Florida State Road 589

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State Road 589
Suncoast Parkway Veterans Expressway Maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
Length:	53.648 mi[1][2] (86.338 km)
Formed:	1994 (Veterans Expressway) 2001 (Suncoast Parkway)
South end:	I-275 / SR 60 in Tampa
Major junctions:	SR 580 in Tampa SR 568 / SR 597 in Lutz SR 54 in Odessa SR 52 near Shady Hills SR 50 in Spring Hill
North end:	US 98 / SR 700 near Chassahowitzka
Counties:	Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando
Florida State and County Roads < SR 586 SR 592 >

The Veterans Expressway and Suncoast Parkway (State Road 589) is a north–south toll road near the Florida Gulf Coast.^[3][4] Maintained and operated by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, this 57-mile (92 km) transportation corridor extends from State Road 60 in Tampa, north to U.S. Route 98 near Chassahowitzka. The Veterans Expressway was built to accommodate the increasing commuter traffic in the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area, with the Suncoast Parkway opening in 2001, extending from near the northern terminus of the Veterans Expressway to US Route 98, with a possible northern extension to U.S. Route 19/U.S. Route 98 in Crystal River in Citrus County in the planning and development stages.^[5]

[edit] Route description

[edit] Veterans Expressway

The Veterans Expressway extends 15 miles (24 km) from State Road 60 (the Courtney Campbell Causeway) west of Tampa International Airport to State Road 597 (Dale Mabry Highway) in northern Hillsborough County. The southern two miles (3 km), between Courtney Campbell Causeway and Hillsborough Avenue (on the west side of Tampa International Airport), upgraded Eisenhower Boulevard to expressway standards with frontage roads and is not tolled. North of Hillsborough Avenue, the remaining 13 miles (21 km) are tolled.

Interchange construction in November 2008. The ramp from southbound SR 589 to Tampa International Airport opened in September 2008. Note that the southbound exit is now numbered as "1B".

Between Courtney Campbell Causeway and Dale Mabry Highway, intermediate interchanges are provided at Independence Parkway, Memorial Highway, Hillsborough Avenue, Waters Avenue, Anderson Road, Linebaugh Avenue/Wilsky Boulevard, Gunn Highway, Erlich Road, Hutchison Road and Van Dyke Road. There are two mainline barrier plazas (Anderson and Sugarwood) and six ramp plazas.^[6][7] The "N minus 1" formula is used for truck toll rate schedule.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Suncoast Parkway

The 42-mile-long Suncoast Parkway (SR 589) proceeds north from the Veterans Expressway to US 98 in Hernando County, Florida, near Chassahowitzka.^[8] Drivers of automobiles traveling the entire length of the Suncoast Parkway pay $3.00 US toll.

The Suncoast Parkway is the first Florida's Turnpike Enterprise toll road to feature open road tolling. The three mainline toll plazas on the Suncoast Parkway feature bypasses where those paying cash remain on the mainline and stop at the toll plaza while those with Sunpass or related transponders exit the mainline roadway, bypass the toll plaza and then re-enter the mainline. This differs from other open road tolling locations in Florida where transponder users remain on the mainline and bypass toll booths built to the side.

[edit] Suncoast Trail

As part of the Suncoast Parkway project, a multi-use paved recreational trail, called the Suncoast Trail, was constructed parallel to the western side of the highway, immediately adjacent to the road's southbound lanes, and opened along with the Parkway itself in 2001.^[9] The trail begins at Lutz-Lake Fern Road (Exit 16), and continues north for 41 miles, to the highway's terminus at US 98. Four miles north of State Road 54, an additional 6.5-mile trail connects the Suncoast Trail to JB Starkey Wilderness Park, in New Port Richey. The use of the trail is free, and motor vehicles are prohibited along the entire trail.

For most of its length, the Suncoast Trail stays close to the parkway, separated by fences and concrete barriers. Bridges that cross rivers and streams were built with enough width to accommodate trail users. Where roads cross above the Parkway, particularly north of State Road 52, the trail briefly strays from the parkway, allowing users to cross the intersecting road at-grade.

Pedestrian/cyclist crossing of minor cross streets, is regulated by posted signs. At busier intersections, pedestrian crossing signals are part of the traffic signal systems already in place. The notable exception is at the State Road 50 interchange near Brooksville, where a dedicated overpass has been constructed to cross State Road 50, approximately 500 feet west of the main parkway.

[edit] History

[edit] Veterans Expressway

The Veterans Expressway is the north-south portion of what was the Northwest Hillsborough Expressway, originally proposed in the 1960's as the northwest beltway around Tampa's outer limits. As the plans finalized, the communities along the route grew, leading to rising land costs and opposition to the expressway dividing the towns. Lutz was especially vocal, eventually rallying state politicians to cancel the expressway construction altogether. By the mid-1980's, the expressway was broken in two segments, the Veterans Expressway and the Lutz Expressway. In the early 1990's, the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority began to build the Veterans Expressway, but was depleted of funds, leading to Florida's Turnpike Enterprise purchasing the right of way using the existing design to complete construction of the expressway. State Road 589 was designated the Veterans Expressway in 1992 and was completed in October of 1994.

[edit] Former sections

With the completion of the Suncoast Parkway in 2001, the stub of the Veterans Expressway from Exit 13 to Dale Mabry Highway was designated State Road 568.

Originally, State Road 589 was concurrent with State Road 60 between Exit 2A and Exit 1, then extended to West Spruce Street and Boy Scout Boulevard. These roads were re-designated as SR 616.

South of the southern terminus, SR 589 was planned to be branched off onto the West Crosstown Expressway and become part of the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway, at the Selmon Expressway's Exit 4. The West Crosstown was canceled due to a freeway revolt, and the SR 589 and SR 449 designations were eliminated from the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway.

[edit] Suncoast Parkway

Construction began on the Suncoast Parkway in 1998, and opened in 2001 in two stages at a cost of $507 million. The section from the Veterans Expressway to State Road 50 opened in February 2001 and the section from State Road 50 north to U.S. Route 98 opened in August of 2001.

[edit] Reconstruction and other improvements

Construction of the flyover that now carries traffic from Tampa International Airport to I-275 north and SR 60 east.

In August 2005, a massive reconstruction project began on the interchanges between I-275 and Memorial Highway, near Tampa International Airport after being shelved for over fifteen years.^{[citation needed]} The project will consist of a four-level stack interchange at the Spruce St Interchange, a three-level interchange at the Courtney Campbell Causeway, and an extensive auxiliary exit ramp system stretching from Independence Pkwy to just north of I-275. The first phase, dealing with the northbound lanes to the airport is scheduled to be completed in spring 2010 at a cost of $202 million. As of December 23, 2009, all new lanes and ramps have opened, thus completing all major components of the project. The second phase, which upgrades the southbound lanes is currently in the early design stages and there is currently no timetable set for construction.^[10]

Interchange construction in early 2008. The flyovers from SR 589 south to TIA, SR 589 south to SR 616 (Spruce St), and TIA to I-275 south are all taking shape.

The project has resulted in better access from southbound Veterans Expressway to the Courtney Campbell Causeway on State Road 60, the Airport to I-275 and the WestShore Business District.^[11] According to the Florida Department of Transportation, the new flyover is 2,096 feet (639 m) long and 75 feet (23 m) high at its peak.^[12]

As of August 2007 video camera's have been added on the road every 10th of a mile down the span of the toll road.

As of July 2006, a study is being performed on a project that would widen the Veterans Expressway to eight lanes between Memorial Highway and Van Dyke Road.^[13]

[edit] Suncoast Parkway Extension

With the Suncoast Parkway extension in Citrus County still unresolved, ten different alignments, with four southern segments, twelve central segments, and one northern segment, have been brought to attention regarding the parkway's routing. Regardless of the alignment (if selected and built), the list of proposed interchanges is as follows.^[14]

Intersecting Roadway	Notes
U.S. Route 98/SR 700 Current northern terminus.	Four alignments are proposed for this interchange
Cardinal Street	Four alignments are proposed for this interchange
State Road 44	Three alignments are proposed for this interchange
CCR 495 (North Citrus Avenue)	One alignment is proposed for this interchange
U.S. Route 19/U.S. Route 98/SR 55	One alignment is proposed for this interchange

Critics of the Suncoast Parkway extension believe that such a plan would disrupt the quiet, undisturbed sections of Citrus County and bring forth more urban sprawl to the county. Furthermore, impacted residents fear that the parkway alignments come too close to their residences and will cause excessive noise and decreased property values.

The St. Pete Times reported on March 7, 2009 that the Suncoast Parkway extension project will be on hold indefinitely due to toll revenue and gas tax shortfalls, as well as the dismal health of the state and national economies. The $140 million already allocated for the project will be spent on other projects and expenses instead.^[15]

[edit] Exit list

County	Location	Mile[2]	#[4]	Destinations	Notes
Hillsborough	Tampa			I-275 (Kennedy Blvd) / SR 60 east – Tampa	Southern Terminus of SR-589; Roadway continues east as SR-60; southbound exit and northbound entrance
			1A	Tampa International Airport via George J Bean Parkway	Northbound exit is not labeled.
			1B	SR 616 (Spruce Street) - Raymond James Stadium	Northbound exit is not labeled. Access to O'Brien Street is provided at both directions. Southbound (ONLY) access to Cypress Street is also provided.
			2A	SR 60 west (Courtney Campbell Causeway) – Clearwater	Northbound exit not labeled as 2A, end SR 60 concurrency
		0.700	2B	Independence Parkway	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		1.042	3	CR 576 (Memorial Highway)
		2.052	4	SR 580 (Hillsborough Avenue)
		4.082	6A	Waters Avenue
				Anderson Toll Plaza ($1.00, $0.75 with SunPass)
		4.694	6B	Anderson Road
		5.653	7	Linebaugh Avenue West	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		6.250	8	Wilsky Boulevard	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		7.741	9	CR 587 (Gunn Highway) – Citrus Park
		8.682	10	Ehrlich Road – Citrus Park, Northdale
				Sugarwood Toll Plaza ($0.75, $0.50 with SunPass)
		10.606	12	Hutchinson Road
	Cheval	12.136	13	SR 568 east (Veterans Expressway) to SR 597 (Dale Mabry Highway)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		Veterans Expressway begins southbound, Suncoast Parkway begins northbound
		12.814	14	CR 685A (Van Dyke Road) – Lutz
			16	CR 582 (Lutz-Lake Fern Road)	Opened August 15, 2009.[16][17] Suncoast Trail begins here.
Pasco		17.338	19	SR 54 – Land O' Lakes, Odessa
				Anclote Toll Plaza ($1.00)
			24	CR 524 (Ridge Road)
	Shady Hills	27.154	27	SR 52 – Hudson, Dade City, San Antonio
				Spring Hill Toll Plaza ($1.00)
		35.937	37	CR 578 (County Line Road) – Masaryktown
Hernando
	Spring Hill	39.390	41	CR 574 (Spring Hill Drive)
		43.148	46	SR 50 – Weeki Wachee, Brooksville
				Oak Hammock Toll Plaza ($1.00)
		53.648	54	US 98 to US 19 – Crystal River, Tallahassee

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Tampa Airport Interchanges Project Page
• Suncoast Parkway Proposed Extension Project Page
• Florida Route Log(SR 589)
• Cancelled Veterans Expressway Extension
• Florida @ SouthEastRoads - Florida 589