Florida State Road 869

This article is about the current State Road 869 near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For the former SR 869 near Fort Myers, Florida, see County Road 869 (Lee County, Florida).

State Road 869
Sawgrass Expressway
Route information
Maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise and FDOT
Length:	23.875 mi (38.423 km) 20.763 miles (33.415 km) tollway section
Existed:	July 3, 1986 – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-75 / I-595 / SR 84 / SR 93 in Sunrise
	US 441 / SR 7 in Coconut Creek Turnpike in Deerfield Beach
East end:	I-95 / SR 9 in Deerfield Beach
Location
Counties:	Broward
Highway system
Florida State Roads Interstate • US • SR (Pre-1945) • Toll ← SR 867 SR 870 →

State Road 869 is a 23.875-mile (38.423 km) long state road located in Broward County, Florida. The road acts as a de-facto bypass of Fort Lauderdale and northern coastal Broward County, Florida, extending north from a junction of Interstate 75 (SR 93), Interstate 595 (SR 862), and SR 84 in Sunrise, to Coral Springs before heading eastward towards Florida's Turnpike and terminating at Interstate 95 in Deerfield Beach. The 20.763-mile (33.415 km) section west of the Turnpike is known as the Sawgrass Expressway, a limited-access toll road; the section east of the Turnpike is a surface street (SW 10th Street). The expressway opened in 1986 and was added to Florida's Turnpike Enterprise in 1990. The entire tollway section is operated on an open-road tolling system for SunPass users and six lanes wide. The at-grade section east of the Turnpike is maintained by FDOT.

Route description

The Sawgrass Expressway was converted to open-road tolling in 2008 and 2009 at the Sunrise and Deerfield toll plazas, as well as on exit and entrance ramps, eliminating the need for toll plazas for SunPass users on the toll road. Traditional toll booths for cash customers are still accessible on the right side of the plaza areas. The expressway was widened from four lanes to its current six lanes during this time.

The highway begins at the north end of the I-75/I-595 interchange in Sunrise, with protected everglades to the west and newer residential and commercial developments to the east of the expressway for the first 12 miles. After a welcome sign, the expressway passes its lone free interchange to Sunrise Blvd. (SR 838), connecting to the Sawgrass Mills outlet mall. It then intersects with the Sunrise Toll Plaza, the first of two toll plazas on the road before reaching the BankAtlantic Center exit (no southbound exit). After intersecting with Oakland Park Blvd. (SR 816), it enters Tamarac, intersecting with Commercial Blvd. (SR 870), and then enters Coral Springs. After interchanges at Atlantic Blvd (SR 814), and Sample Road (SR 834), it curves 90 degrees east, switching to an east–west orientation, with housing and other developments surrounding both sides of the highway. Still in Coral Springs, the highway's next interchange and last exit before additional tolls (both directions) is Coral Ridge Drive. Afterwards, it continues eastward, acting as the border between Parkland to the north of the expressway and Coral Springs to the south of it towards the interchange with University Drive (SR 817). Three miles east of the University Drive exit, the expressway has an interchange with US 441/SR 7, which forms the borders between Coconut Creek to the east and Parkland and Coral Springs to the west. The expressway then enters Coconut Creek at the interchange, with an exit with Lyons Road before entering Deerfield Beach and approaching the Deerfield Toll Plaza just west of Florida's Turnpike.

After crossing the Turnpike, the tollway reverts to a six lane surface street, SW 10th Street, still heading east in Deerfield Beach. It has intersections with two residential streets before reaching Powerline Road (SR 845). East of Powerline Road, SR 869 passes by residential and commercial zones, crossing several local streets for the remainder of its length, with SR 869 terminating at I-95 about two miles east of Powerline Road. There have been plans to extend the expressway east of the Turnpike to I-95 since the early 1990s, but local opposition has prevented it from going forward.

History

The original Sawgrass Expressway road signs

Originally planned to be the University-Deerfield Expressway when it was first proposed in 1960, it was supposed to be the northernmost part of a chain of expressways from Deerfield Beach to Coral Gables, but the proposed Snake Creek Expressway (in Broward County) became part of the Florida's Turnpike Extension and the LeJeune-Douglas Expressway (in Dade County) failed in the 1970s as the result of a county wide expressway revolt. On the other hand, the rerouting of Interstate 75 from the Tamiami Trail to Alligator Alley in 1973 increased the necessity of a northern/western bypass of Broward County and in 1983, the newly created Broward County Expressway Authority proposed the Sawgrass-Deerfield Expressway in its current alignment. A series of cost-cutting measures for the proposed toll road included removal of all planned rest stops and a shortening of the name of the road to Sawgrass Expressway (A consultant stated in an interview, "Those overhead signs are damn expensive").

The Sawgrass Expressway broke ground on November 2, 1984, and opened to traffic on July 3, 1986, at a cost of $200 million. The section between I-75 and Sunrise Boulevard opened on August 4, 1988. Bonds were sold in 1984 to finance construction and again in 1986 to partially refund the 1984 bonds. By 1990, however, the Sawgrass Expressway was plagued with a massive debt, light usage and was a subject of local political corruption. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise purchased the Sawgrass Expressway from the Broward County Expressway Authority in December 1990 as part of the expansion program authorized by the Florida Legislature in 1990 Senate Bill 1316. The Expressway, along with SW 10th Street west of I-95, was bannered as State Road 869 in 1995.

"Cecil B. Sawgrass", the Sawgrass Expressway's now-hard-to-find mascot

When the highway was first built, it was criticized for being a "road to nowhere", as it passed through undeveloped areas for most of its length. The road's $1.50 toll in its first few years was another criticism by local residents, contributing to the road's light usage. Commercial and residential developments boomed along the toll road in the late '80s and throughout the '90s, making it suitable for commuters. The swampland west of the Expressway is an Everglades Water Conservation Area and unlikely to be developed in the foreseeable future. The Sawgrass Expressway experienced its first toll hike on March 7, 2004, increasing the toll rate for non SunPass users to $2.00 for travel over the entire expressway, with SunPass users still using the original toll rates. For travel over only part of the expressway, a graduated toll system is in place.

Unlike most roads, the Sawgrass Expressway had a mascot, a swamp frog named Cecil B. Sawgrass, who appeared on signs greeting motorists entering the tollway southbound from State Road 845 (Powerline Road), as well as various road signs on the expressway. Signs featuring Cecil are becoming rare, as newer expressway signage uses only the standard TOLL 869 shield. In October 2005, Hurricane Wilma damaged the expressway's welcome sign, resulting in its removal during cleanup.

Major junctions

The entire route is in Broward County.

Location	Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Sunrise	0.000	0	I-75 / I-595 – Miami, Naples, Fort Lauderdale International Airport	Southern terminus, Alligator Alley via I-75 north
	1.065	1	SR 838 (Sunrise Boulevard)	Toll-free interchange, to Sawgrass Mills
	2.065	Sunrise Toll Plaza ($1.00, $.75 with SunPass)
	2.432	1B	Pat Salerno Drive / BankAtlantic Center	Northbound exit and Southbound entrance
	3.297	3	SR 816 (Oakland Park Boulevard)	To BankAtlantic Center, $.75 toll southbound, $.50 with SunPass
Tamarac	5.484	5	SR 870 (Commercial Boulevard)	$.50 toll southbound
Coral Springs	8.222	8	SR 814 (W. Atlantic Boulevard)	$.50 toll southbound, $.25 with SunPass
	10.966	11	SR 834 (Sample Road)	$.25 toll southbound
	13.885	14	Coral Ridge Drive	To SR 847
	15.636	15	SR 817 (University Drive)	$.25 toll eastbound
Coconut Creek	18.640	18	US 441 / SR 7	$.50 toll eastbound
	19.643	19	Lyons Road	$.75 toll eastbound, $.50 with SunPass
Deerfield Beach	20.523	Deerfield Toll Plaza ($1.00, $.75 with SunPass)
	20.763	21	Turnpike / SR 91 – Miami, Orlando	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	20.763	At-grade intersections begin eastbound (SW 10th Street); expressway begins westbound
	21.835		SR 845 (Powerline Road)
	23.875		I-95 / SR 9 – Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

External links

• Florida @ SouthEastRoads - Florida 869
• Florida's Turnpike - Toll 869 - Sawgrass Expressway
• Sawgrass Expressway Map