Mike Washburn

They're frustrated they have to wait in line," said Michael Washburn, spokesman for the turnpike."There's a considerable volume of traffic going to and from the turnpike off the Sawgrass and we want to provide the convenience of SunPass-only lanes to them also."

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Washburn said the Deerfield toll plaza on the Sawgrass poses a problem because of its proximity to the turnpike ramps.

Construction of the SunPass improvements will begin in June 2003 and should take six months.A parking lot and access road for turnpike employees who work at the Deerfield Toll Plaza will be moved farther west on the Sawgrass to make room for the SunPass ramp modifications.

As part of a separate project, a truck staging lot west of the plaza in the westbound lanes of the Sawgrass will be relocated this summer.Washburn said that should eliminate the conflicts that occur between drivers coming out of the plaza and trucks setting up alongside the road.

The new truck staging lot will be off the Sawgrass' Commercial Boulevard exit and west of the expressway.

Washburn said turnpike officials have run into problems incorporating SunPass only lanes at older turnpike exits.Many of the interchanges were built in the 1950s and 1960s when land along the corridor was not as densely populated as it is today.

Take the Commercial Boulevard interchange in Broward County, for example.

The existing toll plaza is too close to the traffic light at Commercial to allow traffic to move through easily and there isn't enough room to create more SunPass-only lanes without traffic backing up even worse than it does now.

Construction from Glades Road to Atlantic Avenue is slated for completion in the summer, said department spokesman Mike Washburn.

The southbound entrance and exit ramps at Glades Road were not wide enough to accommodate three lanes on the turnpike each way, so workers will build a roomier ramp bridge this weekend.

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The C-15 Canal bridge requires the most work, Washburn said, because it isn't wide enough to accommodate six lanes.It is the only bridge that is being demolished.

For commuters, rerouting and traffic jams in construction areas are hardly new.

Work on the turnpike in south Palm Beach County began in July 2000.At the same time, work began to expand U.S. 441 - from Glades to Lake Worth roads - from two to six lanes.
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"We want people to know about the construction and see if that's going to impact their trip," Washburn said."We still want to provide the transportation to them.But if it causes a negative impact to their travel plans, they should seek other routes."

Though shutting turnpike lanes was inevitable this weekend, construction will stop Wednesday through Nov. 25 for the Thanksgiving holiday.Work also will halt on I-95 and U.S. 441.

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By 2005, that number is expected to increase by 10,000, Washburn said.

The county's population is expected to increase by about 400,000 in the next 20 years.

"The DOT is responding to that growth," he said.

"A lot of people in West Palm Beach are calling and our 1-800 number has been getting a couple of calls a week from people living in Port St. Lucie and south," said Mike Washburn, a turnpike spokesman."The calls are from those who are anxious to get this going."

Evelio Suarez, manager of SunPass Operations for the Florida Department of Transportation, said he's not surprised there has been more demand from those in Palm Beach County than the Treasure Coast since many southern commuters are familiar with the system because of traveling south of Lantana.

"It's more of a convenience," he said."Not just being able to zip through the toll plaza, but also not having to worry about having to find change while you drive."

The startup delay along the Treasure Coast was needed as the state worked to make the computerized system compatible with the coin collection system that had already been in place in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Washburn said.

Frequent turnpike users are expected to be the biggest users of the system, he said.

Motorists using the system will continue to wait in line with others picking up toll road tickets and paying their fare, but do not have to stop for the collector when reaching the booth.

To get the SunPass system, motorists must pay a $25 fee to receive the transponder box that is to be placed on the windshield behind the rearview mirror, along with at least $25 for the opening account balance and $1.50 in taxes.

For information or to purchase a SunPass transponder using a major credit card, simply call toll free at 1-888-TOLL-FLA or order on-line at http://www.sunpass.com/.

``They certainly understood the urgency and worked with us,'' Mike Washburn, spokesman for the state road agency, said of Cone & Graham Construction. ``It was a big relief for the Monday morning commute.''

The southbound detour stretches from just south of Memorial Highway to just south of the disabled bridge.It involves a lane shift and has a 45 mph speed limit.

The detour also means the southbound entrance ramp at Memorial Highway is closed.

``We would urge people who might have used Memorial to get on at Hillsborough [Avenue] and they won't have to worry about a toll,'' Washburn said.

The state road agency is waiving the 25-cent toll for people getting on southbound at Hillsborough until the expressway is finished.

Cone & Graham is beginning to dismantle the damaged bridge, just west of the temporary route.

Workers will have to take apart the bridge deck, the beams and the retaining wall underneath the bridge before building a new structure.

The state will use $2 million from an emergency fund to start replacing the southbound Veterans Expressway bridge that crosses over Independence Parkway, Mike Washburn, a Florida Department of Transportation spokesman, said Saturday.

``It was very intense heat that caused this damage,'' Washburn said. ``In essence, we will be rebuilding the bridge.''

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State investigators learned Saturday that the heat - estimated at more than 1,000 degrees - caused parts of the eight concrete support beams on the bottom of the overpass roadway to break off, exposing and melting the steel strands inside the concrete beams, Washburn said.

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A retaining wall also was damaged; but it isn't known if the complete wall will have to be replaced or just repaired in certain areas, Washburn said.

The repair work will close the Veterans Expressway south of Hillsborough Avenue and shut the Independence Parkway under the Veterans Expressway overpass.Eastbound Independence Parkway and northbound Veterans Expressway were opened Saturday, Washburn said.

Commuters who used the now-closed roads are being asked to take Hillsborough Avenue to Dale Mabry Highway, said Washburn and Durkin.