Florida

[NE2]

Never seen a T route before. Was this a temporary route?

[ElishaGOtis]

Interesting notes at KSC:
"Space Commerce Way soon to be brought onto the SHS. Maintenance easement agreement with NASA. SR 321. Roadway ID 70000411."

I couldn't help myself...

Please tell me this is real. Please tell me this is real.

[roadman65]

I saw finally the widening of Polk Parkway ( SR 570) through Auburndale from two lanes to four lanes is completed with the Polk East Plaza removed ( no surprise there) and the new Bradick Road interchange opened.

The Westbound Exit 14 ramp is closed due to the construction of SR 570B taking place.  Detour is through Auburndale on US 92 East and SR 655 South to access Winter Lake Road to Winter Haven.

[formulanone]

Interesting notes at KSC:
"Space Commerce Way soon to be brought onto the SHS. Maintenance easement agreement with NASA. SR 321. Roadway ID 70000411."

I couldn't help myself...

Please tell me this is real. Please tell me this is real.

Nope, it's a fake. There were once S- roads (Secondary), and later "C-roads" (downgraded S-routes), but no T-roads.

Just whipped it up from an old Keys shield.

[roadman65]

Ha ha

[D-Dey65]

Well, as some of you know, I recently took my day trip to SunRail. And you will know this by some of the recent pics I posted in Wikimedia Commons. And let me point out that the walk from Sand Lake Road SunRail station to the Circle K across the tracks from Taft Yard was longer than I thought.

But I'm not posting this message for that. I'm doing it for a discovery I made while checking out Google Street View's coverage of the interchange between I-4 and Florida's Turnpike.

There are two supplemental destination signs along the northbound shoulder of this double trumpet interchange that are obstructed by shrubbery and in one case the post for one of the road sign gantries. They should be combined and added either to the existing gantries, or placed onto a new partial gantry in between the two.

[edwaleni]

A year after buying a lot and investing in a KOA property, FDOT uses their eminent domain authority to close it for highway expansion. The property owners have until June 15th, before they have to vacate the property.

https://www.wjhg.com/2025/05/20/koa-holiday-campground-is-closing-after-fdot-purchased-property-expansion-project/

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - A local business is shutting down just over a year after opening.

NewsChannel 7 is told the state is taking over KOA Holiday Campgrounds in Panama City Beach as part of a traffic relief project. But the move is leaving business owners frustrated and uncertain about what comes next.

"It took years to develop this park, I mean years, there's a lot to go through as a small business owner," said Malanda Schmitz, the owner and operator of KOA Holiday Campground.

For Schmitz and her family, the campground is more than just an RV park; it's been home since opening its doors in January 2024.

But now, the Florida Department of Transportation has purchased the property through its power of eminent domain for the continuation of the U.S. Highway 98 expansion project. Officials said they will use the land to widen the road from four to six lanes, as part of the third and final segment of the project.

FDOT officials tell us this will reduce congestion and improve safety along Highway 98. The design is complete, and construction will begin next year. The KOA Campground will be allowed to continue operations through July 15th.

"The one thing the Department of Transportation does not want to do is to hinder businesses in any region, so that's part of what we do in our agency, we work with these business owners so they can continue to operate and find new locations, to assist them with that as well," said Ian Satter, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation.

KOA's owner says they are still figuring out their next steps as the future of the campground is still unknown, and their hearts are broken.

"We had really big plans for really being a resort one day, we had everything that we needed in our infrastructure built out to be a huge part of the community," said Schmitz. "The hardest thing is that guests really love our park, we had reservations into December 2026, and I had to call and cancel."

Malanda says they are expecting dozens of guests for the upcoming holidays, such as Memorial Day weekend, the Gulf Coast Jam music festival, and the Fourth of July. She says they will provide the best experience to all their guests until their last day.

"I hope that they can find another location that they love as much as ours because I want our guests to be happy, even after they're gone, I still want them to be happy," said Schmitz.

The Florida Department of Transportation officials say all buildings on this property will be cleared beginning this summer as part of the expansion project.

[NE2]

>Local business
Looks inside
>Franchise

[D-Dey65]

A year after buying a lot and investing in a KOA property, FDOT uses their eminent domain authority to close it for highway expansion. The property owners have until June 15th, before they have to vacate the property.

https://www.wjhg.com/2025/05/20/koa-holiday-campground-is-closing-after-fdot-purchased-property-expansion-project/

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - A local business is shutting down just over a year after opening.

NewsChannel 7 is told the state is taking over KOA Holiday Campgrounds in Panama City Beach as part of a traffic relief project. But the move is leaving business owners frustrated and uncertain about what comes next.

"It took years to develop this park, I mean years, there's a lot to go through as a small business owner," said Malanda Schmitz, the owner and operator of KOA Holiday Campground.

For Schmitz and her family, the campground is more than just an RV park; it's been home since opening its doors in January 2024.

But now, the Florida Department of Transportation has purchased the property through its power of eminent domain for the continuation of the U.S. Highway 98 expansion project. Officials said they will use the land to widen the road from four to six lanes, as part of the third and final segment of the project.

FDOT officials tell us this will reduce congestion and improve safety along Highway 98. The design is complete, and construction will begin next year. The KOA Campground will be allowed to continue operations through July 15th.

"The one thing the Department of Transportation does not want to do is to hinder businesses in any region, so that's part of what we do in our agency, we work with these business owners so they can continue to operate and find new locations, to assist them with that as well," said Ian Satter, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation.

KOA's owner says they are still figuring out their next steps as the future of the campground is still unknown, and their hearts are broken.

"We had really big plans for really being a resort one day, we had everything that we needed in our infrastructure built out to be a huge part of the community," said Schmitz. "The hardest thing is that guests really love our park, we had reservations into December 2026, and I had to call and cancel."

Malanda says they are expecting dozens of guests for the upcoming holidays, such as Memorial Day weekend, the Gulf Coast Jam music festival, and the Fourth of July. She says they will provide the best experience to all their guests until their last day.

"I hope that they can find another location that they love as much as ours because I want our guests to be happy, even after they're gone, I still want them to be happy," said Schmitz.

The Florida Department of Transportation officials say all buildings on this property will be cleared beginning this summer as part of the expansion project.

I'm looking at the photo from that article, and I find it hard to believe they need the entire campground to expand US 98 from four to six lanes.

[D-Dey65]

Google Maps thinks FL 20 between US 41 and 441 in High Springs is part of US 27.

In any case, does anyone know what this sign says when it's folded down and doesn't say "Drive Safely?"

[ElishaGOtis]

Google Maps thinks FL 20 between US 41 and 441 in High Springs is part of US 27.

In any case, does anyone know what this sign says when it's folded down and doesn't say "Drive Safely?"

The fold down shows "Road Under Water"

[D-Dey65]

^
Thanks.

Hey, I remember this Ford dealership in the distance when I drove US 17 on my way to the New York Tri-State area. I keep thinking the place might be in Bostwick. But for some reason, when I try to look for it on Google Street View, I can't find it anywhere between Palatka and Green Cove Springs.

Getting back to northwestern Alachua County, what's the deal with this unfinished improvement project for Exit 399? You've got this retaining wall for a never built extension of the north-to-southbound on-ramp, not to mention a two-lane underpass to a private road. If the current south-to-southbound lane was going to connect to the future north-to-southbound lane, how was that supposed to happen?

[pianocello]

Getting back to northwestern Alachua County, what's the deal with this unfinished improvement project for Exit 399? You've got this retaining wall for a never built extension of the north-to-southbound on-ramp, not to mention a two-lane underpass to a private road. If the current south-to-southbound lane was going to connect to the future north-to-southbound lane, how was that supposed to happen?

I don't know for sure, but I have a guess.

Looks like the SB-SB ramp and retaining wall were built around 2014, and I'm thinking there's some future-proofing going on here. I've heard FDOT has a not-so-long-term goal of making I-75 at least 8 lanes between the Turnpike and I-10, so when they added another ramp here they decided to build out enough earthwork to accommodate that.

The SB-SB ramp doesn't need to meet the NB-SB ramp at the level of the overpass, now that the railroad beneath it is gone. Which is probably why it takes so long to merge with the mainline south of there.

[D-Dey65]

Getting back to northwestern Alachua County, what's the deal with this unfinished improvement project for Exit 399? You've got this retaining wall for a never built extension of the north-to-southbound on-ramp, not to mention a two-lane underpass to a private road. If the current south-to-southbound lane was going to connect to the future north-to-southbound lane, how was that supposed to happen?

I don't know for sure, but I have a guess.

Looks like the SB-SB ramp and retaining wall were built around 2014, and I'm thinking there's some future-proofing going on here. I've heard FDOT has a not-so-long-term goal of making I-75 at least 8 lanes between the Turnpike and I-10, so when they added another ramp here they decided to build out enough earthwork to accommodate that.

The SB-SB ramp doesn't need to meet the NB-SB ramp at the level of the overpass, now that the railroad beneath it is gone. Which is probably why it takes so long to merge with the mainline south of there.

You know I can believe that, although that ROW looks pretty wide even for an 8-lane project. One thing I'd like to point out during my Google Street View research of the interchange is that the old ACL High Springs—Croom Line was dead before the reconstruction, yet the bridges were still expanded. So, the only thing this could serve now are the private road owned by whatever billboard company is located there or a hypothetical future rail trail.

[pianocello]

You know I can believe that, although that ROW looks pretty wide even for an 8-lane project. One thing I'd like to point out during my Google Street View research of the interchange is that the old ACL High Springs—Croom Line was dead before the reconstruction, yet the bridges were still expanded. So, the only thing this could serve now are the private road owned by whatever billboard company is located there or a hypothetical future rail trail.

That could be due to constructability too. Even if the railroad property is completely abandoned, it's easier and faster to expand the existing bridges than to gut everything and lower the profile to the level of the new ramp.

Of course, this is all assuming FDOT was planning to use the existing piers and girders when they get around to widening the road. Whether or not it will happen that way remains to be seen, I guess.

[ElishaGOtis]

You know I can believe that, although that ROW looks pretty wide even for an 8-lane project. One thing I'd like to point out during my Google Street View research of the interchange is that the old ACL High Springs—Croom Line was dead before the reconstruction, yet the bridges were still expanded. So, the only thing this could serve now are the private road owned by whatever billboard company is located there or a hypothetical future rail trail.

That could be due to constructability too. Even if the railroad property is completely abandoned, it's easier and faster to expand the existing bridges than to gut everything and lower the profile to the level of the new ramp.

Of course, this is all assuming FDOT was planning to use the existing piers and girders when they get around to widening the road. Whether or not it will happen that way remains to be seen, I guess.

Let me look into that to see if I can find anything related to this project or the future 8-lane project (it is on the books for the far-ish future).

[Stephane Dumas]

It might be worth to repost if someone else already mentioned it, some videos showing the FL-869/Sawgrass Expwy/SW 10th street connector.

[freebrickproductions]

While on a trip last week to Florida, I saw a few exits that had "Old Exit ##" signs posted with their BGSes, so, I have to wonder, when did Florida convert to mileage-based exits?

[The Ghostbuster]

The Florida's Turnpike converted to mileage-based exit numbers in 1989, and the other toll roads that have exit numbers were given mileage-based exit numbers as well. The Interstates received mileage-based exit numbers in 2002. Interstates 110, 175, and 375 were not converted: 110 kept its pre-existing numbers and 375's exits have since had its exit numbers removed.

[formulanone]

It might be worth to repost if someone else already mentioned it, some videos showing the FL-869/Sawgrass Expwy/SW 10th street connector.

I don't believe it was posted here before, but this was overdue (Sawgrass Expressway opened in 1986) and expansion was fought for years. Ironic how it was originally dubbed a noisy eyesore to the nearby retirement communities so now it's going to even more of one as an elevated structure.