Florida’s Turnpike, as soon as a scenic motorway through lush orange groves, is now a test of endurance and endurance, with perspectives of piles of pilings and battalions of bulldozers.
Widening of busy dual carriageway from two to 4 lanes
Florida’s Turnpike Enterpris is widening the busy dual carriageway from two to 4 lanes in each course, from State Road 50 in Clermont to Hancock Road in Minneola (mileposts 273 to 279) in Lake and Orange counties.
Construction Cost
It is projected to fee $162.3 million. Construction is anticipated to maintain via 2026, in step with Turnpike Enterprise, an arm of Florida’s Department of Transportation.
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Plans call for replacing or building 4 bridges over the turnpike and constructing a roundabout on each aspects of County Road 455 at Old Highway 50.
The days of fishing round in your pocket for change are also history. Toll cubicles are being leveled so registration code readers can scan your tag and send you a bill.
Widening of Hancock Road in Minneola
Work is also underway to widen lanes from 4 to eight from Hancock Road in Minneola to north of O’Brien Road (mileposts 279 to 286) in Lake County.
Construction Cost
The project is estimated to cost around $233 million. Is expected to be completed by 2028 according to the company. Additionally there are plans, for improvements at the State Road 19 interchange with U.S. 27 in Lake County, which is projected to cost $2.6 million and should be finished this year.
Officials mentioned that work will mainly occur during off peak hours.
The changes are being made due to the transformation of the landscape from groves to areas after severe freezes destroyed citrus crops in the early 1980s.
The Turnpike Enterprise serves 20 counties with infrastructures spanning from north to south Florida.
From 1980 to 2022 Lake Countys population has increased from 105,000 to 404,000 at a growth rate of 3.3% surpassing Orange Countys growth rate.
According to the Turnpike Enterprise the average annual growth in counties within its service area has outpaced the states growth in the four censuses. This higher growth trend is expected to continue until 2035 as per the Traffic Engineers Annual Report for 2023.
The states population has surged from 9.7 million to 22.2 million, over time.
The number of Turnpike toll transactions has significantly increased from 55,463 in 1980 to over 1,138,036 by 2022.
Traffic, in the Lake County areas is expected to continue growing due to the construction of homes near The Villages at the Lake Sumter county line on County Road 470 exit developments at the Wildwood Interstate 75 intersection and anticipated growth along U.S. 27 from Leesburg, to Clermont and Minneola.
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