Florida State Road 429

State Road 429 marker

State Road 429
Daniel Webster Western Beltway
Route information
Maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise and CFX
Length: 32.833 mi[1] (52.840 km)
Existed: 2000 – present
Major junctions
South end: I4 near Disney World
  Turnpike in Winter Garden
SR 414 in Apopka
North end: US 441 in Apopka
Location
Counties: Osceola, Orange
Highway system
SR 426SR 430

State Road 429 (SR 429), also known as the Daniel Webster Western Beltway or Western Expressway, is a limited-access toll road built and maintained by the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) and Florida's Turnpike Enterprise. It currently extends 32.833 miles (52.840 km) from Interstate 4 (State Road 400) near Walt Disney World north to U.S. Highway 441 (State Road 500/Orange Blossom Trail) in Apopka. Control cities are Apopka and Tampa although the control cities for traffic on U.S. Highway 441 at the northern entrance are now Orlando and Tampa. SR 429 was originally planned as a western half of State Road 417.

Route description

State Road 429 traverses some of the highest elevations in Orange County and is often within a few miles of the Lake Wales Ridge. The road peaks at Mile Marker 13 where on clear days it is possible to see the skyline of downtown Orlando to the northeast and Space Mountain, Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth (Epcot), The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and the Contemporary Resort of Walt Disney World to the southeast.

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise maintains the portion of the expressway south of Seidel Road, and CFX controls the portion north of the interchange.

History

The highway is named the "Daniel Webster Western Beltway" in honor of Daniel Webster, Florida's longest-serving legislator and figure often involved in state transportation issues.[2]

Section A

Southbound at the Forest Lake Mainline Toll Plaza

Section A is the original 10.6-mile (17.1 km) section from Florida's Turnpike in Ocoee, to US 441 in Apopka. It has a $1.25 toll plaza in the middle (This was increased to $1.50 1 July 2012) the first toll-plaza in the Orlando area with open road tolling for users of the E-Pass and related electronic toll collection systems. The road itself was finished in July 2000, temporarily ending at SR 50, and the interchange with Florida's Turnpike, featuring the highest ramp in the Orlando area, was completed in February 2001.

SR 429 was originally planned to continue north, but because the land needed for the SR 429 right of way was not secured ahead of time, new housing was developed north of the current SR 429/US 441 intersection. This has forced a change in plans for the extension of SR 429.

Section C

Section C is the 22-mile (35 km) section from Florida's Turnpike to I-4 (SR 400) south of Walt Disney World. The 3-mile (4.8 km) section from Florida's Turnpike to County Road 535 was completed in December 2002. The part from CR 535 south to New Independence Parkway opened December 16, 2005, with the extension to US 192 opening December 23.[3] The Turnpike-maintained section, south of Seidel Road, was on a very tight construction schedule. An extended cold snap required the contractor to push to reach the opening date, although the interchanges at Western Way and Seidel Road were not complete. The Western Way interchange was not scheduled to open until Spring of 2006 to coincide with the opening of the new Animal Kingdom ride Expedition Everest. The open road tolling gantry, while located north of US 192, was let for construction with the southern five miles (8 km) and was never intended to be open to traffic in conjunction with the 2005 opening between US 192 and Seidel. The Schofield Road interchange was identified as a future interchange, meaning that on December 23 no interchanges were open between US 192 and New Independence Parkway. Other openings were April 4, 2006[4][5] for Western Way, April 12, 2006 for Seidel Road, and December 9, 2006 for the remainder from US 192 south to I-4.[6]

Section B

Section B, now also known as the Wekiva Parkway, which would connect SR 429's north end at US 441 to I-4 in Sanford, has been under debate for over a decade because its planned corridor is complicated by the ecologically-fragile Wekiva River basin and shifty support from Lake County. In 2004, an agreement was reached for its completion. Its exact route and schedule for construction are still unclear, but it is supposed to be built largely as a long causeway with a limited number of exits to better control development in the region. It is now planned to link SR 429 with SR 417, creating a continuous beltway north of Orlando;[7] however, older plans involved a short drive on I-4 or its collector/distributor roads to reach SR 417.

On May 25, 2011, the Florida Department of Transportation and the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority announced that they have partnered to jointly explore construction of the Wekiva Parkway extension. The proposed route will extend through Orange, Lake, and Seminole counties and is estimated to cost $1.8 billion. Officials hope to break ground in 2012, with completion by 2019.[8]

State Road 414 Phase 2

During June 2010, construction work began on the westward extension of State Road 414. Approximately 1 mile of current SR 429 roadway was demolished and on May 14, 2012 a new interchange opened from SR 429 northbound to SR 414 eastbound and from SR 414 westbound to SR 429 southbound. SR 429 and SR 414 now runs concurrently to a new intersection with U.S. Route 441 near Plymouth, Florida. The control city is Mount Dora, Florida. The road previously signed as SR 429 north of the current SR 414 interchange has been resigned as State Road 451, and has been extended across US 441 to a new north terminus at Vick Road.

Exit list

CountyLocationmi[1][9]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Osceola 0.0000.0001 I4 (SR 400) Orlando, TampaI-4 east is exit 1; no exit number for I-4 west
 0.7451.1991ASinclair Road$0.50 toll for cars on northbound exit and southbound entrance
 4.5127.2616 US 192 (SR 530) Kissimmee$0.50 toll for cars on northbound exit and southbound entrance
Orange 5.48.7Western Beltway Toll Plaza
 6.71910.8138Disney World (via Western Way), Hartzog Road
Horizon West9.83715.83111Seidel RoadNorthbound exit and southbound entrance; $0.50 toll for cars
11.9719.2613Schofield RoadPlanned interchange (under construction)
13.92422.40915New Independence Parkway$0.75 toll for cars on northbound exit and southbound entrance; to CR 545 (Avalon Road)
15.9025.59Independence Mainline Toll Plaza
Winter Garden18.28829.43219 CR 535 (Winter Garden Vineland Road)$0.50 toll for cars on southbound exit and northbound entrance
21.25234.20222 Turnpike (SR 91) – Miami, OcalaTurnpike exit 267A
Ocoee21.58634.73923 SR 50 (West Colonial Drive)
23.02637.05724 SR 438 (Plant Street / Franklin Street)$0.50 toll for cars on northbound exit and southbound entrance
25.54141.10426West Road to Clarcona-Ocoee Road (CR 437)$1.00 toll for cars on northbound exit and southbound entrance
26.6642.91Forest Lake Mainline Toll Plaza
Apopka28.05345.14729 CR 437A (Ocoee-Apopka Road)Opened December 15, 2011; replaced former exit 30 for the same road
29.16246.93230 CR 437A (Ocoee-Apopka Road)Northbound exit, southbound entrance only; closed January 12, 2012
29.347.230 SR 414 east to SR 451 north Maitland, Apopkasouth end of SR 414 overlap; formerly exit 31
no access from SR 429 south to SR 451 north or SR 451 south to SR 429 north
32.83352.840 To US 441 (Orange Blossom Trail / SR 500) / CR 437 (Plymouth-Sorrento Road) / SR 429 Connector Road Mount Dora, Plymouthnorth end of SR 414 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 FDOT straight line diagrams, accessed January 2014
  2. Smith, James (May 8, 2008). "Webster leaves Legislature with family, principles, faith intact". Florida Baptist Witness. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  3. Powers, Scott (December 16, 2005). "Western Beltway pushes 5½ miles farther south". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  4. Kassab, Beth; Powers, Scott (March 27, 2006). "New road access to Disney to open". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 12, 2012. (subscription required)
  5. "Western Way Opens". Orlando, FL: Central Florida News 13. April 4, 2006.
  6. Mckay, Rich (December 9, 2006). "Drivers, rejoice: Last leg of Western Beltway open". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  7. http://www.wekivaparkway.com/
  8. D'Marko, Dave (May 25, 2011). "State, Expressway Authority form partnership to build Wekiva Parkway". Orlando, FL: Central Florida News 13. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  9. Staff (November 24, 2008). Florida Department of Transportation Interchange Report (PDF) (Report). Florida Department of Transportation. pp. 12–13. Retrieved July 27, 2009; January 2014. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links

Route map: Bing