Florida

[rickmastfan67]

Mind posting a screen shot of the said attachment?

I have the link at my previous message on this issue. If I can't find a way to convert a PDF file into a JPG, you're going to have to settle for that.

Oh, I thought they sent you a new file showing a close up of the US-17 area of the project as the line below suggested.

To help mitigate weaving issues in the vicinity of the US 17 Interchange, the Department will construct auxiliary lanes in each direction as shown in the attachment.

My bad.

[NE2]

If anyone's interested, here's a list of truck restrictions from FDOT:

Our offices have compiled the information you requested below. Please feel free to contact us with any additional questions you may have. Thank you again for your patience while we researched information regarding your request.



The Districts report regulations restricting truck-traffic.  The Interstate lane restricts are not included in this list:


District 1

Route   Roadway ID   County   Begin M.P.   Local Street Name   End M.P.    Local Street Name   
SR 655   16120000   Polk   0   SR 555/ US 17   1.179   SR 620   
SR 17   0903001   Highlands   0   SR 35/ U.S. 27   1.058   Kenilworth Blvd.   
SR 17   09040000   Highlands   0   Kenilworth Blvd.   3.068   Arbuckle Creek Road   
SR 17   09040000   Highlands   9.396   SR 35/ U.S. 27   11.147   CR-17A   


District 2

Gainesville
-             SR 25 (US 441) from SR 331 to SR 222
-             SR 121 from SR 331 to SR 222
-             SR 24 from I-75 to SR 331
-             SR 226 from SR 24 to SR 331
-             SR 26 from I-75 to SR 331
-             SR 26A
-             SR 20 from SR 222 to SR 331

Lake City
-             SR 10A (Baya Ave)
-             SR 25A (US 441) from US 41/441 to CR 100A

Perry 
-             US 221 from SR 55 (US 19) to Ash Street






District 3

No through traffic restrictions

Arterial lane restriction: US 27 through Havana -- Trucks must use inside lane.



District 4

County   Section   State Road/Local Name   Type of Restriction
Palm Beach   93040   SR 5/US 1 at Bridge # 930087 and # 930117 over FEC Canal Jupiter   Special Weight Restriction 31 Tons Maximum
Martin   89095   SR 9/I95   Lane Restriction for Trucks/Weigh Stations
Broward   86000   SR A1A @ Bayview Drive   Special Weight Restriction 37 Tons Maximum
Broward   860061 (Bridge)   SR 838 (Sunrise) over Middle River    Special Weight Restriction 37 Tons Maximum
St. Lucie   94070   SR 68 (Orange Avenue at Copenhaver Road/Lamont road) aprox. SLDMP 17.821   Trucks No U Turn Restriction
St. Lucie   94030   SR 7 (Okeechobee Road) at Carlton Road/CR 613   Weight Restriction to be posted SR 70
Palm Beach   93040   SR 5/US 1 at Bridge #930117 (SB) & Bridge # 9830087 (NB)   Weight Restriction on Approaches of SR A1A, 5, 706, 811 & CR 7070
Palm Beach   93120   SR 80 (Southern Boulevard)   No Thru Trucks for Flagler Drive
Palm Beach   93100   SR 25 (US 27)   No Thru Trucks for NW 1st Street
Palm Beach   93100   SR 25 (US 27) (Miami Canal Bridge)   Legal Weight Trucks Only
Palm Beach   93080   SR A1A (N. Ocean Drive), SR 5 (US 1) from SR 708 (Blue Heron Blvd.) to SR 786 (PGA Blvd.)   Blue Heron Small Bridge Detour
Palm Beach   93080   SR A1A (N. Ocean Blvd.) for Bridge # 930194 (Tidal Relief Canal)   Special Weight Restriction 28 Tons Maximum
Palm Beach   93001   SR 786 (Prosperity/Farms Rd. to Center City)   Trucks Restricted Bridge 26 - 34 Tons
Palm Beach   93080   SR A1A (Tree Village to Twelve Oaks)   Trucks Restricted Bridge 26 - 34 Tons
Palm Beach   93020   SR 5/US 1 (25th Street to 34th Street)   Trucks Restricted Bridge 26 - 34 Tons
Palm Beach   93040   SR 5/US 1 (Mariner Ct. to Shoppes of Oakbrook)   Trucks Restricted Bridge 26 - 34 Tons
Palm Beach   93270   SR 7 Extension - from Okeechobee Blvd. to Persimmon Blvd.   No Through Truck Routes
Palm Beach   Varies   SR 15/SR 80/US 98/US 441/SR 715/SR 700 Pahokee Truck Route   Truck Route/Truck By Pass


District 5
NONE



District 6
1.    Miami Dade: SR 997/Krome (4/10 mile) and US 1 South Dixie Hwy (2/10 mile) and continuing through 
Monroe County: US 1/Overseas Highway to Key West
Restriction:  Blanket Permits — Overweight/ Over 12 feet wide VOID beyond this point.

2.    SR 934/79th St WB @ North Bayshore Drive:  Truck traffic is restricted on SR 934 WB/ NE 82nd St., must use SR 934/NE 79th Street.



District 7

NONE

Within District 7 :  SR 590 through Safety Harbor.  The state transferred 2.221 miles of SR 590 to Safety Harbor in 1995.  Trucks are restricted from using the city-controlled section.  The Department posts NO THROUGH TRUCKS on either side to offer truckers an opportunity to find another route.  It is not a Department regulation.


Comment:


Truck routes can be designated to be used for the expeditious and convenient movement of farm tractors, trailers, semi-trailers, trucks and other commercial vehicular traffic.  Notice is given by means of appropriate signs placed along such streets.  Truck route designation does not imply that the through route is restricted to these vehicles.


Veronica "Ronnie" Martin
Permit Administrator
State Maintenance Office
Fl. Dept. of Transportation MS-52

[stormwatch7721]

Does anyone know what is going on at US Route 92 between DeLand and Daytona Beach? There seems to be construction(sp?) going on.

[NE2]

Does anyone know what is going on at US Route 92 between DeLand and Daytona Beach? There seems to be construction(sp?) going on.

Yes, and you can too! http://cflroads.com/County/Current/7/Volusia

[Ace10]

In case anyone's curious:

New ramp opened from NB SR 414 to Orange CR 437A (Ocoee-Apopka Rd). The existing ramp a little further north is closed. Also, it seems SR 429 is on a new alignment in this area - a new alignment which should make access to SR 414 much easier, but from what I can tell, that access isn't open yet, but 429 is on the new alignment. Can anyone in the area confirm?

Links to the above info:
http://www.oocea.com/Corporate/oursystem/ConstructionUpdates.aspx?type=weekly&ID=20120106115713
http://www.oocea.com/Corporate/oursystem/sr429/TRAFFIC%20ALERT%20414-429.htm

[NE2]

Also, it seems SR 429 is on a new alignment in this area - a new alignment which should make access to SR 414 much easier, but from what I can tell, that access isn't open yet, but 429 is on the new alignment. Can anyone in the area confirm?

Yes - I emailed OOCEA and confirmed that both directions are on the new alignment. Here it is in OSM: http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=28.65286&lon=-81.53709&zoom=15&layers=M

[Ace10]

Thanks for the link, NE2. I noticed OSM also had the new alignments. I'm just wondering when the big players (Google Maps, Bing Maps, etc) will catch up - probably won't be for a long time (they still don't have a new alignment of I-20 and I-55 in Jackson, MS right - or at least they didn't a few months ago).

Time to check if these new alignments have hit FDOT's GIS files...

[rickmastfan67]

Thanks for the link, NE2. I noticed OSM also had the new alignments. I'm just wondering when the big players (Google Maps, Bing Maps, etc) will catch up - probably won't be for a long time (they still don't have a new alignment of I-20 and I-55 in Jackson, MS right - or at least they didn't a few months ago).

Try maybe a year+ if you're lucky.  They still don't show the brand new NC-44 expressway (probably because they don't have imagery that shows it even under-construction yet, while Bing did allowing it to be added to OSM) and they still don't have I-95 NB correct at the I-10 interchange in Jacksonville (and I sent them several reports about that mistake and they kept screwing it up).  Heck, in reference to the I-95 example, they even had their StreetView vehicles shoot the interchange after it was completed, and still don't have it correct.

[Ace10]

Try maybe a year+ if you're lucky.  They still don't show the brand new NC-44 expressway (probably because they don't have imagery that shows it even under-construction yet, while Bing did allowing it to be added to OSM) and they still don't have I-95 NB correct at the I-10 interchange in Jacksonville (and I sent them several reports about that mistake and they kept screwing it up).  Heck, in reference to the I-95 example, they even had their StreetView vehicles shoot the interchange after it was completed, and still don't have it correct.

I hear you. In my Jackson example, neither Google nor Bing Maps had it correct on the actual map, but Bing's aerial images (I believe) show the current alignment of I-20/I-55 through that area today, at least at the closest zoom level (and the next one up, though that one is an older image, but shows the correct alignment). That at least gave some authenticity to Bing's credit (I try to stay away from Google Maps as much as possible but it's not completely avoidable).

As far as Street View vehicles driving along the new road, I know those photos are geotagged. They have to be, to make placing them at the exact coordinates that much easier. At least in the meantime, Google could have injected the GIS data (which I can get with a $30 receiver and software I can build myself) directly onto whatever shapefiles their map data uses if that sort of thing is possible. If it's possible to do it in OSM, I'd wager it's possible for Google to do that with their own data, at least to have the most accurate available.

The I-10/I-95 is an absolute mess with Google, as you mentioned. Both maps and aerial images are way out of date. I understand they're providing this service to us at no cost to us, and that it's silly of me to expect new alignments and such to be updated as quickly as possible, but it keeps me waiting for that one company who will finally be able to deliver on that promise.

[Mdcastle]

Is there any talk about making it easier to get from Miami to the Keys?

The Turnpike was nice on the way down but then it ends and dumps traffic all of a sudden in Florida City and the next 20 miles or so are two line with a ton of traffic even on a Thursday afternoon. I wound up pulling over every couple of miles to let traffic past that seemed to want to go 70.

Is there something environmental preventing a four lane highway and building one or two more interchanges in Florida City. (yeah the area south of FL City looked like a wetland, but don't they have enough of it considering most of southern florida is a wetland?) Or is it a NIMBY thing (not the alligators but the Keys residents not wanting to make it too easy to get there, or a money thing? The situation kind of reminds me of London Road in Duluth, MN a two lane road connecting four lane roads heading towards a substantial resort area.

On the way back I took Card Sound Road. I had paid $35 for unlimited tolls and they didn't accept toll-by-plate, but it was worth $1 not to drive US 1 between Key Largo and Florida City again. Driving through the mangroves was something I certainly don't get to do everyday.

[formulanone]

It's likely an environmental thing, but until 20 years ago, there were no passing lanes. I haven't been down that way in years, but I suppose it's also costs a lot to build another set of lanes over the wetlands.

[Ace10]

Is there any talk about making it easier to get from Miami to the Keys?

The Turnpike was nice on the way down but then it ends and dumps traffic all of a sudden in Florida City and the next 20 miles or so are two line with a ton of traffic even on a Thursday afternoon. I wound up pulling over every couple of miles to let traffic past that seemed to want to go 70.

Is there something environmental preventing a four lane highway and building one or two more interchanges in Florida City. (yeah the area south of FL City looked like a wetland, but don't they have enough of it considering most of southern florida is a wetland?) Or is it a NIMBY thing (not the alligators but the Keys residents not wanting to make it too easy to get there, or a money thing? The situation kind of reminds me of London Road in Duluth, MN a two lane road connecting four lane roads heading towards a substantial resort area.

On the way back I took Card Sound Road. I had paid $35 for unlimited tolls and they didn't accept toll-by-plate, but it was worth $1 not to drive US 1 between Key Largo and Florida City again. Driving through the mangroves was something I certainly don't get to do everyday.

When was the last time you drove from Florida City to Key Largo? I was there about half a year ago and, though construction was still going on, they had four-landed US 1 quite a ways. It's not entirely four-laned all the way to Key Largo - there are some bridges and such that are still two lanes, but it seems they are trying to four-lane as much as they can. The two-lane portion between Key Largo and Florida City is well under 20 miles.

Even though I've been to the keys, I'm not too up on the culture of if they want to make it easier to get there for tourists and the like. I myself would like a four-laned US 1 all the way to Key West simply for hurricane evacuations. If FDOT can build an overseas highway of at least two lanes all the way to Key West, there's no reason they couldn't build four lanes - apart from lack of funds.

I took Card Sound Rd the last time leaving the Keys just to take a different route, and I didn't see another car the entire time from leaving US 1 in Key Largo to rejoining US 1 just south of Florida City. It was a nice, scenic drive, and worth not having to deal with US 1 traffic for part of my drive back home.

[Mdcastle]

I was there in October of last year. It's the 20 mile stretch between Key Largo and Florida City that frazzled me. Once I got to Key Largo the road widened to four lanes and traffic thinned out and could get around me if they wanted to go fast, and their wasn't much traffic on the two lanes beyond Key Largo. I drove down on a Thursday night and back on a Saturday morning.

The other thing was that the last two blocks of US 1 were blocked off as a staging area for some sort of festival. I thought about asking a cop if I could just drive through or just doing it, but in the end decided traveling a road would still "count" if I walked it, so that's what I did. My sister asked me if we needed to go to Maine now to see the other end of US 1... I missed a picture of myself with the End 1 sign though because my sister apparently doesn't know how to work a camera and I didn't check at the time to see if she actually took one.

[Ace10]

Was that 20 mile stretch of US 1 you mentioned not four lanes at least part of, let alone the majority of, the way back in October of last year? It does narrow to two lanes getting near the county line and over Lake Surprise, and then widens back into four lanes after the curve onto Key Largo, but it is still four lanes a majority of the way from Florida City. We are talking about US 1, right? The alternate route - Card Sound Road (CR 905 and 905A) is two lanes the entire time, however.

The festival may have been the very reason traffic was congested that Thursday you drove in. I went one time in May I believe, and there was something going on in Key Largo which didn't block any lanes, but still contributed to a lot of traffic.

I'm sorry you lost the picture of the End US 1 sign. I've heard that that is one of the most photographed signs. The last time I was there, I got good pictures of US 1, then tried to find SR A1A. I never found A1A at the terminus, but I did find the southernmost reassurance markers for any numbered highway in the continental United States!

[NE2]

I did find the southernmost reassurance markers for any numbered highway in the continental United States!

If you mean the north US 1 on Truman after Whitehead, you did, but only because there appears to be no reassurance at the beginning of A1A. (A sign on the beachfront right where A1A begins would beat US 1 by a few feet.)

[Ace10]

If you mean the north US 1 on Truman after Whitehead, you did, but only because there appears to be no reassurance at the beginning of A1A. (A sign on the beachfront right where A1A begins would beat US 1 by a few feet.)

Oh no, I mean A1A. I couldn't find the actual terminus BEGIN/END signs of A1A, but I did find signs along the water, and they lie at a lower line of latitude than any for US 1 would have (or do they? The ones for US 1 may actually lie a bit lower. Time to do some fact checking...).

OK - fact check time. The terminus of A1A definitely lies further south than any other numbered highway accessible by car (I don't know of any numbered highways on private islands further west of Key West), BUT the point where I took the pictures below lie on almost the exact same line of latitude as the intersection of Truman and Whitehead, so those two pairs of reassurance markers may be competing for the "southernmost" label.

Found the coordinates: The northbound one is approximately at 24.552477,-81.763960. The one at Truman and Whitehead (for US 1) is approximately at 24.550474,-81.800348. So the A1A reassurance signs are about .002 degrees of latitude north than the ones at US 1 - that's about a difference of 728 feet - but they were the southernmost ones for A1A (which does travel further south than US 1, even seemingly within inches!) so that has to count for something!

[realjd]

Was that 20 mile stretch of US 1 you mentioned not four lanes at least part of, let alone the majority of, the way back in October of last year? It does narrow to two lanes getting near the county line and over Lake Surprise, and then widens back into four lanes after the curve onto Key Largo, but it is still four lanes a majority of the way from Florida City. We are talking about US 1, right? The alternate route - Card Sound Road (CR 905 and 905A) is two lanes the entire time, however.

The festival may have been the very reason traffic was congested that Thursday you drove in. I went one time in May I believe, and there was something going on in Key Largo which didn't block any lanes, but still contributed to a lot of traffic.

I'm sorry you lost the picture of the End US 1 sign. I've heard that that is one of the most photographed signs. The last time I was there, I got good pictures of US 1, then tried to find SR A1A. I never found A1A at the terminus, but I did find the southernmost reassurance markers for any numbered highway in the continental United States!

The construction on the stretch between Florida City and Key Largo finished last fall. It's not four lanes. There is one lane each direction with a concrete barrier in the median and a couple of passing zones each way. SB has a very narrow shoulder and NB has a full lane width shoulder to be used in case of hurricane evacuations as a second lane.

I've heard of no plans to 4-lane that stretch of US1.

[Ace10]

The construction on the stretch between Florida City and Key Largo finished last fall. It's not four lanes. There is one lane each direction with a concrete barrier in the median and a couple of passing zones each way. SB has a very narrow shoulder and NB has a full lane width shoulder to be used in case of hurricane evacuations as a second lane.

I've heard of no plans to 4-lane that stretch of US1.

Wow. That's surprising to me. I knew in a few places where they were placing the concrete barrier, there was potentially enough room for two lanes of traffic in each direction - and there probably would have been if not for the extra space needed for the barrier or the shoulders. I guess I just wrongly assumed that there would have been enough space for four full lanes plus the barrier post-construction. I haven't been back since it's been finished.

I stand corrected. Thanks for the information guys.

[xcellntbuy]

You are in PRIME season for any travel to south Florida.  All of our Canadian and Northeast winter friends come down to live until early April.  Always expect heavy traffic.  Card Sound Road and the $1 toll bridge is always worth the peace and lack of congestion over the reconstructed 18-mile stretch of US 1/Overseas Highway.

[Mdcastle]

I did at leat get a picture of the US 1 sign. Just not one with me in it. Although I'm not wild about having my picture taken in general it seems like something you're "supposed to do". I did get a picture of myself at the Gateway Arch, the MN/IA/SD tripoint , the worlds highest roller coaster, but passed at the Willis tower, Mt. Rushmore and most other places I've been.



I didn't take very many road photos on the trip in general, just 7 mile bridge, the sign at US 1 / I-95, Card Sound Road through the mangroves, the Sunshine Skyway, and the Bridge of Lions. I was on a road trip with Froggie once and he'd take a picture of every interchange, but although roads still interest me on an intellectual level I myself have become burnt out at trying to document everthing on pictures. And I was traveling with my sister who will tolerate roageeking within reason (And she thought the detour to see the Skyway Bridge was cool too) her tolerance doesn't extend to stopping every 15 minutes to take a picture of a state highway end like I use to.

I did take A1A on the way out of Key West although it was rapidly getting dark (we stayed for the sunset at Zach Taylor Beach).

[Alps]

I did find the southernmost reassurance markers for any numbered highway in the continental United States!

If you mean the north US 1 on Truman after Whitehead, you did, but only because there appears to be no reassurance at the beginning of A1A. (A sign on the beachfront right where A1A begins would beat US 1 by a few feet.)

Last I'd heard, it was too close to call. I guess someone has been down to both termini with calibrated GPS?

[DeaconG]

Had to take my car to my dealer down in Fort Pierce today and noticed that they have begun work on widening I-95 from four to six lanes from the St. Lucie/Indian River county line to State Road 70 in Fort Pierce.  More information can be found here (about midway down the page):

http://www.dot.state.fl.us/publicinformationoffice/construc/district4pio/stlucie.shtm

Be aware the FHPs are out in force in that area, so slow your roll!

Also, construction continues on widening I-95 in Brevard County between the Beachline and SR 406 in Titusville.  Center lane guard rails and new inner lane pavement is done from SR 528 to between Citrus Blvd. and Port St. John Parkway and from between SR 406 to Fox Lake Road, including sound walls on the east side of the interstate.

[realjd]

Had to take my car to my dealer down in Fort Pierce today and noticed that they have begun work on widening I-95 from four to six lanes from the St. Lucie/Indian River county line to State Road 70 in Fort Pierce.  More information can be found here (about midway down the page):

http://www.dot.state.fl.us/publicinformationoffice/construc/district4pio/stlucie.shtm

Be aware the FHPs are out in force in that area, so slow your roll!

Also, construction continues on widening I-95 in Brevard County between the Beachline and SR 406 in Titusville.  Center lane guard rails and new inner lane pavement is done from SR 528 to between Citrus Blvd. and Port St. John Parkway and from between SR 406 to Fox Lake Road, including sound walls on the east side of the interstate.

The only two lane sections of I-95 south of South Carolina are the stretch between I-4 and SR-528 (being widened currently) and the stretch between SR-514 and SR-70. I know there are plans to widen the stretch between SR-514 and the Indian River County line in the near future; I'm glad to hear that they're working on the rest of it also. Now if they'd only widen the Turnpike between SR-70 and Fort Lauderdale, I'd be happy!

[agentsteel53]

The only two lane sections of I-95 south of South Carolina are the stretch between I-4 and SR-528 (being widened currently) and the stretch between SR-514 and SR-70. I know there are plans to widen the stretch between SR-514 and the Indian River County line in the near future; I'm glad to hear that they're working on the rest of it also. Now if they'd only widen the Turnpike between SR-70 and Fort Lauderdale, I'd be happy!

how long of a section is that greater than two lanes?  I remember in some other thread we were discussing the longest length of more-than-two-lane freeway in the US, and the record holder was, I think, I-5 from the East LA Interchange heading south... about 133 miles.

[formulanone]

Had to take my car to my dealer down in Fort Pierce today and noticed that they have begun work on widening I-95 from four to six lanes from the St. Lucie/Indian River county line to State Road 70 in Fort Pierce.  More information can be found here (about midway down the page):

http://www.dot.state.fl.us/publicinformationoffice/construc/district4pio/stlucie.shtm

Be aware the FHPs are out in force in that area, so slow your roll!

Also, construction continues on widening I-95 in Brevard County between the Beachline and SR 406 in Titusville.  Center lane guard rails and new inner lane pavement is done from SR 528 to between Citrus Blvd. and Port St. John Parkway and from between SR 406 to Fox Lake Road, including sound walls on the east side of the interstate.

The only two lane sections of I-95 south of South Carolina are the stretch between I-4 and SR-528 (being widened currently) and the stretch between SR-514 and SR-70. I know there are plans to widen the stretch between SR-514 and the Indian River County line in the near future; I'm glad to hear that they're working on the rest of it also. Now if they'd only widen the Turnpike between SR-70 and Fort Lauderdale, I'd be happy!

Just got nailed on I-95 near on Monday, missed the construction zone speed limit sign just north of CR712. No remorse from the black and tan. The Turnpike is six lanes until Mile Marker 88, but that toll money should have paid for its widening years ago.

On a happy note, there's lots of old sign relics in Alachua/Bradford County that caught my attention this week.