Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike
Encyclopedia
Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (HEFT), designated as the Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 Turnpike
, and originally known as the West Dade Expressway is a north–south free-flow toll road southern extension of the tolled
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...

 Florida's Turnpike
Florida's Turnpike
Florida's Turnpike , designated as the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, and originally known as the Sunshine State Parkway is a north–south toll road that runs through 11 counties in the Florida peninsula, from U.S...

. It runs around the north and west sides of the Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

 area, extending from the Turnpike mainline four miles north of the Golden Glades Interchange
Golden Glades Interchange
The Golden Glades Interchange, located in Miami Gardens and North Miami Beach, Florida, United States, is the confluence of five major roads serving eastern and southern Florida.-Description:The five highways the come together at the interchange are U.S...

, south to end at Florida City
Florida City, Florida
Florida City is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States and is the southernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 5,413,212 in 2007. The population was 7,843 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S....

 (near Homestead
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....

) that carries the hidden designation of State Road 821. It was opened in stages between 1973 and 1974, after the main line of the Turnpike was completed, and is used by both commuters and travelers to the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...

 and Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida that protects the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades. It is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and is visited on average by one million people each year. It is the third-largest...

. Due to its path, it acts as a de facto outer beltway for Miami.

Route description

The HEFT has used mile-based exit number
Exit number
An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit, as well as a sign in the gore....

s and an open toll collection system since its inception, and has in part been responsible for changes to those systems on the rest of the Turnpike mainline. Unlike the rest of the Turnpike, with tolls every 45 miles (72.4 km) on average, the extension has tolls every 12 miles (19.3 km), with a much higher traffic load. Unlike other Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise is a business unit of the Florida Department of Transportation , employing private sector business practices to operate its 460-mile system of limited-access toll highways for the benefit of Florida's traveling public...

 highways, it is treated as if it were part of Florida's Turnpike mainline by highway signs and exit numbers, despite its separate state road number.

The road begins at an interchange with US 1 in Florida City
Florida City, Florida
Florida City is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States and is the southernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 5,413,212 in 2007. The population was 7,843 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S....

 next to the Florida City Prime Outlets, where the road heads northeast as a four lane expressway. The first 16 miles of the tollway are built with mostly new residential developments, constructed after Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was the third Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States, after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Andrew was the first named storm and only major hurricane of the otherwise inactive 1992 Atlantic hurricane season...

, which destroyed most of the area in 1992, with some farms lining the rest of the stretch. The first interchange northbound is Campbell Drive / Southwest 312th Street in nearby Homestead
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....

, providing access to the Homestead Hospital and the Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a race track in Homestead, Florida southwest of Miami.Since 2002 Homestead has hosted the final races of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series...

. It then has an exit with SW 288th Street at mile 5, providing access to Homestead Air Reserve Base before leaving Homestead and entering parts of unincorporated Miami-Dade County. At mile 6, the expressway has a southbound exit and northbound entry for SW 137 Avenue, with the tollway heading east-northeast until the exit with SR 989 (Allapattah Road / Southwest 112th Avenue) at mile 9. The road then curves to a northern direction towards the Homestead Toll Gantry, the first of four on the route, at mile 10. It then enters Cutler Bay
Cutler Bay, Florida
Cutler Bay, historically called Cutler Ridge, is an incorporated town in Miami-Dade County, Florida from SW 184th Street east of US-1 to the coast, and north of Black Point Marina, at...

, where the highway is also known as the John F. Cosgrove Highway for the next five miles. The first exit in Cutler Bay is with SW 216 Street/Culter Ridge Blvd at mile 11, where the highway widens to six lanes, and at Caribbean Blvd at mile 12, crossing over US 1 at the Southland Mall
Southland Mall (Miami, Florida)
Southland Mall, originally known as Cutler Ridge Mall, is a shopping mall in Cutler Bay , Florida. It opened in 1978 as an extension of the Cutler Ridge Shopping Center, which itself was opened in 1960...

 before leaving Cutler Bay. Continuing north, exit 13 is SR 994, (Quail Roost Drive) and SR 992 (Coral Reef Drive (Southwest 152nd Street) is exit 16, the northern terminus of the John F. Cosgrove Highway. The tollway begins to enter more maturely developed areas, which are mostly residential for the next ten miles. Exit 17 leads to SR 874 (Don Shula Expressway), connecting to SR 826 (Palmetto Expressway), followed quickly by an interchange with SW 120th Street at mile 19. Just north of the SW 120th Street exit, still at mile 19, lies the Snapper Creek Service plaza; located on the center median with access from both directions and is the only plaza on the extension, unlike the ones on the mainline, only offers a convenience store inside the gas station. The next exit is with SR 94 (Kendall Drive), followed by the Bird Road Toll Gantry at mile 23, which is split in two for each direction, where the tollway has a beeline path north for the next ten miles. The next exit is with SR 976 (SW 40th Street), and then the tollway forms the western end of the Florida International University
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...

 campus before meeting with the Tamiami Trail
Tamiami Trail
The Tamiami Trail is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 from State Road 60 in Tampa to U.S. Route 1 in Miami. The road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90....

 at exit 25. Between the Tamiami Trail and the next exit, which is SR 836 (Dolphin Expressway) at exit 26A in Doral
Doral, Florida
Doral is a city located in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. A suburb of Miami, it lies north-west of Miami International Airport. It takes its name from the famous golf and spa resort located within its municipal boundaries. The Doral Golf Resort & Spa was originally built...

, providing access to Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...

 eastbound, the expressway has the highest traffic count at 178,000 vehicles per day.

North of this interchange, it enters a stretch where it forms the border between developed Miami-Dade County to the west, and residential developments to the east for the rest of its journey in Miami-Dade county, with exits at NW 12th Street at mile 26, NW 41st Street at mile 29, and at NW 74th Street at mile 31. A half mile north of NW 74th Street lies the Okeechobee Toll gantry, with the HEFT then intersecting NW 106th Street/Flagler Station Boulevard at mile 34. The tollway starts to curve in a northeastern direction, followed by US 27 at exit 35, which afterwards, the tollway fully enters an undeveloped portion of Miami-Dade County until the next exit at I-75
Interstate 75 in Florida
Interstate 75 is a part of the Interstate Highway System and runs from Hialeah, Florida, a few miles northwest of Miami to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan...

 northbound at exit 39, which is a northbound only exit, with the southbound direction receiving some traffic from I-75 south. North of the I-75 interchange, the tollway becomes a four lane highway again, and crosses the Broward County
Broward County, Florida
-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...

 line, entering the suburban community of Miramar
Miramar, Florida
Miramar is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city was named after the Miramar district of Havana, Cuba. As of the 2010 census, the population was 122,041...

, and then curves east towards the Turnpike mainline. At mile 43, it has an interchange with SR 823 (Red Road), where for the remainder of the road, the tollway is just one block north of the Miami-Dade County line, with residential and commercial developments lining both sides of the expressway. It is followed by SR 817 (University Drive) at mile 46, with access to Sun Life Stadium and the Calder Race Course
Calder Race Course
Calder Casino & Race Course is a casino and horse racetrack in Miami Gardens, Florida in the United States.-History:In the mid-1960s, real estate developer Stephen A. Calder envisioned summertime racing in Florida; in 1965, on the advice of Mr. Calder, the Florida Legislature approved a bill...

. The Miramar Toll gantry follows before the expressway ends four miles north of the Golden Glades Interchange
Golden Glades Interchange
The Golden Glades Interchange, located in Miami Gardens and North Miami Beach, Florida, United States, is the confluence of five major roads serving eastern and southern Florida.-Description:The five highways the come together at the interchange are U.S...

.

History

After the Turnpike mainline was completed in 1964, the Turnpike Authority (precursor to Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise is a business unit of the Florida Department of Transportation , employing private sector business practices to operate its 460-mile system of limited-access toll highways for the benefit of Florida's traveling public...

), explored several extensions to the Turnpike system, including a expressway in western Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...

 from Florida City to the Turnpike mainline at the Dade
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...

/Broward
Broward County, Florida
-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...

 county line. Construction on the tollway began in July 1971. The northernmost 13 miles of the tollway between US Route 27 and the Turnpike mainline was open to traffic on May 1, 1973, at a cost of $22 million and a $0.40 toll to motorists. During the first half of 1974, the expressway between Campbell Drive (SW 312th Street) and US 27 was opened in five stages, with the road running uninterrupted from the Turnpike in Miramar to Homestead on May 20, 1974, with the last section to Florida City connecting to US 1 completed later in 1974. The total toll of the expressway was $0.80.

On April 27th, 1986, the Okeechobee toll plaza opened at a $.25 toll, with the toll plaza at the US 27 exit being removed, and tolls at the Miramar plaza being lowered from $.40 to $.25. On February 2nd, 1989, tolls on the Expressway doubled from $1.00 to $2.00, with $.50 being charged at each toll plaza. Toll hikes, raising the cost of traveling the expressway from $2 to $3 were supposed to take effect on the Homestead Extension in 1993 to match the rest of the Turnpike, but Hurricane Andrew's impact in the area in 1992 had the state delay toll hikes on the highway until July 9, 1995. In 1997, the Bird Road toll plaza was reconfigured to its current two part form to accommodate the then bottleneck section of the expressway. The latest toll hike took effect on March 7, 2004, increasing the toll rate for non SunPass users to $4 for a full length trip, with SunPass users still using the 1995 toll rates.

The portion of the HEFT between Exits 11 (Cutler Ridge Boulevard) and 16 (State Road 992) was designated the "John F. Cosgrove
John F. Cosgrove
John F. Cosgrove was a former Florida legislator.Cosgrove previously served as a Representative in the House of Representatives of the U.S. state of Florida. In January 2006, he was elected the first mayor of the newly incorporated town of Cutler Bay, Florida...

 Highway" in 2008 by the Florida Legislature, following his death in 2006. A lawyer and former legislator, Cosgrove was also the first mayor of Cutler Bay
Cutler Bay, Florida
Cutler Bay, historically called Cutler Ridge, is an incorporated town in Miami-Dade County, Florida from SW 184th Street east of US-1 to the coast, and north of Black Point Marina, at...

, a city along the HEFT. He was instrumental in passing legislation to keep insurers from leaving the state following Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was the third Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States, after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Andrew was the first named storm and only major hurricane of the otherwise inactive 1992 Atlantic hurricane season...

.

On February 19, 2011, the HEFT ceased cash toll collections, becoming an exclusive electronic toll road
Electronic toll collection
Electronic toll collection , an adaptation of military "identification friend or foe" technology, aims to eliminate the delay on toll roads by collecting tolls electronically. It is thus a technological implementation of a road pricing concept...

, similar to Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

's 407 ETR toll road, a move that was announced in November 2009. The manned toll plazas were removed, and the only ways to pay are either by SunPass
SunPass
SunPass is an electronic toll collection system in use by the State of Florida and was originally created by the Florida Department of Transportation's Florida's Turnpike...

 transponders or billing by the toll-by-plate program.

Exit list

{| class=wikitable
!County
!Location
!Mile
!#
Exit number
An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit, as well as a sign in the gore....


!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=26|Miami-Dade
|rowspan=2|Florida City
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|0.000
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|0
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|Southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|0.505
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|1
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|Southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|Homestead
|3.095
|2
|Campbell Drive, Southwest 312th Street – Homestead
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....


|To Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a race track in Homestead, Florida southwest of Miami.Since 2002 Homestead has hosted the final races of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series...


|-
|Leisure City
Leisure City, Florida
Leisure City is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 22,152 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Leisure City is located at ....


|5.238
|5
|Southwest 288th Street, Biscayne Drive
|
|-
|Naranja
Naranja, Florida
Naranja is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Many orange groves were once located in this area, so the community name came from the Spanish word for orange, "naranja". Naranja was also a stop for the Florida East Coast Railroad that once ran through this area...


|bgcolor=#ffdddd|6.078
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|6
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|Southwest 137th Avenue, Speedway Boulevard
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|Southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|Princeton
Princeton, Florida
Princeton is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,090 at the 2000 census.- History :...


|9.162
|9
|
|Signed as exits 9A (south) and 9B (north) southbound
|-
|
|10.562
|colspan=4 align=center|Homestead toll gantry ($0.75 with SunPass
SunPass
SunPass is an electronic toll collection system in use by the State of Florida and was originally created by the Florida Department of Transportation's Florida's Turnpike...

, $1.00 with toll-by-plate)
|-
|Goulds
Goulds, Florida
Goulds is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The area was originally populated as the result of a stop on the Florida East Coast Railroad. The railroad depot was located near the current Southwest 216th Street. The community was named after its operator, Lyman...


|11.737
|11
|Southwest 216th Street, Cutler Ridge Boulevard
|
|-
|Cutler Bay
Cutler Bay, Florida
Cutler Bay, historically called Cutler Ridge, is an incorporated town in Miami-Dade County, Florida from SW 184th Street east of US-1 to the coast, and north of Black Point Marina, at...


|12.467
|12
|Caribbean Boulevard, Cutler Ridge Boulevard
|
|-
|South Miami Heights
South Miami Heights, Florida
South Miami Heights is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 33,522 at the 2000 census.-Geography:South Miami Heights is located at ....


|14.083
|13
|
|
|-
|Palmetto Estates
Palmetto Estates, Florida
Palmetto Estates is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 13,675 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Palmetto Estates is located at ....


|16.320
|16
|
|
|-
|rowspan=4|Kendall
Kendall, Florida
Kendall is a suburban neighborhood of metropolitan Miami, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the area had a total population of 75,226....


|bgcolor=#ffdddd|17.869
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|17
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|Northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
|18.383
|19
|Southwest 120th Street
|
|-
|18.696
|colspan=4 align=center|Snapper Creek service plaza
|-
|20.396
|20
|
|
|-
|
|22.996
|colspan=4 align=center|Bird Road toll gantry ($0.75 with SunPass
SunPass
SunPass is an electronic toll collection system in use by the State of Florida and was originally created by the Florida Department of Transportation's Florida's Turnpike...

, $1.00 with toll-by-plate)
|-
|Kendale
Kendale Lakes, Florida
Kendale Lakes is a census-designated place Miami suburb in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 56,901 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Kendale Lakes is located at ....


|23.633
|23
|
|
|-
|Tamiami
Tamiami, Florida
Tamiami is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 55,271 at the 2010 census. Tamiami is a portmanteau of the words "Tampa" and "Miami". The Tamiami Trail, a roadway that connects the two cities, was the reason for this unique combination...


|25.624
|25
|
|
|-
|rowspan=3|Doral
Doral, Florida
Doral is a city located in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. A suburb of Miami, it lies north-west of Miami International Airport. It takes its name from the famous golf and spa resort located within its municipal boundaries. The Doral Golf Resort & Spa was originally built...


|26.685
|26A
| – Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...


|
|-
|27.108
|26B
|Northwest 12th Street
|
|-
|29.109
|29
|Northwest 41st Street
|
|-
|
|31.119
|31
|Northwest 74th Street
|Interchange opened on April 28, 2010, to
|-
|
|31.619
|colspan=4 align=center|Okeechobee toll gantry ($0.75 with SunPass
SunPass
SunPass is an electronic toll collection system in use by the State of Florida and was originally created by the Florida Department of Transportation's Florida's Turnpike...

, $1.00 with toll-by-plate)
|-
|
|33.119
|34
|Northwest 106th Street, Flagler Station Boulevard
|
|-
|
|35.257
|35
|
|
|-
|
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|39.287
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|39
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|Northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
|rowspan=5|Broward
Broward County, Florida
-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...


|rowspan=5|Miramar
Miramar, Florida
Miramar is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city was named after the Miramar district of Havana, Cuba. As of the 2010 census, the population was 122,041...


|43.361
|43
|
|
|-
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|46.371
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|46
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|Southbound entrance only; Drivers who wish to enter northbound are directed along County Line Road (SR 852) at the intersection
|-
|46.787
|colspan=4 align=center|Miramar toll gantry ($0.75 with SunPass
SunPass
SunPass is an electronic toll collection system in use by the State of Florida and was originally created by the Florida Department of Transportation's Florida's Turnpike...

, $1.00 with toll-by-plate)
|-
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|47.458
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|47
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|, Stadium
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|Northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|47.856
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|
|bgcolor=#ffdddd|Continuation beyond southern spur to I-95

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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