-95 heads west towards the western fringes of St. Lucie County development, while the turnpike takes a path through the central areas of the county. The turnpike has two interchanges in Port St. Lucie, one at Becker Road (exit 138), the third SunPass-only exit, and SR 716 (exit 142), followed by the Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce service plaza at mile marker 144. The turnpike intersects I-95 one last time just south of SR 70 (exit 152) in Fort Pierce, as I-95 continues to head up the east coast of Florida and the turnpike curves inland towards Orlando.[3][5]

North of the SR 70 interchange, the turnpike enters a rural area, with cattle farms and orange groves lining the road for most of the section between Fort Pierce and Kissimmee, with only one interchange: SR 60 in Yeehaw Junction (exit 193). There are two service plazas in this area, one at Fort Drum at mile marker 184 and the other, Canoe Creek, at mile marker 229. Between Fort Pierce and Yeehaw Junction, the turnpike travels in a nearly east-west direction heading inland, with a 40.5-mile (65.2 km) gap between the two exits, the second longest of any US expressway.[7] Between Yeehaw Junction and Kissimmee, the turnpike, returning to a north-northwest direction towards Orlando, has a 48.9-mile (78.7 km) (47 miles (76 km) southbound) stretch without an exit, the longest of any US expressway.[7] At mile marker 236, the ticket system ends at the Three Lakes toll plaza, as the turnpike enters the Orlando area and development starts to reappear on the turnpike. The SunPass-only interchange located at Kissimmee Park Road, a partial interchange featuring a northbound on- and southbound off-ramp only, is named for Senator N. Ray Carroll, longtime Osceola County banker, citrus grower and cattle rancher.[3][5][8] After interchanges with US 192/US 441 (exit 242 northbound, exit 244 southbound) and the Osceola Parkway (exit 249), the turnpike enters Orange County and Orlando. Exit 251 features a partial interchange with SR 417 (Central Florida GreeneWay), with an exit from the northbound turnpike to northbound SR 417 and entrance from southbound SR 417 to the southbound turnpike. Exit 254 in Sky Lake is a massive combined interchange with both US 17/US 92/US 441 (Orange Blossom Trail) and SR 528 (Beachline Expressway), which combines a series of parclo interchanges with access ramps from side roads. The turnpike expands to eight lanes north of this interchange, and then it intersects with Consulate Drive (exit 255), a southbound-only, SunPass-only interchange.[3][5]

Florida's Turnpike southbound at the interchange with State Road 429 in Ocoee, Exit 267A

After passing the I-4 interchange (exit 259) near many of Orlando's theme parks, the Turnpike moves in a northwest direction, first passing by the Turkey Lake Service Plaza at mile marker 263, where the FDOT district headquarters of the Turnpike are located. The Turnpike has the next two interchanges with Orlando area tollways, SR 408 (East-West Expressway) at exit 265 and SR 429 (Western Expressway) at exit 267A, where in between the two exits, the turnpike expands to become a twelve-lane highway, and reverting to an eight-lane highway north of the SR 429 interchange. The last two Orange County interchanges are with SR 50 five miles apart at exit 267B and 272, with the turnpike becoming a four-lane highway north of exit 272, and staying that way for the rest of its northward journey. The Turnpike then enters Lake County, heading in a northwestern direction, where hilly countryside becomes a part of the terrain for the remainder of the expressway while intersecting with Hancock Road (exit 278) in Minneola, an electronic toll interchange. At mile 285, it has a northbound exit/southbound entrance with US 27, followed by the Leesburg toll plaza at mile 288, and a southbound exit/northbound entrance with US 27 at mile 289. The last interchange in Lake County is with County Road 470 (exit 296), which does not provide cash.[3][5]

The final toll plaza is in Leesburg.

At mile marker 299, the turnpike passes through the final service plaza, the Okahumpka service plaza. Between US 301 (exit 304) and the northern terminus (mile 309) there is no toll. The turnpike ends with an interchange with I-75 in Wildwood, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Ocala.[3][5] Exit 307 at SR 44 provides access to southbound I-75 through that interstate's exit 329, while northbound I-75 travelers (and bidirectional SR 44 travelers) can access the turnpike at this exit.

Turkey Lake Plaza before its 2012 reconstruction

Eight service plazas are located along the turnpike, spaced about 45 miles (72 km) apart. All eight plazas are open 24 hours a day and located on the center median of the turnpike for access from both directions and offer gasoline, diesel fuel, internet access, travel and tourism info and tickets, picnic areas, TV news, gift shops offering Florida Lottery, family-friendly restrooms, and pay phones. 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, featuring a selection of franchised fast food restaurants. Three of the service plazas (Pompano, Port St. Lucie/Fort Pierce, Turkey Lake) also provide E85 ethanol.[18] The Turkey Lake plaza also has an electric vehicle charger for Tesla vehicles.[19]

The operation of Sunshine State Parkway gas stations and service centers was originally bid out under separate contracts, and as a result, differing petroleum brands operated concurrently along the parkway, with varying levels of service and pricing.[20] 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.[21][22] Since then, the Venezuelan government, under President Hugo Chávez, nationalized Citgo, and in 2006, political controversy resulted in a movement to remove the brand from the turnpike.[23] Currently, the gas stations are under the Shell brand.

In 2009, Areas U.S.A. signed a 30-year contract for operation of food and retail concessions, taking over operations from Martin Petroleum and HMSHost. Florida Turnpike Services, L.L.C., Areas' partner, replaced the Citgo brand with Shell. Many of the restaurant brands were also changed over,[24] with Dunkin' Donuts replacing Starbucks locations as well as KFC, Pizza Hut, Villa Pizza and Wendy's replacing most Popeyes and Burger King locations.[25][26] The reconstruction and renovation of six of the service plazas began on November 1, 2010, to be completed in 2012. The Okahumpka and Ft. Pierce plazas will begin reconstruction when the other plaza projects are complete. Total renovation costs are estimated at $160 million.[27]

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise operates with intelligent transportation systems (ITS), used to detect and manage incidents on their roadways. The ITS are managed by two traffic management centers (TMCs), one in Pompano Beach and the other in Ocoee, operated by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The system, consisting of closed-circuit television traffic cameras, dynamic message signs, highway advisory radio, and radar vehicle detection system, 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 and highway advisory radio stations to alert motorists of the potential situation, as well as AMBER/Silver Alerts.[28][29]

The Safety Patrol (also known as Road Rangers, and currently sponsored by State Farm) offers free roadside assistance on Florida's Turnpike mainline and Homestead Extension. Utility trucks patrol 12 designated zones looking for stranded motorists to provide services such as fuel, tire changes, and 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 with traffic maintenance during incidents involving blockage of lanes.[30]

Looking northbound at Florida's Turnpike as seen from the shoulder of Old County Road 50 near Clermont, at mile 276

In 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 accounting 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 and 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 lobbying group that resulted in the 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.[12]

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.[12]

Construction on the Parkway began on July 4, 1955, starting at what is now the Golden Glades Interchange.[31] 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 Miami in a similar alignment to the planned Sunshine State Parkway Coastal Route. This resulted in completion of a truncated 110-mile (180 km) highway that ran from Miami to Fort Pierce, opening on January 25, 1957.[12]

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 1961, 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 6 miles (10 km) eastward from its original alignment. The extension was opened in three stages: a 61-mile (98 km) section between Yeehaw Junction and Orlando opened on July 17, 1963, a section linking Fort Pierce and Yeehaw Junction opened on November 22, 1963, and the section between Orlando and the northern terminus of I-75 opened on July 24, 1964, completing the mainline.[2][12]

The Bureau of Public Roads approved an Interstate 95 alignment that used 41 miles (66 km) of the Turnpike from PGA Boulevard (SR 786) in Palm Beach Gardens north to SR 70 in Ft. Pierce in the 1950s.[32][33] In the mid-1960s, 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, but not without the concern of losing toll revenue.[34] Over time, the interstate adopted a route closer to U.S. Route 1, including parallel between Stuart and Palm Beach Gardens, with the turnpike being removed from the I-95 alignment in 1973, and I-95 being completed in 1987.[35][36]

With the St. Petersburg Times in 1963, a team led by Martin Waldron wrote a total of 150,000 words as part of the newspaper's coverage of unchecked spending by the Florida Turnpike Authority that led to estimated costs quadrupling from initial estimates of $100 million.[37] Waldron received a tip about excessive spending by John Hammer, chairman of the Florida Turnpike Authority, which included expensive hotels and meals, corsages for his secretary and overcharging for a chartered plane.[38] His coverage earned the newspaper the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1964, the first for the newspaper, and led to changes in the way the state of Florida managed highway construction projects.[37][39]

With 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, and 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.[12]

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.[12]

Florida's Turnpike looking southbound from the U.S. Route 441 overpass, two miles north of the Yeehaw Junction exit

From its opening in January 1957 to April 12, 1968, the road was known as the Sunshine State Parkway (SSP). On April 12, 1968, the road was renamed to its current name of Florida's Turnpike, to identify that the toll road was located in Florida and to avoid confusion from other Florida landmarks such as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.[12][40] The Sunshine State Parkway moniker was commonly used for the next decade, and remnants of the name can be seen on several Turnpike maintenance buildings.[41][42]

On September 1, 1971, the Turnpike switched from a sequential exit numbering system to a hybrid numbering system, where adjacent exit numbers differed by 4 south of SR 60 (exit 60 at the time) and 5 north of SR 60.[43][44]

Between 1974 and 1986, the turnpike experienced little change other than maintenance as the original bonds on the road were being paid off.[12] During this period, the turnpike experienced the first of five toll hikes on February 15, 1979, when the cost of a trip from Golden Glades to Wildwood increased to $5.90 from $4.80, the road's original toll.[45]

In 1988, the Office of Florida's Turnpike was formed, with $220 million worth of revenue bonds being sold in April 1989 to renovate the toll plazas, service centers and improve the road with the reduction of urban congestion. Fifteen new interchanges were planned in the early 1990s, with four of them opened by July 1991.[12] Also during this time, sections of the turnpike were converted from a ticket system to a coin system due to urban congestion, with several mainline toll plazas being built. The section between the Golden Glades Plaza and Lantana was converted in 1990, with the opening of the Cypress Creek and Lantana toll plazas. Coin baskets were installed in 1994 after years of delays.[46][47][48] The portion north of Kissimmee was converted on August 20, 1995, with the addition of the Three Lakes toll plaza and the Wildwood toll plaza at mile 304 being replaced by the Leesburg toll barrier on July 7, 1995.[49][50][51]

The improvements also came with a series of toll hikes between 1989 and 1993 to make the toll rates more uniform six cents per mile (3.7 ¢/km) throughout the turnpike's length. The first one was enacted on April 1, 1989, which raised the rate to $9.95.[52] The second one, on July 1, 1991, affected only the section north of Lantana, raising the trip's cost to $12.35.[53][54] The last one took effect on July 11, 1993, increasing the trip's cost to $14.40.[55]

In 1989, the Turnpike switched its exit numbering system to the mile-log system, starting from the south end of the Homestead Extension, 13 years before Florida's interstates integrated it into their system.[43][56][57]

Because he "was one of America's most beloved presidents and a true world leader", as the Legislature put it, Florida's Turnpike was designated by the Florida Legislature in 1998 as the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, with 20 signs throughout the turnpike showing the designation.[58]

In April 1999, SunPass was introduced to the public, with SunPass-only interchanges and lanes being introduced throughout the 2000s.[12] A toll hike took effect on March 7, 2004, increasing the toll rate for non SunPass users to $18.20, with SunPass users still using the 1993 toll rates.[59][60]

The HEFT ceased cash toll collections on February 19, 2011, becoming an exclusive electronic toll road, a move announced in November 2009. The manned toll plazas were converted into electronic toll gantries, and the only ways to pay are either by SunPass transponders or a "toll-by-plate" program.[61][62] The Turnpike mainline began its conversion to a cashless toll road with the Golden Glades toll barrier being converted into a toll gantry on January 25, 2014, and no longer accepts cash.[63][64] The portion south of I-595 was converted on August 29, 2015.[65]

Between 2005 and 2012, the Turnpike spent $380 million doubling the number of lanes from SR 528 to the northernmost interchange with SR 50 west of Winter Garden (exit 272). Most of the section was expanded from four to eight lanes, with the section between SR 408 and SR 429 being expanded from six to twelve lanes. The portion between SR 528 and Interstate 4 opened in 2008, with the portion between I-4 and SR 408 being finished in 2010, SR 408 to Beulah Road (at the north end of the SR 429 interchange) opened in March 2011, and the portion between Beulah Road and SR 50 (exit 272) was completed in 2012.[66]

In 2007, legislation was passed in Florida to index toll rates across the state to the national Consumer price index (CPI), to be enacted by the end of June 2012. As a result, the toll rates on roads on Florida's Turnpike Enterprise were raised on June 24, 2012, an increase of 11.7% to reflect the previous five years. The legislation allows for SunPass rates to be raised slightly each year, with cash rates going up every five years, with SunPass rates staying about a quarter cheaper than cash rates.[67][68] In keeping with the legislation, SunPass and toll-by-plate rates were raised again on July 1, 2013 by 2.1%, with cash toll rates projected to stay the same through at least 2014.[67][69] Toll rate increases were scheduled for every five years, and mid-2017 was the next scheduled date for such an increase. However, a combination of a low inflation rate and problems within the relevant state authorities caused multiple cancellations and changes in schedule for the next increase.[70][71] The final projected date for an increase in tolls was eventually set for October 29, 2017.

The Turnpike Enterprise and OOCEA (now CFX) agreed to build a partial interchange between SR 417 and Florida's Turnpike in the late 2000s, after negotiations dating back to a 1991 field study.[72][73] The interchange is being built in two phases. The first phase, built by CFX, added ramps from southbound SR 417 to southbound Florida's Turnpike and from northbound Florida's Turnpike to northbound SR 417. Construction on the first phase began in September 2013 and opened on January 26, 2015. The second phase, completing the interchange, will be built by the Turnpike Enterprise with construction beginning in late 2014 and expected to be completed in 2017, several years ahead of its original completion date.[74][75]