, known as the
Ronald Reagan Turnpike since 1998, 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 . 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).]]
Toll s on the
Turnpike are set at 7.5 cents per mile US for two-
Axle Vehicle s. 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 cash 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 ). The
SunPass Electronic Toll Collection system can be used throughout the Turnpike, and other electronic toll collection systems in Florida, such as
E-Pass , O-Pass and LeeWay, can also be used.
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 , 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 "Florida's Turnpike District". Despite the different name, which was given in 2004, Florida's Turnpike Enterprise still carries full powers as a separate district of FDOT.
In addition to the Turnpike mainline, the Turnpike Enterprise owns
Polk Parkway (SR 570),
Suncoast Parkway /Veterans Expressway (SR 589),
Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869), the northern end of State Road 417 (known as the Seminole Expressway), the southern six miles of State Road 417 (known as the Southern Connector Extension), the southern 11-miles of State Road 429 (the Daniel Webster Western Beltway) and the western eight miles of State Road 528 (the Beachline West Expressway).
The Turnpike collects tolls on the portion of I-75 known as Alligator Alley, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, the Pinellas Bayway System, 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 Leroy Selmon Crosstown Expressway in West Central Florida.
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 of toll bridges in Lee County, which includes the Sanibel Causeway Bridge, and the Cape Coral and Midpoint Bridges.
Exit s 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 Box es are located on both outside
Shoulder s 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
Firefighter s).
Eight
Service Plaza s are located along the Turnpike mainline, spaced about 45 miles apart. A convenience store/gas station is located at the plaza on the Homestead Extension of the Turnpike, while the remaining seven are full-service plazas. All eight plazas have a 24-hour
Citgo gasoline station, operated by Martin Petroleum, a Florida company. The full-service plazas are also open 24 hours per day, all having a Starbucks and such 24-hour restaurants as
Burger King or other
Fast Food restaurants operated by HMSHost. Other services include fuel, minor mechanical repairs,
Internet Access ,
Travel and
Tourism Info and
Ticket s,
Picnic areas,
TV News , gift shops offering
Florida Lottery , family-friendly
Restroom s, and
Public Phones .
SunPass Transponder s are available at all locations in the gift shop. There is also an assortment of vending machines for candy, soft drinks and ice cream.
Florida state legislators have announced their intention to do business with a different gasoline vendor following comments made to the
2007 .
Plazas are at the following locations along the turnpike:
- Snapper Creek plaza - Miami-Dade County - Milepost 19
- Pompano Beach plaza - Broward County - Milepost 64
- Lake Worth plaza - Palm Beach County - Milepost 94
- Port St Lucie/Ft Pierce plaza - St. Lucie County -Milepost 144
- Fort Drum plaza - Okeechobee County - Milepost 184
- Canoe Creek plaza - Osceola County - Milepost 229
- Turkey Lake plaza - Orange County - Milepost 263
- Okahumpka plaza - Sumter County - Milepost 299
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 opened at mile marker 240 in December 2006 and may have changed this distinction.
Travel between Exits 304 and 309 is considered to be a "free movement" as there is no toll for anyone traveling only within this section.
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.
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise is currently implementing an Intelligent Transportation System which consists of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, Dynamic Message Signs (DMS), Highway Advisory Radios (HAR), & Radar Vehicle Detection Systems (RVDS). All of the systems mentioned as Intelligent Transportation Systems, or ITS, are managed by two Traffic Management Centers (TMC), one located in Pompano Beach, Florida, and the other located in Ocoee, Florida, just north of Orlando. The Traffic Management Centers monitor the roadways operated by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
ITS devices (CCTV, DMS, HAR, & RVDS) are used to detect and manage incidents on the Enterprise's roadways. CCTV cameras allow the TMC to see anything from congestion to crashes, to disabled vehicles that may pose a threat to the Turnpike's motorists. When an incident occurs that may affect Turnpike motorists, the TMC will activate the Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) and Highway Advisory Radios (HAR) to alert motorists of the potential situation. The DMS signs are also activated for
AMBER Alert s''.
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise and
State Farm have partnered to provide free roadside service through the State Farm Safety Patrol, also known as Road Rangers. The Safety Patrol operates 15 zones on Florida's Turnpike from the Homestead Extension in South Florida, up the Turnpike Mainline to I-75 in Wildwood. Utility trucks, and in some cases light wreckers, patrol designated zones looking for stranded motorists to provide services services as fuel, tire changes, use of a cellular phone, and others, and also looking for hazards such as road debris and crashes. The State Farm Safety Patrol is dipatched by the Traffic Management Center to accidents, debris removal, disabled vehicles, or anything that may potentially affect the traveling public. They are also equipped to assist the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) with incidents involving blockage of lanes, as they carry cones and are trained for Maintenance of Traffic (MOT).
Currently the Mainline of Florida's Turnpike is six lanes wide from Golden Glades to milepost 80, and four lanes for the remainder of its length. Current construction projects will extend the six-lane section northward to the Lantana Toll Plaza, making the entire Southern coin system at least six lanes wide. Work has also begun to widen the section from Exit 53 to Exit 66 to eight lanes.
Construction has also begun to widen the Turnpike to six lanes from
US 441 to
Interstate 4 in Orlando. A $128.6 million project to add two lanes in each direction between Interstate 4 and Beulah Road begins in June 2007. Improvements will be made at the Interstate 4, State Road 408 and State Road 429 interchanges. Auxiliary lanes will also be added between State Road 408 and State Road 429.
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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. The project is not scheduled for construction funding until 2015.
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise also operates a number of other toll roads:
''Today, all exits on Florida's Turnpike are mileage-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. For exits 1 through 47, see
Homestead Extension Of Florida's Turnpike .''
''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. If using
SunPass , there is usually a $.25 discount for tolls. Exceptions, such as SunPass-only exit ramps, will be noted.''
