Nov 7, 2007 7:45 pm US/Eastern
No Tolls, No Traffic, No Hassle On Turnpike
Crews are converting SunPass lanes to Open Road Tolling System
State Predicted 10 Mile Backups
Northbound Tolls Lifted From 6 - 10 a.m. Nov. 7 - 13th
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Expected rush-hour traffic backups failed to materialize after Florida's Turnpike officials shut down 4 lanes to re-build the Bird Road Toll Plaza
CBS
The state predicted traffic horrors at the Bird Road toll plaza on Florida's turnpike as part of a project to re-make the plaza; 10-mile-long backups for morning rush hour, warning commuters to plan on an extra hour at best to get to work. But motorists who braved the turnpike Wednesday morning found traffic a breeze, thanks in part to a state decision to lift rush-hour northbound tolls.
Crews started demolishing part of the toll plaza overnight Wednesday, part of a plan to allow Sunpass holders to breeze through the plaza at highway speeds. In order to speed the project, the state totally closed 4 traffic lanes for the next 6 days, and predicted the lane closures would cause traffic nightmares.
For two weeks, a battery of flashing signs have warned motorists of 140 block backups, long delays, and slow traffic, and the state urged people to find alternate routes.
But when Wednesday dawned, motorists who decided to tough it out found traffic zipping through the toll plaza without even the normal rush-hour delays that can stretch 80 blocks,
Not only did they not find a traffic nightmare, they got a small break after the state lifted tolls in an effort to keep traffic flowing smoothly.
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.
Four of the 10 northbound lanes at the toll plaza are closed 24 hours a day 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 re-striped.
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 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.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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