Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority
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The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA) is an expressway authority responsible for construction, maintenance and operation of toll roads in Orange County, Florida, United States, which includes the city of Orlando. It was founded in 1963 for the purpose of building the Bee Line Expressway, and soon built the East-West Expressway. It now manages a network of roads including large portions of a beltway around Orlando. The OOCEA operates an electronic toll collection system known as E-PASS, one of the first and most widely-used systems of its kind in the United States.
Imminent construction projects include an extension of State Road 429 known as the Wekiva Parkway and an extension of Maitland Boulevard (State Road 414) known as the John Land Apopka Expressway. After many false starts, the OOCEA and Florida Department of Transportation have agreed to build an interchange at SR 417 and the Florida Turnpike.
The current 25-year plan, the "2030 Master Plan", includes two new toll connections to Brevard County (including an extension of SR 408), a new connection from Sanford to New Smyrna Beach parallel to State Road 415, a southern bypass of SR 417 to Florida's Turnpike south of St. Cloud, and a connection from the Western Beltway to U.S. Highway 27 south of Clermont. [1]
The following roads were built by the OOCEA:
- Bee Line Expressway (SR 528) from State Road 15 to State Road 520, 1966-1967
- East-West Expressway (SR 408) from State Road 50 west of State Road 435 to State Road 50 east of State Road 551, 1972-1973
- Bee Line Expressway (SR 528) from State Road 482 to State Road 15, 1981-1983
- Eastern Beltway (SR 417) from State Road 50 to Seminole County, 1987-1988
- East-West Expressway (SR 408) from State Road 551 to State Road 50 east of State Road 434, 1987-1989
- Eastern Beltway (SR 417) from State Road 528 to State Road 408, 1989-1990
- East-West Expressway (SR 408) from Florida's Turnpike to State Road 435, 1989-1990
- Southern Connector (SR 417) from International Drive to State Road 528, 1991-1993
- Western Beltway (SR 429) from Florida's Turnpike to U.S. Highway 441, 1998-2001
- Goldenrod Road Extension, 2001-2003
- Western Beltway (SR 429) from County Road 535 to Florida's Turnpike, 2001-2002
- Western Beltway (SR 429) from Seidel Road to County Road 535, 2004-2005
Many sections of the current expressway system, such as the connection of SR 528 from Sand Lake Road to I-4, the sections of SR 417 in Seminole and Osceola counties, and SR 429 south of Seidel Road, were built by the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, and their toll facilities are managed by the same.
The Central Connector (proposed SR 529) was planned in the late 1980s until 1991, but was not built.
[edit] External links
Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority
FL 408 · FL 414 · FL 417 · FL 429 · FL 451 · FL 528 · Goldenrod Road Extension · FL 529† · Xpress 400†
† = planned, never built
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
Florida's Turnpike · FL 417 · FL 429 · FL 528
Other agencies
Interstate 4 · Osceola Parkway · FL 407