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Florida's Turnpike is a toll road that runs 312 miles (497 km) down the Florida peninsula through 11 counties, from US 1 in Florida City to Interstate 75 at Wildwood. It runs through Orlando, where it crosses Interstate 4; and West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, where it parallels Interstate 95, often literally next to it.
The Turnpike itself is actually in two sections. The Mainline is a 269-mile route from the Golden Glades Interchange north of Miami to Wildwood that carries the hidden designation of State Road 91. This page's exit list describes the mainline only. The Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (HEFT) runs from Florida City (near Homestead) through the suburbs to the west and north of Miami. It connects to the Mainline four miles north of the Golden Glades Interchange.
Tolls
Tolls on the turnpike are set at 7.5 cents per mile US for two-axle vehicles. As the turnpike system is a primary route useful for evacuations, when necessary, the state may suspend tolls on the Turnpike, as well as other roads in the system when a hurricane watch is issued or when other state or national emergencies warrant rapid movement of the population. Payment is via coin or SunPass electronic toll collection near the urban and suburban areas of Miami and Orlando, and via ticket the rest of the way (south of Kissimmee and north of Lantana).
Tolls collected on Turnpike-owned roads are used to meet debt service obligations, and for operation and maintenance of the system. Profits, in conjunction with the issuance of revenue bonds, may fund new Turnpike-system roads or major system enhancement projects.
Management
Management is by the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, part of the Florida Department of Transportation. It was formerly called the Florida's Turnpike District, and has always been a separate district of FDOT.
In addition to the Turnpike Mainline and HEFT, the Turnpike Enterprise also maintains several toll bridges (including the Sunshine Skyway Bridge), Polk Parkway (SR 570), Suncoast Parkway (SR 589), Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869), and non-Orange County sections of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority System. It also maintained Arvida Parkway (SR 404) until tolls were removed in 1989 and it was turned over to FDOT District 5.
SunPass electronic toll collection is available on all toll roads in Florida, including the OOCEA system (interoperating with E-Pass), Osceola Parkway in Kissimmee (interoperating with O-Pass), Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway in Tampa, and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority system.
Interchanges
Exits on the highway are on the mile-log system. The Turnpike started using this system long before Florida's interstates were on the system, but 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. Motorist-aid call boxes are located on both outside shoulders of the road every mile (1.6 km), and send only a signal indicating the need for gasoline, repair (tire or engine), or emergency services (police, ambulance, or firefighters).
Service plazas
Eight service plazas are located along the Turnpike mainline, spaced about 45 miles apart. The plazas are open 24 hours per day, most having Burger King and other fast food. Other services include fuel, minor mechanical repairs, Internet access, travel and tourism info and tickets, picnic areas, TV news, Florida Lottery, restrooms, and public phones. SunPass transponders are available at all locations.
Trivia
The 51 mile (82 km) stretch of Florida's Turnpike south from exit 244 in Kissimmee to exit 193 in Yeehaw Junction is the longest stretch of controlled access highway in the United States without an exit, though there is a service area approximately midway (Canoe Creek Service Plaza). A new exit is planned at mile marker 240 to open in December 2006.
In 1998, the Florida Legislature designated the turnpike the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, after the 40th U.S. President. However, this designation did not replace the turnpike's existing name, only appearing on a few signs along the route.
Plans are currently under way to reconstruct Exit 309 in order to prevent weaving along Interstate 75 between the Turnpike interchange and the one with SR 44. This is a joint effort between Florida's Turnpike Enterprise and District #5 of the Florida Department of Transportation.
Other roads
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise also operates a number of other toll roads:
- Beachline Expressway (State Road 528)
- Polk Parkway (State Road 570)
- Sawgrass Expressway (State Road 869)
- Seminole Expressway (State Road 417)
- Southern Connector (State Road 417)
- Suncoast Parkway (State Road 589)
- Veterans Expressway (State Road 568 and State Road 589)
- Western Beltway (State Road 429)
Exit list
Today, all exits on Florida's Turnpike are milage-based from the south end of the Homestead Extension. Once the HEFT reaches the mainline, the mainline continues the numbering. The spur of the mainline from the HEFT to the Golden Glades Interchange assumes an alternate numbering system that suffixes an X to each exit number.
Any exit or location in parentheses does not have an exit number-- the number indicates the approximate mile of the location.
| Number | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old | |||
| US 441.svgFlorida 826.svgInterstate 95/U.S. Route 441/State Road 826 - Beaches | Golden Glades Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| (0X) | 1 | Golden Glades barrier toll | |
| 2X | 2 | Northwest 199th Street - Stadium||
| 4X | 4 | Florida's Turnpike south - Homesteadsouthbound SR 91 takes exit 47A from the Turnpike mainline | |
| 49 | 8 | State Road 820 - Hollywood Boulevard/Pines Boulevard||
| 53 | State Road 818 - Griffin Road | ||
| 54 | 12 | Florida 84.svgUS 441.svgInterstate 595/State Road 84/U.S. Route 441 - Fort Lauderdale||
| 58 | 16 | State Road 838 - Sunrise Boulevard||
| 62 | 20 | State Road 870 - Commercial Boulevard||
| (63) | Cypress Creek barrier toll | ||
| (64) | Pompano Beach service plaza | ||
| 66 | State Road 814 - Atlantic Boulevard | northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
| 67 | 24 | Coconut Creek Parkway/Martin Luther King Boulevard (State Road 849) | |
| 69 | 26 | State Road 834 - Sample Road||
| 71 | State Road 869 south - Sawgrass Expressway - Coral Springs/Key West | ||
| 75 | 28 | State Road 808 - Glades Road||
| 81 | 32 | State Road 806 - Delray Beach||
| 86 | 34 | State Road 804 / Boynton Beach Boulevard - Boynton Beach||
| (88) | Lantana barrier toll | ||
| 93 | 36 | State Road 802 - Lake Worth||
| (94) | Lake Worth-West Palm Beach service plaza | ||
| 97 | US 98.svgState Road 80/U.S. Route 98 - Southern Boulevard | ||
| 98 | NEW | Jog Road | New, partial SunPass-only interchange scheduled to open in summer 2007 will have a southbound on-ramp and a northbound off-ramp |
| 99 | State Road 704 / Okeechobee Boulevard - West Palm Beach | ||
| 106 | NEW | State Road 710New, SunPass-only interchange opens summer of 2006 | |
| 109 | 44 | State Road 786 - Palm Beach Gardens||
| 116 | 48 | State Road 706 - Jupiter/Okeechobee||
| 133 | 52 | State Road 714 - Stuart||
| 138 | NEW | Becker Road | New, SunPass-only interchange scheduled to open in January 2007 |
| 142 | Port St. Lucie | ||
| (144) | Fort Pierce service plaza | ||
| 152 | 56 | State Road 70 - Fort Pierce/Vero Beach/Okeechobee||
| (184) | Fort Drum service plaza | ||
| 193 | 60 | US 441.svgState Road 60/U.S. Route 441 - Yeehaw Junction/Lake Wales/Vero Beach||
| (229) | Canoe Creek service plaza | ||
| (236) | Three Lakes barrier toll | ||
| 240 | NEW | Northbound on and Southbound off, SunPass-only ramps to Kissimmee Park Road | Opens December 2006, $1 toll |
| 244 | 65 | US 441.svgU.S. Route 192/U.S. Route 441 - Kissimmee/St. Cloudexit 242 northbound | |
| 249 | Osceola Parkway | ||
| 254 | US 17.svgUS 92.svgState Road 528/U.S. Route 17/U.S. Route 92/U.S. Route 441 - Beachline/Orange Blossom Trail | ||
| 255 | NEW | and US 17.svgUS 92.svgState Road 528/U.S. Route 17/U.S. Route 92/U.S. Route 441 - Beachline/Orange Blossom Trail via Consulate Drive||
| 259 | 75 | Interstate 4 - Downtown Orlando/Tampa||
| (263) | Turkey Lake service plaza | ||
| 265 | State Road 408 east - East-West Expressway - Orlando/Titusville | Southbound exit and northbound entrance currently; NEW Northbound exit and southbound entrance ramps open August 2006 | |
| 267A | State Road 429 - Apopka/County Road 535 | ||
| 267B | 80 | State Road 50 - Ocoee||
| 272 | State Road 50 - Winter Garden/Clermont | ||
| 285 | 85 | Florida 19.svgU.S. Route 27/State Road 19 - Leesburg/Clermontnorthbound exit and southbound entrance | |
| (288) | Leesburg barrier toll | ||
| 289 | Florida 19.svgU.S. Route 27/State Road 19 - Tavares/Clermont | southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
| 296 | County Road 470 - Okahumpka | ||
| (299) | Okahumpka service plaza | ||
| 90 | former barrier toll | ||
| 304 | U.S. Route 301 - Wildwood/Bushnell | ||
| (309) | Interstate 75 north | northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
External links
"Florida's Turnpike"
