Florida State Road 528
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| State Road 528 |
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| Length: | 54.00[1] mi (86.90 km) | ||||||||
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| West end: |  I-4 near Lake Buena Vista |
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| Major junctions: |
 Turnpike near Taft SR 417 near Lake Nona I-95 near Cocoa |
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| East end: |   SR A1A/SR 401 near Port Canaveral |
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State Road 528 (SR 528), the Martin Andersen Beachline Expressway (formerly known as the Martin Andersen Bee Line Expressway or simply The Bee Line), is a state highway in the U.S. state of Florida. It is a mostly-tolled freeway connecting Interstate 4 in southwest Orlando with the Cape Canaveral. It passes close to the tourist areas of Orlando, including Walt Disney World, SeaWorld and Universal Orlando, and serves the north entrance to Orlando International Airport. Near its east end, it passes over the Intracoastal Waterway on the Emory L. Bennett Causeway, and ends at State Road A1A and State Road 401 near Port Canaveral. Martin Andersen, a retired publisher, used his influence to get the original stretch of road (from State Road 520 to Orlando International Airport) built in the 1960's.[2]
The road is owned and maintained by three agencies - the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA) and Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE). The eight miles (13 km) from I-4 to State Road 482 near the airport is known as the Beachline West Expressway and is FTE-owned; OOCEA maintenance begins west of the airport and ends near State Road 520 in east Orange County. The road continues, owned by FDOT, across the St. Johns River into Brevard County (which includes the State Road 407 spur) and over the Emory L. Bennett Causeway to its east end. Tolls on the east-pointing ramps at SR 520 are collected by FDOT, and 25 cents of the $1.25 OOCEA barrier toll east of the airport also goes to FDOT.[3] There are no toll roads in Brevard County so technically the 25 cents is only for use of the FDOT road section in Orange County. Nonetheless, most road maps show the Brevard County section from the Orange County line to Interstate 95 to be a toll road because it's not possible to travel over it without incurring a toll elsewhere. The TOLL 528 shield is also used on this stretch of road as well as on exit signs along I-95.
In May 2007, Florida's Turnpike Enterprise began Phase I of a project to widen the Beachline West. It encompasses the reconstruction of the mainline toll plaza located near Milepost 5. When complete, the new mainline toll plaza will feature three electronic (E-pass/SunPass) at-speed express lanes in each direction in the middle of the roadway, and four staffed lanes in each direction to accommodate cash customers. Ultimate roadway improvements will include four travel lanes in each direction, but due to construction costs, the improvements will be stage-constructed, with the interim improvements including three lanes in each direction. Phase II widening, between the Turnpike and Sand Lake Road, is scheduled to begin in February 2008, and will take approximately two years to complete. The final phase, between Interstate 4 and the Turnpike, has been pushed out due to rising construction costs and expected traffic projections. That project is not included in the Turnpike's current five-year work program.
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[edit] History
[edit] SR 528 before the Bee Line
Prior to the construction of the Bee Line, State Road 528 was a surface road connecting Interstate 4 with the McCoy Jetport and State Road 15 (Narcoossee Road). It ran along Sand Lake Road (now State Road 482) from I-4 east to Orange Blossom Trail (U.S. Highway 17/92/441 - SR 500/600), where it turned south to reach Landstreet Road. Landstreet Road took SR 528 to Orange Avenue (State Road 527) at Taft, where SR 528 turned back north to McCoy Road. McCoy Road led east past the north entrance to the Jetport to SR 15; part of this is now SR 482, while part of McCoy Road from about one mile east of SR 527 now serves as a frontage road to the Beachline.
An interchange at SR 528 and Kirkman Road (State Road 435) was built ca. 1958 to serve the new Martin Company complex (now Lockheed Martin) just to the south of that junction.[4] At that time, the area was basically empty; Walt Disney World had not been announced yet, the International Drive tourist strip had not been begun, and the land was a part of the extensive Martin-owned Orlando Central Park.
[edit] Bennett Causeway
The Emory L. Bennett Causeway and approaches, running from State Road 520 west of Cocoa northeast and east across U.S. Highway 1, the Indian River Lagoon, Merritt Island and the Banana River, was dedicated October 11, 1963 as a two-lane toll bridge and road.[5] It was assigned the SR 528 number over its whole length. At the same time, the present State Road 401 north of SR 528 was also built.[4]
[edit] SR 15 to SR 520
Martin Andersen, owner of the Orlando Sentinel, helped form the Central Florida Development Commission to ensure that Orlando would prosper. One of its goals was an "adequate road system". With the completion of Florida's Turnpike and Interstate 4 in 1963 and 1965, Orlando had freeway connections to the northwest, southwest, southeast and northeast, but lacked such a connection to the Kennedy Space Center to the east. A bill creating the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA) was signed into law in 1963. The OOCEA had the power to do what the State Road Department (SRD) could not - raise money for new roads using tolls. Its immediate goal was to build a road to the Kennedy Space Center, but the law was written with the intent of a larger expressway network.[6]
The OOCEA wanted to build a freeway all the way from I-4 to Cape Canaveral, but ran into several problems. It had issues with raising money for the road, with traffic projections falling short of necessary to pay for the large bond issue required. It also did not have the authority to build in Brevard County, and many Brevard residents opposed the roads, as it would draw business from the Cape Canaveral area to Orlando.[6]
The plan chosen was greatly shrunken from the original plans. The freeway would only run from State Road 15 (Narcoosee Road) east of the McCoy Jetport east to State Road 520 in east Orange County. This was known as the Bithlo Cutoff, as it allowed traffic from southern Orlando to reach SR 520 without going north and east to Bithlo. West of SR 15, the existing SR 528 was to carry traffic to I-4. A new alignment would be built between Orange Blossom Trail and Orange Avenue, directly connecting Sand Lake Road to McCoy Road, and McCoy Road east from Daetwyler Drive (the Jetport entrance) to SR 15 would be widened as a divided surface road. Additionally, to handle traffic from downtown Orlando, SR 15 (Hoffner Avenue) between Conway Road and Goldenrod Road would be rebuilt. Concurrently, the SRD was extending Lake Barton Road (now State Road 436 - Semoran Boulevard) south to the Jetport, where it would meet the Bee Line. (This opened in 1969.)[6]
In November 1964, the OOCEA and SRD signed an agreement where the OOCEA would build the road, and then turn it over to the SRD, which would operate and maintain it, giving toll revenue to the OOCEA. Walt Disney announced plans for his new park on November 11, 1965, increasing the importance of the road. Construction began in early 1966, with groundbreaking at the location of the present Dallas Boulevard interchange (exit 24). The projects cost $6.8 million. The 17.4-mile (28.0 km) road was dedicated on July 14, 1967 at the 35-cent toll plaza, just east of SR 15 (), and the remaining section (Orange Blossom Trail to Orange Avenue) opened 9 days later. The OOCEA board had voted to name it after Martin Andersen in December 1966, and in 1967 the Florida Legislature passed this designation into law.[6]
[edit] I-4 to McCoy Jetport and SR 520 to the Bennett Causeway
In early 1967, the Florida State Turnpike Authority (FTA) announced plans for an expansion of the Turnpike system, including taking over the existing Bee Line and Bennett Causeway and forming a continuous route from the Turnpike to the Atlantic Ocean, with a spur (now State Road 407) to the Orsino Causeway. Enabling legislation was signed into law in July 1967. However, inflation caused problems with that plan. In December 1968, bonds were sold for a joint project - FTA would build from McCoy Jetport west to the Turnpike (at the existing Orlando-South interchange with Orange Blossom Trail), and Orange and Brevard Counties would fund the extension from SR 520 east to the Bennett and Orsino Causeways, in addition to a four-laning on the Bennett Causeway.[6]
An interchange at State Road 15 replaced an at-grade crossing ca. 1971.[4]
The FTA planned to build from the Turnpike east past the Jetport to SR 15, upgrading the existing SR 528 (McCoy Road) with frontage roads from west of the Jetport to SR 15. An interchange would be provided with the new State Road 436, planned to open in 1969. However, Governor Claude Kirk insisted that the new road continue west past the Turnpike to Interstate 4, and so the FTA did not have enough money to upgrade the road past the Jetport. (The FTA merged into the new Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in 1969.) The piece from west of the Jetport to the Turnpike opened in late July 1973, and the rest of the road to I-4 opened in December. The road had one 15-cent toll booth (), lying between the Turnpike and Jetport. The rest of the road to I-4 was free; initially there were no interchanges except at International Drive, just east of I-4, but overpasses were built at roughly one-mile intervals which would eventually provide exits for Orangewood Blvd. and John Young Parkway.[6]
At the same time, construction had begun on the eastern section, originally known as the Central Florida Expressway,[3] by December 1971. The road ran east from SR 520 past a 20-cent toll booth () to the St. Johns River, where it crossed into Brevard County. Shortly after crossing, it split, with a two-lane spur (State Road 407) heading northeast, interchanging with Interstate 95, and ending at State Road 405 west of the Orsino Causeway for access to the central part of the Kennedy Space Center. The main line headed southeast from the split and then east across I-95 to join the Bennett Causeway approach just west of U.S. Highway 1. The Causeway was widened, with a new eastbound side added, ca. 1970-71[4], and the extension of the Bee Line to connect with the two causeways opened February 16, 1974.[6] The former Bennett Causeway approach west of the new road became State Road 524.
[edit] At the Orlando International Airport
While the sections west and east of the Jetport were freeways, the piece along McCoy Road, from west of the Jetport to SR 15, was a four-lane divided surface road. It had two major intersections - Daetwyler Drive (the Jetport entrance) and Semoran Boulevard (State Road 436), and a number of minor access points. Adding to the need for an upgrade was the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority's plans for expanding the Jetport (which became Orlando International Airport once the expansion was complete in September 1981).[6]
To help pay for the upgrade, the OOCEA raised tolls at the Bee Line toll plaza (east of SR 15) from 35 cents to 50 cents effective May 1, 1980. Bonds were sold in January 1981, and the finished SR 436/Airport interchange was dedicated on January 21, 1983. The 25-cent toll plaza () just west of the Airport interchange opened July 2, 1983.[6]
[edit] Later changes
The spaces left for interchanges on the piece west of the Turnpike have since been used by junctions with Orangewood Boulevard and Universal Boulevard, John Young Parkway, and Consulate Drive (for access between the west and Orange Blossom Trail and the Turnpike). East of SR 15, similar connections have been built with International Corporate Park Boulevard and Dallas Boulevard.
The interchange with State Road 417 (the Eastern Beltway) opened June 26, 1990, resulting in the toll booth east of SR 15 being moved several miles east.[6]
SR 528 east of State Road 436 was designated the Kennedy Space Center Highway in 1998 by the Florida Legislature.[7] The name of the entire road, except between U.S. Highway 1 and State Road 3 (where it is the Emory L. Bennett Causeway), was officially designated as the Martin Andersen Beachline Expressway by the 2005 Florida Legislature.[8] This was done after lobbying by Brevard County, which wanted the shortest route to the Atlantic Ocean from the Orlando area designated as such. An organization representing the Space Coast has put up billboards calling it "Orlando's closest beach".
With the startup of the Disney Cruise Line from Port Canaveral in 1998, Disney started running buses along the Bee Line for tourists going between Walt Disney World and the port.
The 20-cent FDOT toll booth east of SR 520 was rounded up to 25 cents in July 1996 to improve efficiency. After an agreement signed May 8, 1998 by the OOCEA and FDOT, it was removed May 11, and replaced with an additional 25 cents at the $1 (originally 35-cent) OOCEA toll east of SR 417. The extra 25 cents goes to FDOT, as traffic that exits at State Road 520 now has to pay an extra quarter--the 25-cent ramp tolls pointing eastward at the SR 520 interchange were added August 19, 1999.[3] [9]
The last at-grade interchange on the original Bee Line alignment, a connection on the westbound side to a derelict portion of the McCoy Road frontage, was finally eliminated in 2002 as part of the Goldenrod Road extension project. The break in the frontage allowing eastbound traffic to cross over to McCoy Road at that point had been closed about a decade before during a resurfacing project. At that point, the Bee Line became completely limited-access from Interstate 4 to State Road 401.
In 2003, a new interchange was completed at George J. King Blvd at Port Canaveral, extending the freeway beyond SR 401. While SR 528 officially ends at SR 401,[1] signage continues it along State Road A1A to the new interchange at the city limits of Cape Canaveral.
During 2006 construction began on a redesigned interchange with Florida State Road 436 at the entrance to Orlando International Airport. It was completed in early 2008. A new flyover ramp was built from the Beachline westbound into the airport, eliminating the weaving of cars entering and leaving the airport from/to the Beachline. The mainline toll plazas east and west of the airport remain subject to traffic congestion because of the high percentage of tourists at those plazas who must pay with cash since they don't have access to Sunpass, E-Pass or other acceptable electronic toll collection transponders.
The section of the Beachline Expressway from Exit 0 (Interstate 4) to Exit 4 (Florida's Turnpike / Orange Blossom Trail) remains a "free movement". While designated to be a toll road and shown on maps and signs as such, this section actually has no tolls and traveling the entire distance or within it is free. Additional free movements exist between Exits 11-13 and Exits 8-9.
[edit] Future Construction
Currently, the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise is widening the Beachline from Boggy Creek Road westbound to the US 441/Turnpike interchange.[10] The overpass over the Turnpike and Consulate Road has already been widened as part of an ongoing Turnpike widening project. A separate project to expand the Beachline West Toll Plaza is also ongoing.
Plans to widen the Beachline from the US 441/Turnpike interchange to I-4 have been delayed to at least FY 2013.
For the Expressway Authority section, the current five-year work plan calls for the demolition of the Airport Toll Plaza, shifting some of the mainline toll to the Beachline West Toll Plaza and building new ramp toll plazas at McCoy Road and Tradeport Drive, as part of a widening project to be completed in 2010. Also, a new Beachline East toll plaza would be constructed between Dallas Blvd. and SR 520, to be completed in 2009. It would end free movement for a large section of the Beachline.[11]
[edit] Exit list
| Mile | County | # | Destinations | Cash tolls (automobile) | Notes |
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| 0.00 | Orange |  Interstate 4 - Downtown Orlando; Tampa (State Road 400) |
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| 1 | International Drive | ||||
| 2 | Orangewood Boulevard; Universal Boulevard | ||||
| 3 |  County Road 423 - John Young Parkway |
split into 3A and 3B eastbound | |||
| 4 |       U.S. Highway 17/92/441; Florida's Turnpike - Orange Blossom Trail; Consulate Drive (State Road 91; State Road 500; State Road 600) |
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| Bee Line West barrier toll | $0.75 | ||||
| 8.42[1] | 8 |  State Road 482; McCoy Road to Sand Lake Road; to State Road 527; Orange Avenue |
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| 9 | Tradeport Drive; Conway Road | ||||
| Airport barrier toll | $0.75 | ||||
| 11 |  State Road 436 north - Semoran Boulevard;  International Airport |
split into 11A (SR 436) and 11B (Airport) westbound | |||
| 12 | Goldenrod Road; Heintzelman Boulevard | ||||
| 13 |  State Road 15 - Narcoossee Road |
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| 16 | State Road 417 - Tampa; Disney World; Orlando; Sanford |
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| Bee Line Main barrier toll | $1.25 | ||||
| 20 | International Corporate Park Boulevard | $1.00 westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |||
| 24 | Dallas Boulevard | eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |||
| 30.82[1] | 31 |  State Road 520 |
$0.25 westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||
| Brevard |  State Road 407 to Interstate 95 north - Kennedy Space Center; Titusville |
eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |||
| 42 |  Interstate 95 - Miami; Daytona Beach (State Road 9) |
split into 42A and 42B | |||
| 45.73[1] | 45 |   State Road 524; Industry Road; Clearlake Road (State Road 501) |
split into 45A and 45B westbound | ||
| 46 |   U.S. Highway 1 - Cocoa; Titusville (State Road 5) |
 SR A1A begins eastbound and ends westbound/Emory L. Bennett Causeway begins |
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| 49 |  State Road 3 - Merritt Island; Kennedy Space Center |
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| 52 | Banana River Drive | ||||
| 53.50[1] | State Road 401 north - Cape Canaveral Air Force Station; Port Canaveral A cruise terminals; north cargo piers |
SR 528 begins westbound and ends eastbound | |||
| George J. King Boulevard |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f FDOT GIS data
- ^ This Day in Central Florida History - July 15,[1]
- ^ a b c Florida Department of Transportation 2005 annual report, Department-owned Facilities (PDF)
- ^ a b c d National Bridge Inventory data
- ^ Interesting Dates in the history of the City of Cocoa
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Dr. Jerrell H. Shofner, Building a Community: The History of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (PDF), ISBN 0-9714713-0-4
- ^ Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1014 (PDF)
- ^ House Bill No. 385 (PDF)
- ^ Minutes of Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority Special Board Meeting
- ^ http://www.floridasturnpike.com/downloads/TurnPOrangeWidenBeachlineEastern.pdf
- ^ OOCEA 2008-2012 Five-Year Work Plan Accessed December 17, 2007
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