Florida's Turnpike
Basic data | |
---|---|
Overall length: | 430 km |
Opening: | 1957 first section |
State: |
Florida |
Starting point: | I-95 , US 441 , FL 9 near Miami |
End point: | I-75 at Wildwood |
Counties: |
Miami-Dade , Broward , Palm Beach , Martin , St. Lucie , Indian River , Okeechobee , Osceola , Orange , Lake , Sumter |
The Florida's Turnpike (also Ronald Reagan Turnpike ; originally Sunshine State Parkway ) is an approximately 430 km ( Turnpike Mainline without Homestead Extension ) long toll highway in the US state of Florida . It runs in a north-south direction through eleven counties , essentially parallel to Interstate 95 , with the two highways sharing a common route for around 30 km. The mainline connects with the metropolitan areas of Miami and Orlando , two of the three largest population centers in Florida.
The turnpike begins at the Golden Glades Interchange ( ) in Miami-Dade County on Interstate 95 , US Highway 441 and Florida State Road 9 . It runs through Kissimmee and Orlando and ends on Interstate 75 near Wildwood in Sumter County ( ). The highway has the national number Florida State Road 91 . The first section was opened in 1957; further sections followed 1960–1964.
The operator is Florida's Turnpike Enterprises , which also operate other private highways in Florida. Most of them act (like the extension) as feeders to the Turnpike Mainline .
Homestead Extension
→ Main article: Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike
1971–1974 a 77 km long extension, the Homestead Extension , was built, which extended the turnpike south to Florida City (connection to US Highway 1 ; ). At the junction, the mainline picks up the kilometrage of the extension, so that there mile 47 follows mile 4. In contrast to the mainline, however, the Homestead Extension is dedicated to Florida State Road 821 and the toll is paid electronically here.