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Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike |
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| Ronald Reagan Turnpike | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise | ||||
| Length: | 47.856 mi[1] (77.017 km) | |||
| Existed: | May 1, 1973 – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end: | US 1 / SR 5 in Florida City | |||
| SR 874 in Kendall SR 836 near Sweetwater I-75 / SR 93 near Miramar |
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| North end: | Turnpike / SR 91 in Miramar | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Miami-Dade, Broward | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Florida State and County Roads
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Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (HEFT), designated as the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, and originally known as the West Dade Expressway is a north–south free-flow toll road southern extension of the tolled Florida's Turnpike. It runs around the north and west sides of the Miami area, extending from the Turnpike mainline four miles north of the Golden Glades Interchange, south to end at Florida City (near Homestead) 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 and Everglades National Park.[2][3] Due to its path, it acts as a de facto outer beltway for Miami.[4]
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The HEFT has used mile-based exit numbers 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.[5] Unlike the rest of the Turnpike, with tolls every 45 miles (72 km) on average, the extension has tolls every 12 miles (19 km), with a much higher traffic load. Unlike other Florida's Turnpike Enterprise 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.[2][4][6][7]
The road begins at an interchange with US 1 in Florida City 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, 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, providing access to the Homestead Hospital and the Homestead-Miami Speedway. 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, 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 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.[8] 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 campus before meeting with the Tamiami Trail at exit 25. Between the Tamiami Trail and the next exit, which is SR 836 (Dolphin Expressway) at exit 26A in Doral, providing access to Miami International Airport eastbound, the expressway has the highest traffic count at 178,000 vehicles per day.[2][6][9][10]
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 northbound at exit 39, which is a northbound only exit, with the southbound direction receiving some traffic from I-75 south.[10] North of the I-75 interchange, the tollway becomes a four lane highway again, and crosses the Broward County line, entering the suburban community of Miramar, 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. The Miramar Toll gantry follows before the expressway ends four miles north of the Golden Glades Interchange.[6][9][11]
After the Turnpike mainline was completed in 1964, the Turnpike Authority (precursor to Florida's Turnpike Enterprise), explored several extensions to the Turnpike system, including a expressway in western Dade County from Florida City to the Turnpike mainline at the Dade/Broward county line.[12] Construction on the tollway began in July 1971.[13] 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.[3] 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.[12][14][15]
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.[16] On February 2nd, 1989, tolls on the Expressway doubled from $1.00 to $2.00, with $.50 being charged at each toll plaza.[17][18] 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.[19][20] In 1997, the Bird Road toll plaza was reconfigured to its current two part form to accommodate the then bottleneck section of the expressway.[21] 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.[22][23]
The portion of the HEFT between Exits 11 (Cutler Ridge Boulevard) and 16 (State Road 992) was designated the "John F. Cosgrove 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, a city along the HEFT. He was instrumental in passing legislation to keep insurers from leaving the state following Hurricane Andrew.[2]
On February 19, 2011, the HEFT ceased cash toll collections, becoming an exclusive electronic toll road, similar to Ontario's 407 ETR toll road, a move that was announced in November 2009.[24][25] The manned toll plazas were removed, and the only ways to pay are either by SunPass transponders or billing by the toll-by-plate program.[26][27]
| County[6] | Location[10][11] | Mile[4][9] | #[4] | Destinations | Notes[28] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | Florida City | 0.000 | 0 | US 1 / SR 5 south – Key West | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| 0.505 | 1 | US 1 / SR 5 north – Florida City | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| Homestead | 3.095 | 2 | Campbell Drive, Southwest 312th Street – Homestead | To Homestead-Miami Speedway | |
| Leisure City | 5.238 | 5 | Southwest 288th Street, Biscayne Drive | ||
| Naranja | 6.078 | 6 | Southwest 137th Avenue, Speedway Boulevard | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
| Princeton | 9.162 | 9 | SR 989 (Southwest 112th Avenue) | Signed as exits 9A (south) and 9B (north) southbound | |
| 10.562 | Homestead toll gantry ($0.75 with SunPass, $1.00 with toll-by-plate) | ||||
| Goulds | 11.737 | 11 | Southwest 216th Street, Cutler Ridge Boulevard | ||
| Cutler Bay | 12.467 | 12 | Caribbean Boulevard, Cutler Ridge Boulevard | ||
| South Miami Heights | 14.083 | 13 | SR 994 (Quail Roost Drive) / Eureka Drive | ||
| Palmetto Estates | 16.320 | 16 | SR 992 (Southwest 152nd Street) | ||
| Kendall | 17.869 | 17 | SR 874 (Don Shula Expressway) to SR 826 (Palmetto Expressway) – Miami | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
| 18.383 | 19 | Southwest 120th Street | |||
| 18.696 | Snapper Creek service plaza | ||||
| 20.396 | 20 | SR 94 (Southwest 88th Street, Kendall Drive) | |||
| 22.996 | Bird Road toll gantry ($0.75 with SunPass, $1.00 with toll-by-plate) | ||||
| Kendale | 23.633 | 23 | SR 976 (Southwest 40th Street) | ||
| Tamiami | 25.624 | 25 | US 41 / SR 90 (Southwest 8th Street) | ||
| Doral | 26.685 | 26A | SR 836 east (Dolphin Expressway) – Miami International Airport | ||
| 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 SR 934[29] | ||
| 31.619 | Okeechobee toll gantry ($0.75 with SunPass, $1.00 with toll-by-plate) | ||||
| 33.119 | 34 | Northwest 106th Street, Flagler Station Boulevard | |||
| 35.257 | 35 | US 27 / SR 25 (Okeechobee Road) | |||
| 39.287 | 39 | I-75 / SR 93 north – Naples | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| Broward | Miramar | 43.361 | 43 | SR 823 (Red Road, Northwest 57th Avenue) | |
| 46.371 | 46 | SR 817 (University Drive, Northwest 27th Avenue) | Southbound entrance only; Drivers who wish to enter northbound are directed along County Line Road (SR 852) at the intersection | ||
| 46.787 | Miramar toll gantry ($0.75 with SunPass, $1.00 with toll-by-plate) | ||||
| 47.458 | 47 | Turnpike south to I-95 / SR 9 / SR 9A – Miami, Stadium | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 47.856 | Turnpike / SR 91 north | Continuation beyond southern spur to I-95 | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus • Closed/Former • Incomplete access • Unopened |
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