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 original Turnpike (then known as the Sunshine State Parkway) was constructed in two major projects. The first project was the 110-mile route between Golden Glades and Ft. Pierce. It was authorized by the 1953 Florida legislature and signed into law by Governor Dan McCarty as the Turnpike Authority Act. The Parkway opened to traffic on January 25, 1957. In 1960, the Turnpike began a study for a proposed extension to Orlando. In 1961, Project II, from Ft.Pierce to Orlando was authorized. On June 5, 1962, a meeting was held to discuss a proposed toll road from Orlando to Cape Canaveral. That road later became SR 528, the Bee Line Expressway. The 61-mile section of the Parkway between Yeehaw Junction and south Orlando opened on July 17, 1963, but the section connecting Yeehaw Junction to Ft. Pierce did not open until November 22, 1963. The final section of the Parkway, and current northern limit of the Turnpike, opened at the connection with Interstate 75 in Sumter County on July 24, 1964. The Interstate 4 interchange opened on April 18, 1967.
The 47-mile Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (HEFT)and the eight-mile Bee Line Connector were approved as the third expansion project of the Turnpike in July 1969 when the Turnpike became part of the Florida Department of Transportation. Project III was funded through the sale of $115 million in 1970 Series Bonds. In early 1973, the HEFT opened to traffic between Golden Glades and US 27 (seven miles). The remaining sections of the Homestead extension opened to traffic in stages through May 1975. Meanwhile, on July 23, 1973, the Bee Line Connector opened to traffic between the Turnpike and McCoy Air Force Base Road, and on December 15, 1973 from the Turpike to Intersate 4. The Turnpike also carries the designation of in keeping with FDOT policy to identify all state roads with numbers. 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
Suburb s to the west and north of Miami. It connects to the Mainline four miles north of the Golden Glades Interchange.
photo showing the original south end, five years prior to the construction of the
Golden Glades Interchange . The crossroads are
SR 826 and
US 441 (
SR 7 ), both of which turn onto the road behind the photographer to cross the railroad and intersect
SR 9 (now I-95).]]
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 is by the , a division of the
Florida Department Of Transportation . Originally formed on July 11, 1953 as the Florida State Turnpike Authority, the Turnpike was reorganized and incorporated into the newly-formed Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in July 1969. The Turnpike’s functions became part of the FDOT pursuant to the reorganization of the State Government Act. At that time, individual FDOT Districts managed the Turnpike work program, operations and maintenance in their areas. In 1988, the Florida Legislature created the Office of Florida's Turnpike.
In 1990, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 1316, authorizing the expansion of Florida's Turnpike to include construction of non-contiguous road projects as an alternative to meet the State's backlog of needed highway facilities. The Legislature set environmental and financial feasibility standards, authorized toll increases on the existing system and allowed higher rate per mile tolls on the new projects through Chapter 339.2275(3) of the Florida Statutes. The Legislature approved expansion projects and new interchanges subject to verification of economic feasibility, determination that the projects are consistent, to the maximum extent feasible, with approved local government comprehensive plans were projects are located, and completition of a statement of the projects significant environmental impacts.
On April 11, 2002, Governor Bush signed House Bill 261, creating Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, and directing the Turnpike to pursue innovation and best private-sector business practices, to improve cost-effectiveness and timeliness in project delivery, to increase revenues and expand its capital program, and to improve quality of service to its customers. At that time, the Office of Toll Operations, formerly a separate division of the State of Florida, was folded into the Enterprise.
In addition to the Turnpike Mainline and HEFT, the Turnpike Enterprise also owns the
Polk Parkway (SR 570),
Suncoast Parkway (SR 589),
Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869), and portions of SR 528 (the Beachline Expressway West), the northern and southern ends of SR 417 (known as the Seminole Expressway and the Southern Connector Extension), as well as the southern-most end of SR 429 (the Western Beltway). The Turnpike Enterprise collects tolls on FDOT-owned facilites in West Central Florida (the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and Pinellas Bayway System), South Florida (Alligator Alley) and the Space Coast (Beachline East). All of these facilities are interoperable with the SunPass, O-Pass and E-Pass electronic toll collection systems. Local residents in Pinellas County may purchase a Bayway yearly pass, which is good only on the Bayway system.
Additionally, the Turnpike collects tolls on the Selmon Crosstown Expressway (SR 618), which is owned by the Tampa-Hillborough County Expressway Authority, the Garcon Point Bridge (SR 281), which is owned by the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority, and the Mid Bay Bridge (SR 293), owned by the Mid-Bay Bridge Authority. All of these facilities are also interoperable with the SunPass, O-Pass, E-Pass and LeeWay electronic toll collection systems.
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 , the
Miami-Dade Expressway Authority System and the LeeWay system in Southwest Florida.
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 ).
One way that hundreds of people, especially travellers using the
Interstate 75 to get to Florida get around the tolls which is extremely obvious is to leave the Turnpike at Fort Pierce and take the
Interstate 95 - parallel and in some cases back-to-back to the turnpike.
Motorists who attempt to escape paying tolls on any Florida toll road or bridge, however, should be aware that it is illegal under Florida statutes to do so. Florida Highway Patrol may issue tickets for running a toll booth. Additionally, violator's license plates are captured on camera, which may result in any or all of the following: a $100 fine, loss of driver's license, loss of vehicle registration.
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.
In 1998, the
Florida Legislature designated the turnpike the ,
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.
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 ).
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise also operates a number of other toll roads:
''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 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.''
