Florida

[florida]

Is it because the east-west section is now Simpson Road?? Boggy Creek no longer intersects itself?

Whoa. I missed that.
http://www.aroundosceola.com/boggy-creek-intersection-to-recive-facelift/
But what happened to the part west of Fortune/Simpson?

It's now Fortune, but Old Boggy Creek is still the same to the west of Fortune.

[Brian556]

Just got back from FL. here's what I observed:

Gulf Breeze:
New arrow-per-lane overhead sign on US 98 EB at SR/CR 399:


Lake City: State-Name Interstate 75 Signs on WB US 90. This assembly is odd, with two straight arrows. The guide sign after it is the same way.


Also in Lake City, these signs were sitting on a trailer in the Days Inn parking lot:
Notice the word "Tampa" is too small, and the word "SOUTH" is on the left of the shield instead of the right.


Kissimmee Area:
Signs for Osceola Pkwy on SB Poinciana have been changed. It is interesting that they removed Osceola Pkwy signage, and replaced it with CR 522 only signage. Also note that there was already a CR 522/ TO I-4 sign in the median, when it really shouldn't be there. Also, there is no mention of it being a toll road on the new assembly:


SR 417/ Boggy Creek Construction. This bridge construction is interesting, in that temporary supports have to be used:


Old SR 530 at Lindfields :


Color US Highway Shields in Leesburg:




Clermont:
Yay for consistency on NB US 27:


Former Highway and Railroad Right-Of-Way converted to Park/Trail on Lake Minneola:


A shot of NB US 27:


SR 429 at CR 435:
It seems strange that they completed this orphan section first. Signals are up and flashing at SR 46.




Apopka:This is NB US 441, not SB CR 435. Actually, it looks like an arrow plaque is missing.


Other items:
The very faded JCT CR 437 sign on NB US 441 has been replaced.

[freebrickproductions]

Lake City: State-Name Interstate 75 Signs on WB US 90. This assembly is odd, with two straight arrows. The guide sign after it is the same way.


Old SR 530 at Lindfields :


Color US Highway Shields in Leesburg:

Those are just awesome!

Clermont:
Yay for consistency on NB US 27:

Is it bad that I laughed at that?

[Brian556]

Quote from freebrickproductions:

Is it bad that I laughed at that?

Nope, sarcasm is supposed to be funny.

[jwolfer]

Old Brick Rd. (CR 13) in St Johns and Flagler Counties.

[jwolfer]

Old Brick Rd. (CR 13) in St Johns and Flagler Counties.

The pics are from Flagler County. It was under a deluge in St Johns. It looks like a normal County dirt road.  But with a 1 lane brick road in the middle. Thus is tree farms all along the route, very desolate.

Notice the perfect lines if trees. This was early routing of US 1 built in the 1920s.
Not far off i95 or us1 between Hastings and Espanola

[NE2]

Speaking of brick roads, I recently discovered a second short piece of the old Orlando-Sanford road on Freeman Street in Longwood.

[jwolfer]

Speaking of brick roads, I recently discovered a second short piece of the old Orlando-Sanford road on Freeman Street in Longwood.

Urban areas have a few old brick streets It's cool that it's so long and   desolate. About 20 years ago the city if Jacksonville widened Old St Augustine Rd, the construction unearthed the old brick road. It was cool to see the history

[NE2]

Urban areas have a few old brick streets

Urban areas have a bunch, but this one specifically has the old county construction in the middle of the newer city construction.

[jwolfer]

Urban areas have a few old brick streets

Urban areas have a bunch, but this one specifically has the old county construction in the middle of the newer city construction.

Really cool.

[emory]

I've spent today organizing my photos from my last Florida trip in January, and forgot I found this FL 368 sign in Panama City.

[Brian556]

New article with pics of old Florida signs. Note that it says the colored US shields were eliminated due to fading, and not the Federal Highway Admin.

http://www.floridamemory.com/blog/2015/10/08/signs-of-the-times/

[Brian556]

 Interesting video of a man telling about a Florida vacation in 1933.
https://www.facebook.com/RickSmith.PanoramaStudios/videos/10153740162728783/?pnref=story

[roadman65]

http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2015/10/23/tugboat_hits_bennett.html?cid=facebook_News_13

SR 528 closed at Indian River as marine vessel hits the Bennett Causeway.

[roadman65]

https://www.cfxway.com/TravelersExpressways/Expressways/CurrentExpressways/528BeachLine/ConstructionProjects/tabid/367/Article/291/SR-528-Airport-Plaza-Demolition-Ramp-Plaza-Construction-Project.aspx

Oklahoma and NYS Thruway rebates coming to motorists entering FL 528 W Bound from Exit 8.  Now with the mainline plaza west going up in rate to compensate the loss of the tolls collected at Airport Mainline when that plaza is removed soon,  those who enter here will not have to pay the full amount.  Of course the catch is to have E Pass or SunPass as it will be done electronically.

Above is the CFX own project webpage of what is going on to replace the tolls being removed from the highway there.  The only drawback is no free ride from Exits 8 to 9 or vise versa.

[FLRoads]

Initial work has started for the addition of tolled express lanes along SR 528 (Beachline Expressway) between Interstate 4 and McCoy Road (Exit 8). Two toll lanes in each direction will be built between I-4 and Consulate Drive (Exit 4) while one additional lane (each direction) will continue through to Exit 8. The existing general use lanes along SR 528 will remain toll-free as it is today. Current scheduled completion is set for 2019.

More information can be found at Florida's Turnpike Current Construction Projects page.

[formulanone]

Came down for a week-long visit to South Florida; here's a few updates of what I saw...

Obligatory I-95 at FLL shot:


I-95 West? Kudos for the state-named shield, but I think a FL 818 shield was supposed to go here:


US 1 southbound underneath at Fort Lauderdale airport's new south runway:




Missing borders look wierd...


Headed back southbound on US 1, with upcoming city mileage sign:




Headed south on I-95, new Express Lanes under construction...free (for now) to use until the Golden Glades Interchange:




I didn't choose the tall flyover, which is far above me in this shot:


How to enter the I-95 Express Lanes (SunPass at the ready):


It started to rain as I picked up I-395, so this was the last shot of the day. It rained on and off the next few days.


Drove through the Port Miami Tunnel (FL 887) southbound:






Made a U-turn and drove it back north, thus clinching FL 887 in under 5 minutes.


Bonus...Florida State Road shields in use on Nissan's navigation system:


Extra Credit...Miami Beach Skyscrapers - facing south:


((( Other notes )))

- Didn't see any standalone FL 887 shields, just on BGSes.

- Drove on 595 Express Lanes at night - they only operate the 2-3 lanes eastbound in the morning, and then reverse it in the evening. Does anyone know when it's closed for "reversal"?

- A little bit of weaving to get towards FL 869 north via the end of the Express Lanes at I-595's west end.

- FL 869 / Sawgrass Expressway had mile markers with little Florida Toll shields (yay!), but with Clearview mileage (boo!). First instance of Clearview on Florida's Turnpike System?

- The two red US 1 shields located in Fort Lauderdale are still in place.

[xcellntbuy]

Terrific pictures.  Many things have changed and completed since I moved away 16 months ago.

[formulanone]

Terrific pictures.  Many things have changed and completed since I moved away 16 months ago.

I visit 2-3 times a year, since moving away over two years ago, but all the current construction on seemingly all the major routes feels a lot like the late-1980s all over again...when I used to go away to school, you'd definitely notice all the changes after 3-6 months away from South Florida.

More to come next week, if things go to plan.

[Alex]

Terrific pictures.  Many things have changed and completed since I moved away 16 months ago.

I visit 2-3 times a year, since moving away over two years ago, but all the current construction on seemingly all the major routes feels a lot like the late-1980s all over again...when I used to go away to school, you'd definitely notice all the changes after 3-6 months away from South Florida.

More to come next week, if things go to plan.

Echoing xcellntbuy's comments, great photos Josh!

From what you wrote, the I-95 Express lane extension is about done now? Will be down next month for a hockey game and would like to get in some roadding while there as well.

I see that the tunnel was dead for you like it was for us when we drove it back in April.

Regarding the I-595 express lanes, per my research for an Iguide update last year, the toll lanes flow eastbound from 4 am to 1 pm and westbound from 2 pm to 2 am on weekdays. The weekends are set to eastbound only.

Looks like the work at the east end of I-595 at US 1 is finally done, so another thing for me to check out and update on that page too.

[1995hoo]

Need some routing advice if you folks don't mind. We're heading to Florida on our usual Christmas trip and before seeing our relatives, we're visiting a friend who lives on Collins Avenue in Bal Harbour. What's the best way to get there if you're coming down the Turnpike from Orlando? I'd kind of like to knock off the east end of I-595 to finish a clinch, but is it viable to go down US-1 and A1A from there or would we hit too many red lights? Timeliness is a bit of an issue within reason. I see the most direct route is simply to go to the Golden Glades and then east, but I know that sometimes poses traffic issues.

Thanks in advance.

[formulanone]

There's a fair number of lights on US 1 south of 595, but no more than the rest of it in the area. Stop at Jaxson's in Dania Beach for ice cream if you've never done so.

A1A is somewhat scenic, but perhaps south of FL 820/Hollywood Blvd, but don't expect to make up time compared to US 1.

[DeaconG]

Initial work has started for the addition of tolled express lanes along SR 528 (Beachline Expressway) between Interstate 4 and McCoy Road (Exit 8). Two toll lanes in each direction will be built between I-4 and Consulate Drive (Exit 4) while one additional lane (each direction) will continue through to Exit 8. The existing general use lanes along SR 528 will remain toll-free as it is today. Current scheduled completion is set for 2019.

More information can be found at Florida's Turnpike Current Construction Projects page.

Oh, for God's sake...you wanna toll that mess too?  It needs at least six through free lanes...and it really would be nice if they rebuilt the Beachline-
/OBT/Turnpike interchange, you think?

Between the Airport Toll Plaza removal and this it might be a good idea to avoid the Beachline for the next few years...

[roadman65]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-palm-obama-highway-20151217-story.html

Old Dixie Highway in one South Florida city to be renamed after a sitting president and one who has controversy in his character as half the nation hates his guts while the other half loves him and of course is not even remotely dead.

[1995hoo]

There's a fair number of lights on US 1 south of 595, but no more than the rest of it in the area. Stop at Jaxson's in Dania Beach for ice cream if you've never done so.

A1A is somewhat scenic, but perhaps south of FL 820/Hollywood Blvd, but don't expect to make up time compared to US 1.

Thanks. Would we be better off on Route 1 down to 820 and then across, or should we cut across further up? The person we're visiting lives on the section between 96th Street and the inlet north of there. He recommended we not use 96th Street, although on the way back out to Pembroke Pines afterwards I'm considering going that way anyway to knock Gratigny Parkway off my list.