Nov 6, 2007 10:36 pm US/Eastern
Construction Leads To Suspended Tolls At Bird Road
Crews are converting SunPass lanes to Open Road Tolling System
Traffic Back-ups Could Be As Much As 10 Miles Long
Northbound Tolls Lifted From 6 - 10 a.m. Nov. 7 - 13th
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
There's a bit of good news concerning anticipated turnpike delays at the Bird Road Toll plaza this week. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise has decided to suspend tolls during rush hour in the northbound lanes of the Bird Road toll plaza due to anticipated major delays associated with construction.
The tolls will be suspended during the morning peak hours, from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. starting Wednesday November 7th through Tuesday November 13th.
Depite the lifted tolls, northbound traffic delays are anticipated to extend as far south as the Quail Roost Drive interchange (Exit 13) during the morning peak hours due to the toll plaza work.
Drivers should plan for a much longer commute, up to an hour longer when traveling from southern Miami-Dade County through the Bird Road. Motorists are advised to seek alternate routes.
Drivers should check the traffic reports on the local media or by calling the 5-1-1 traffic and travel information line before getting on the road.
Four of the 10 northbound lanes at the toll plaza will be closed 24 hours a day Nov. 7 through Nov. 13 as work crews tear down the tollbooths, gates, equipment and toll plaza roof over the existing SunPass-only lanes. In addition, the travel lanes will be repaved and restriped.
When the work is complete, motorists with SunPass will be able to pay the toll while driving at 55 mph beneath the new SunPass gantry that already has been installed south of the toll plaza. Cash customers will continue to pay at the remaining tollbooths, which will be separated from the SunPass-only express lanes by a concrete barrier.
Similar work and around-the-clock toll lane closures will follow immediately after at the southbound Bird Road toll plaza.
Similar around-the-clock closures are planned for the southbound SunPass-only lanes at the Bird Road plaza starting Nov. 14.
Southbound tolls will be waived between 3 and 8 p.m. on Nov. 14-16 and Nov. 19 and 20. The schedule may change if the northbound work is completed sooner than expected.
Construction to bring open road tolling (ORT) to the Turnpike's Bird Road mainline toll plazas began in September, and is being fast-tracked with the goal of completing the project before Thanksgiving Day.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Stumble It!
