Florida's Turnpike: Swamps and Suburbs
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- čas přidán 31. 01. 2024
- Florida's Turnpike is an important road connecting two of Florida's largest cities and Orlando with everything north in I-75. It also goes near this year's Pro Bowl stadium, which is the onoy thought I'm giving to the Pro Bowl!
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Control City Freak is updated weekly and covers every two digit Interstate Highway in America as well as other roads. I'll be showing control city signs on each 1 and 2 digit (2di) Interstate Highway in the continental United States and will strive to make as complete a record as possible, as well as various other highways. I'll also be getting into the roadgeek weeds here and there, showing downtown skylines and state border crossings, and making corny jokes. I welcome all to join my geeky tour of every primary Interstate in the country!
Thanks to everyone who made an exit request in this episode:
Dallas Bittinger
Jeff Banks
Owen Suhy
Lemon
Kenny Latham
All images of roads and signs come from Google Street View unless otherwise specified.
The Florida's Turnpike Shield comes from Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida...
Maps used in this video come from Google Maps www.google.com/maps/
Music: Acoustic Sunrise, from the Apple iMovie sounds library
"Into the Great Wide Open" by Tom Petty
Control City Freak Episodes mentioned in this video:
Interstate 95 Southern Southbound • Interstate 95 Southern SB
U.S. 41 • US 41
Interstate 4 • Interstate 4
Interstate 75 South • Interstate 75 South
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Interstates, Interstate Highways, Control Cities, Signs, Roadsigns, highway nerdery, Florida's Turnpike, Florida, Miami, Orlando, Key West, Gainsville, Ocala, Yeehaw Junction, Pro Bowl
I used to live in a subdivision near the junction of the Turnpike and the Greeneway (417) - I could see both roads from my house. Great neighborhood with excellent amenities. We have since moved to Colorado. In Orlando, winter was my favorite season and summer was unbearable. In Colorado, summer is delightful and the best season for daily activities but I absolutely _love_ skiing in the winter.
The turnpike and 95 don’t meet because the turnpike was built and opened waaaay before 95 was even going through final design stages. There were many years of lawsuits and environmental concerns. This forced 95 to be shoehorned into the area and there wasn’t a lot of land to create interchanges.
They might build a new interchange connecting Florida's Turnpike and I-95 in Martin County but I don't think there is enough space for it.
The Fort Pierce exit is the “Breezewood PA” of Florida. The Jupiter exit is just a few hundred feet from I-95 and the actual turnpike and 95 meet at the original beginning at the Golden Glades interchange.
@@tomstoeckleto a point I’d agree with that. Fort Pierce is also a college town (I went there) and is about 25x the size of Breezewood.
@@nc5958considering 95 crosses over the Turnpike twice, they could build slip ramps for going northbound to northbound and southbound to southbound.
Im pretty sure the Turnpike is supposed to be more for through oriented while I-95 is used more for local traffic. Also roads designated turnpikes usually have less exits for the reason I stated above. You can notice this with majority of the turnpikes in the US.
Yeehaw Junction reminds me of Breezewood, PA. It used to be a unique place, the “Town of Motels.” Most of those motels are blighted now!
I mean, the Breezewood Taco Bell closed despite the captive audience. Taco Bells never close
There used to be a Holiday Inn in Yeehaw Jct up until the mid-80's.
In the section where I 95 and the turnpike run close together, there are TO I-95 signs prior to each exit. Similarly there are TO Florida's Turnpike posted at exits along I-95.
Glad to hear of a Royals mention!!......
So much of the signage on Florida's Turnpike makes sense!
Next Exit 51 miles for northbound FL Turnpike and Next Exit 41 miles for southbound FL Turnpike?! WOW, that beats out even I-80 in Utah traversing the Bonneville Salt Flats where there is no exit for 37 miles between Exits 4 and 41. Florida is truly something else. :) Great video Todd! 👍
Thanks!
The longest and second-longest stretch of highway without an exit.
9:34 As a Fort Myers native and resident, I always appreciate you pushing for Fort Myers to be an I-75 control city. I've always thought it should be over Naples. Maybe some day.
Fun facts. SR 874 aka Don Shula Expressway. Fast and Furious II was filmed in South Florida. Parts of I-75 were closed for some of the race scenes. SR 429 aka Daniel Webster Western Beltway, named after a state politician. SR 417 will take you to UCF. The sign that says SR 70 Fort Pierce Vero beach is an old relic of the days when I-95 stopped at Fort Pierce. If you were to go North to Daytona or Jacksonville, you would get off at SR 70 and about a mile later get onto I-95. Because I-95 for many years was under construction and was expanded (plus they added an interchange for Palm Beach International Airport), we'd avoid the headache and take Turnpike up to SR 70. Before I-75 went as far as Hialeah / Miami Lakes (not quite Miami proper) and the widening of US-27, we'd take Turnpike to Yeehaw Junction, then go west on SR 60 to go to Tampa.
Nice!
429 also is now complete as of this week to connect to SR 417 to complete the bypass of Orlando.
41 miles between exits?!?! Ahhhh the uniqueness of Florida
That’s the shorter one. The other distance is 53 miles southbound.
@usmpiano That interchange only really looks useful for southbound traffic (leads to “Lake” Okeechobee; I’ve read it’s not really a true lake, as it flows southwards to the Everglades). It doesn’t look like 441 northbound goes anywhere of note that can’t be better served by the TP or 95. So, in essence, northbound is closer to 90 miles without any meaningful interchanges!
@@tylermarchand2996the Yeehaw exit is more important than you think. SR 60 is actually an important cut through in the area. If you head east you can get to I95 and down to Fort Pierce in the exact same amount of time as taking the Turnpike does and save money. It’s 65mph with no traffic lights until 95. Going west it’s faster to get to Tampa that way than going all the way up to I4 and backtracking southwards. I agree the town of Okeechobee is a dumpster fire, but the lake is the second largest freshwater lake in the contiguous U.S. It DOES have some outflows to various canals and rivers but these are absolutely essential for flood prevention.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Okeechobee#history - go to the next section on Hurricanes
That's a toll road for ya
All farm land between Fort Pierce and Kissimmee exit. Urban sprawl is starting to creep south of Kissimmee St. Cloud area. Not as much as St. Lucie County where Turnpike and I-95 would traverse. US 441 straggles part of the Turnpike, between Yeehaw and Kissimmee.
The service plaza reminded me of a trip my family took from Wisconsin to the Keys when I was about 12. I had the worst burger ever at a Florida's Turnpike service plaza--it was so bad that I still remember it more than 50 years later. Perhaps the food has improved since then.
Which restaurant was it?
They massively upgraded the service areas on the Turnpike a few years ago. There are plenty of restaurant options now.
Too long ago to remember the exact place. I do remember the ashen hockey puck they put on a bun, though. @@ControlCityFreak
lol
Pennsylvania isn’t the only other state with minimal interaction between their Turnpike and any nearby roads. It looks like New Jersey does something similar between the NJTP and 295 through Camden. Past the Delaware Memorial Bridge, there’s no way to directly switch from one to the other, even when they run parallel to each other! 195 looks to be the only linkage between the two near Trenton (where they part ways).
Good point. I was just singling out PA due to their famously bad signage in general.
The NJ Turnpike is used as the through route to points north and south and is NJ's cash cow as it forces the long haulers to use it and pay (pretty steep) tolls. I-295 is really more of the eastern Beltway around Philly and it's NJ suburbs, so NJ has little reason to interchange between the two. That said, there are two exits in the Philly/Camden area that one could use that are close enough bet. the 2 roads, they being the Exit 3 for NJ 168 (the ACE connection in fact) in Bellmawr, and Exit 4 for NJ 73 in Mount Laurel. Note that you need NJ 168 (Black Horse Pike) to get to not just I-295, but also to get to I-676 for Philly itself (via the Walt Whitman and Ben Franklin Bridges) and NJ 42 going east.
I-95 & FL Turnpike reminds me of I-295 & NJ Turnpike. Two freeways that run less than a mile apart for a long distance. I'm glad Yeehaw Junction got the mention. When I was a kid, we used to go down FL-60 from Bartow to Vero Beach and Yeehaw Junction had 2 truck stops and that was it. We would often stop and stretch our legs there.
I drove this countless times for years driving from Tallahassee to South Florida. I always used to get off the Turnpike at State Road 70 in Ft. Pierce usually to save tolls or top off on gas, but sometimes, I'd switch over in Jupiter. For many years, I-95 had a notable gap between Ft. Pierce and Palm Beach Gardens, which is why you get that awkward situation where they're immediately next to each other; or how 95 loops to the west to avoid cutting through homes in Port St. Lucie, since the Turnpike is many decades older through there. Older South Florida drivers are probably used to that switchover because that used to be the only way you could get up towards Daytona or Jacksonville. The Turnpike is sort of lacking in exits in general. At least from Palm Beach County northward, it feels like much of the Turnpike is still saddled with only the exits that existed when it was built in the late 50s. Very few new exits despite the growth
Welcome! It’s called Camping World Stadium now
Orlando local here while it is called that most locals do not call it that.
They’re welcome to sponsor my channel for me to call it that. Otherwise, no free ride.
@@ControlCityFreak Based.
Fantastic video! Florida’s Turnpike is a highway that I am very familiar with since my early childhood because I am a native Floridian (Miami). I am familiar with most of its spur routes as well, except for the most recently built ones, since I have been living in New York City for 17 years now.
Thanks!
If someone had told me(just a year ago) I’d be watching videos, being narrated by someone providing tips and advice along our interstate system, I would’ve laughed them down. Turns out, I LOVE these videos you produce!!😂 I always love reading such signs when traveling, but I’d no idea that I would enjoy it via videos! Great videos and thanks a million. 👌🏽👏🏽🙏🏽
Thank you!
Love it! Been taking the Turnpike forever! That Ron-Jon sign’s left half is by the NB lanes, as though “surf cruiser shark”, their mascot, but the sign in half! There IS a sign “Disney World via FL429, exit 267A” about 2.5miles before, at mm271.5! I-95 through Martin County (between PB and St Lucie cty) wasn’t built until the late ‘80s, so, had to take the turnpike then exit at Ft Pierce to go north! That “university drive” is for Nova Southeastern U” in Davie, FL. The Express Lanes in Miami-Dade are fantastic! The Villages, home of STDs!! Sorry I didn’t request the Hard Rock Hollywood famous Guitar Hotel. Thanks!
I can't believe a Jets v Giants Superbowl is in LA...
That part of the turnpike where 95 gets In closest proximity always reminds me of crossyroad
Guys, don't stop at Ft. Drum or ft pierce service plaza to use the restrooms. They have been working on them for 2 years and you have to use the nasty outside trailers. So much for the Turnpike widening if they can't even fix the restrooms. We stop at Yee Haw Junction or the truck stops at Ft. Pierce for restrooms.
I remember Yeehaw Junction. That's where we got off the turnpike to head down to Lake Okeechobee when we visited my grandmother's cousin cousin's place in Buckhead Ridge. That was in the summer of 1985. Looking forward to the US50 and US60 videos in the future.
As a resident of this “fair” town Apopka is A-POP-ka. Also there IS a sign for Disney via the 429. It’s about 750 feet before this exit.
Also, this is not the first Orlando exit. That would be the SR 50 exit before this. Clermont is a rapidly growing suburb of Orlando. It used to be an exurb, but the gaps have really been filled in during the last 10 years
D’oh, was worried I may have gotten that one wrong.
@@ControlCityFreakno worries my friend. Sometimes I call it “a-poop-ka” when I get frustrated with people. :)
@@usmpiano lol
Back in the 1980s, the US 27 exit to Clermont was the best way to get from northern Florida to Disney World. I guess it's still an OK exit if you want to minimize tolls.
@@aaronholcomb237 nah.. don't do it.. the traffic between Minneola to Clermont is unbearable.
Florida is crazy long. If you start in Key West, according to Google Maps, it is 13 hours of driving (840 miles) to the Alabama state line on I-10 near Pensacola - but that's without stops.
I’d love to get to Orlando sometime - lots of great waterparks there!
Just found your videos and liking them. Wanted to point a few things out:
1) FL SR 826 - Bad job by FLDOT. This is known locally (in Miami-Dade County) as the Palmetto Expressway, and it is big as it is the inner loop bypassing Miami via its Western suburbs (if it were an interstate, it would be a even-numbered 3di), and unlike many other FL SRs it is free to use (albeit having tolled express lanes from just south of MIA to Medley.) It should have been signed up coming to and from the Turnpike, but given that the Turnpike in Miami-Dade acts as a tolled Western bypass of Miami there's little incentive to do so. Some signs in the area point it out as the Palmetto Exp., but others just have "826".
2) FL SR 836 - Again, another bad job by FLDOT. This toll road is the Dolphin Expressway, and it is a key E-W arterial linking the suburbs of Sweetwater and Doral with Downtown Miami and MIA. Moreover, at its east end it interchanges with I-95 and feeds directly into I-195 for Miami Beach. That it doesn't have Miami Beach as a Control CIty is a head-scratcher.
3) FL Tpke (Homestead) - some destination signs on the FLTP have both Homestead AND Key West going southbound with associated mileage, but the Control City is and will likely remain Homestead. Reason is that the stretch between Hollywood (which is where the original mainline of the FLTP to the Golden Glades interchange with I-95 and the current mainline diverge) and Homestead is officially known as the "Homestead Extension of the Florida Turnpike" - with the whole idea of constructing that extension being to link Homestead with the rest of the state's controlled access highways (since otherwise the nearest such highway is I-95, which ends in the Miami suburb of Vizcaya/Coral Gables and Homestead residents would've needed US 1, traffic lights galore, to get there.) In any event, the FLTP ends/begins in Homestead.
4) Weird I-75 sign on the FLTP - that area is under major construction as the FLTP there is being expanded to 10 lanes (5 in each direction - yes, massive), so let's wait and see if that sign is replaced with a proper I-75 shield once all is said and done.
5) I-595: Signs off the FLTP should indicate that I-595 goes to Ft. Lauderdale, esp. its airport (FLL) and its seaport (major cruise terminal there). Another head-scratcher there.
I love the tom petty
Here’s Speedboy14’s the way it should be for Florida’s Turnpike!!
Southbound: Orlando, Miami, Key West (with Homestead as a secondary)
Northbound: Miami (until Miami exits), Orlando, Gainesville or Atlanta
Solid.
@@ControlCityFreak if the Chiefs play the Tennessee Titans next NFL season what road would you do then?
@@jordanjones5751 They don’t. We’ll play them in 2025 so I’ve got plenty of time to think about it!
@@ControlCityFreak I-24 reboot would be an option in 2025 if the Chiefs play the Titans
Apopka is announced as A/pop/ka
@8:20 Dolphins Stadium AKA Autodomo De Miami, the Site of the F1 Miami GP in eary May
13:10 I know of Jupiter, Florida as where the Cardinals have their spring training!
That would be correct, and it's also where the Marlins have their Spring Training at as well but, still go Cardinals!
You should mention for next week's Vegas spectacular that they're closing the Tropicana Hotel in April to, among other things, make way for the proposed new stadium for the A's. Brodie Brazil's CZcams channel has been documenting the whole A's saga and is worth a look.
Oh cool. I already recorded it so too late for a mention. I’m bummed about that too, the A’s should stay in Oakland but I do realize the stadium is a dump. Al Davis ruined it.
@ControlCityFreak Even In-N-Out isn’t staying in Oakland!
8:50 its for NSU!
As it just so happens I am heading to Florida for a 2 week vacay from 2/14 to 3/1... So I may be traveling on the Florida Turnpike while I am down there you never know..
The Ohio turnpike looks way different than I remember
714/Martin Highway, Stuart exit. Makes this Palm City boy pretty happy, which is the city the exit is actually in. We would pronounce it seven-fourteen instead of seven-one-four which i think is common for 3 digit state roads in Florida. Between Kissimmee and Yeehaw Junction it used to be 50 miles between exits before they added that Kissimmee Park exit.3 exits covering 90 miles which was pretty unique.
You can definitely get off at Jupiter and it's less than a mile to get on I-95. If fact, when i was a kid you used have to do the reverse because I-95 didn't exist between either Palm Beach Gardens or Jupiter exit and SR 714 in rural Palm City. It was known as the "missing link". They finally finished it in the late 80s
Oh wow didn’t know it was finished that late. My first atlas was in ‘86, don’t recall it being dotted lines down there but maybe I didn’t look at the Florida page that much then lol
@@ControlCityFreak it is probably around then they finished the interstate. My knee jerk is late 80s because I can remember the time it wasn't there lol with me being 45. We road our bikes out on the unfinished interstate a couple times. Thinking back I'm probably glad we didn't get seen doing that. There wasn't much to do growing up in rural South Florida I guess
@@ControlCityFreak since you are into interstates and I assume their history, there was a local urban legend. It was told to one of my classes in middle school by my teacher. They claimed there was a big land owner that was blocking the sale of his land to finish the interstate. That's not that surprising but the twist was he died one night where the highway ended at the Stuart/Palm City exit in an auto accident. His blocking the highway competition is what killed him. His descendants had no problem selling the land to the state after his death.
Ha that’s something!
At the northwest terminus of this turnpike, there is no ramp for northbound I-75 to turnpike south. The sign shown is for southbound I-75 traffic to take the turnpike. Northbound mentioned above would have to exit at SR 44. go west under the underpass, then turn left to enter I-75 south and immediately move to far left lanes to enter turnpike. Besides no ramp as mentioned, it is a dangerous merging of off ramp from turnpike with much traffic heading north on I-75. No signage exists for I-75 north before turnpike about using SR-44. My preference would be the construction of a off-ramp I-75 northbound and turnpike southbound. A sign advising turnpike traffic on northbound I-75 ramp to use SR-44 to access I-75 south is present.
That's how the interchange used to be, but they added ramps to it a few years ago. Now there's a flyover ramp from NB I-75 to State Road 44 that goes over the Turnpike lanes (You can see it in the video as the bridge in with the 75 North and Exit 307 Signs), and there's several overhead signs for the exit on 75. Southbound 75 is still kind of a mess with the Turnpike being a left exit, but they at least added a dedicated flyover from the SB State Road 44 on-ramp to the Turnpike that goes over SB I-75. Overall it's a much safer pair of exits than it used to be, minus all the Orlando/Miami-bound traffic going into the left lanes on I-75 to get onto the turnpike.
I’m thinking of something different for this list. Seeing how most exits in Florida don’t have cities attached to the exits (ESPECIALLY South Florida), this list would feature how to fill in some of those city-less exits. There are A TON to choose from, but I’m confident that most people from the Sunshine State will recognize these places, even if they aren’t technically “incorporated “. As usual, left to right is northbound.
Homestead-Miami-Miami Gardens-Miramar-Hollywood-Davie-Plantation-Lauderhill-Tamarac-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach-Boca Raton-West Palm Beach-Palm Beach Gardens-Jupiter-Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce-St. Cloud-Kissimmee-Buenaventura Lakes-Meadow Woods-Orlando-Winter Garden-Leesburg-The Villages-Ocala
Regarding your “complaints” about Naples and Ocala, I say that a) Signing Tampa all the way down here will give motorists a false impression of how close they really are to Tampa, as Naples is the first of FOUR metros between Florida’s two largest urban areas, and two of them are very big at over 800k (Daytona Beach is a little over 700k); and b) yes, Gainesville is almost double the city population of Ocala, but in the bigger picture, I consider Ocala to be the bigger of the two because I weigh metro populations more (Ocala metro is roughly 50k bigger than Gainesville, and more stark contrasts exist in Florida!)
Regarding the music of Florida (Good choice with Tom Petty, FYI; I was half expecting a certain song from the Philadelphia Slapmaster), I focused on the metros on this specific highway. It probably isn’t surprising, but this will be a laundry list. Orlando (Osceola, Lake, Seminole and Orange) is quite simple (all acts from Orlando itself), but South Florida (Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade) had to be broken down into the three metropolitan divisions (one per county). Disclaimer: there’s no way I’m going to get EVERY SINGLE popular act, and just because I list them doesn’t mean I endorse their content (the music is what I judge; some of these acts aren’t models for a decent society, but that’s a different conversation altogether!):
Miami-Dade
Vanilla Ice, KC and the Sunshine Band, 2 Live Crew, Rick Ross, Sean Kingston, Pitbull, Gloria Estefan, Flo Rida, Stevie B, Will to Power
Broward
Xxxtentacion, Jason Derulo, Marilyn Manson
Palm Beach
Ariana Grande, Kodak Black
Orlando
*NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Matchbox 20, Colby O’Donis
There’s only two of these acts that I’ve personally never heard of, both from the disproportionately large Miami-Dade metropolitan region.
Vanilla’s from suburban Dallas.
@@ControlCityFreak From what I can see, he bounced back and forth between the two, but he definitely does have connections to South Florida. This Sporcle quiz playlist that I am using is admittedly very inconsistent in how 'from' is defined. Ray Charles is in the Florida quiz because he was raised there, even though the "Georgia On My Mind" singer was born in Albany. The Allman Brothers are another 'Florida' act, as the band was formed in Jacksonville, despite the brothers being from Macon. And then there's Gloria Estefan, who was born in Cuba...
These inconsistent definitions do go both ways, however. Boz Scaggs had his musical beginnings in Dallas, but is featured in the Ohio quiz because he was born in Canton. Tupac Shakur had his origins in Marin County, but he was born in New York, and is thus featured in the City quiz. And everyone's favorite Chiefs Fan had her origins in Nashville, but is featured in the Pennsylvania quiz as she was born in Reading.
@@tylermarchand2996 Fair point, definitely moving targets. I just single out Robbie because he famously pretty flagrantly lied about his background when he first broke and was all Miami all the time
Couldn't agree with you more on signing Naples over Tampa. It's also a good gauge to see how close you are to leaving or entering Alligator Alley and if you need to stop before entering it. I feel similar about signing Ocala and/or Gainesville coming from Tampa on I-75 instead of Atlanta or Macon, since Atlanta is a solid 456 miles from Tampa (According to Google) and I think their metro areas are sizable enough to break that distance up. That said, Lake City and Valdosta don't deserve to be primary controls. They're big towns and not small cities, if that makes sense.
@wilsoncarlstedt8385 While I agree that Lake City isn’t a good choice, I don’t have any issues with Valdosta. It’s a very decent sized urban area between Gainesville and Warner Robins/Macon, and like you said, I’d rather not have astronomically large mileage distances if it can be avoided. There are some cases where it’s not possible, like the 510 miles east of where I live to Salt Lake City, but South Georgia is very much NOT Northern Nevada…
I remember the Yeehaw Junction exit was also signed for Lake Wales back in the early 80's. There was also secondary signage for Tampa as SR 60 was basically the main road to get to Tampa from the Palm Beach area before I-75 was completed.
That makes sense. I’ve one that way to Tampa before.
The sign for 826( which acts as a bypass to 95) to either US-1 near Kendall or the Snapper Creek Expressway to the Turnpike ) doesn't need control cities as the the cities or areas that it goes though are either smaller cities than Miami, "suburbs" of the City of Miami or unincorporated Miami Dade County. Miami Dade County has 34 incorporated "cities" , but you would tell someone from outside of Miami, you live in Miami, not Miami Gardens. Also, in my opinion Key West isn't relevant till you get to let's say Homestead. So I don't see it should say Key West by the first sign of the extension. Most people using the Turnpike in South Florida are commuters . So it could say Turnpike South to US-1 to Key West, but that's a ways away , and there other keys before Key West, like Marathon and Key Largo just to name a few .
Also depending on traffic and time of day it can be faster to take 26 to the 836, as getting taking the 874 takes you to the 826 which takes you to the 836 . So that bypass isbt always faster .
Cool video Todd, I’ve been up and down the Turnpike countless times, one end to the other. Good times.
Service plazas are placed at 45 mile intervals.
That’s not swamp between Orlando and Ft. Pierce. It’s a mix of scrub, orange groves and other agricultural land (cattle).
Same thru NW Miami-Dade, but mostly scrub and rock pits there which will probably all be developed.
Homestead is used as a control city because the highway was literally built as the Homestead Extension.
Also - the Sawgrass Expressway, Polk Parkway, Veterans Expressway and others are all considered under the umbrella of the Florida’s Turnpike, known as Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise (FTE).
👍
Thanks! 45 miles sounds like a good interval.
You should try US 35 sometime! Its a fun road with some.... interesting control city choices!
For those heading south on 75 going to south Florida. Avoid Ocala and The Villages. Nothing political. Growth outpacing capacity of I75 and the Turnpike. Take I10 east towards Jacksonville to head south on I95. More miles, but far less traffic and time.
@AlanBernardS During my 2021 summer road trip, I did get stuck in a 30-40 minute jam northbound near Ocala, but I think it was purely because of an accident.
What amazes me is how they happen so easily out east. It’s straight, flat, and the scenery is very monotonous. Those are luxuries Northern Nevada doesn’t have…
10:45 in Okeechobee FL theres a 415th street
Whoa!
I would hope you do a Delaware 1 video (they use KM exits)
In Florida with tolls, I've only been on the I75 part.
Me too for the most part. Spent very little time on others but done Alligator Alley a few times.
The view you showed from Turnpike/I-4 isn’t the downtown skyline, but Universal resorts and its water park
Thanks! Did you ever make to Boardwalk and Baseball when the Royals did spring training there?
Thanks so much! I never went to B&B but I did go to a spring training game there in 2001.
Florida's Turnpike is my favorite major north-south highway in Florida. I am looking forward to the new interchanges they will build in the future. They finally finished Exit 251 (SR 417) in May 2021. I was relieved because there was no direct route to Tampa from where I live prior to the completion of this missing link between two toll roads. Exit 240 (Kissimmee Park Road) is not new but it will be demolished and replaced with a full interchange at Nolte Road in 2028. Construction on this new interchange will start soon. Exit 257 (Sand Lake Road) is another interchange that will be constructed soon. The other interchanges planned to be built in the future are in St. Lucie County.
I agree with the control cities that were used on Florida's Turnpike. However, there are many signs in both directions that I would love to change. Orlando should be the southbound control city from Wildwood (I-75 and SR 44) to Minneola (Exit 278). Miami should be the southbound control city from SR 50 (Exit 272) to the end of the mainline turnpike in Miami Gardens. Homestead should be the southbound control city instead of Key West because the road is known as the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (HEFT) and Key West is used later for US 1. Orlando is the primary northbound control city for over 200 miles. I like it that Fort Lauderdale is used as a secondary control city on the HEFT. It should be used somewhere if they can't fit it on Exit 54 (I-595). Ocala was the right northbound control city to use after Orlando because it is closer to the northern terminus of the turnpike than Gainesville.
Florida's Turnpike in Lake County is confusing. Miami is the southbound control city at Exit 296 and Exit 285 but then Orlando is the southbound control city at Exit 278. In Osceola County, Orlando is the northbound control city at Yeehaw Junction (Exit 193) and the Canoe Creek Service Plaza. I wonder where exactly will they switch to using Ocala as the northbound control city when they build new interchanges in the future. Most of the changes I would make are for the signs showing the distances to interchanges and control cities.
Great info, thanks! I know that the part that swings inland is called the Homestead Extension, but I still think Key West is the better primary control. They wouldn’t have called it the Key West extension without a bridge lol.
Chiefs are in the Super Bowl.
Solid as always here, no disagreement on your control city picks here. A few points:
Miami is probably a control city before reaching Orlando SB possibly because the Turnpike only really grazes Orlando.
Before the I-4 upgrade back around 2018, I-4 EB from the Turnpike SB was signed for Orlando. For some reason they didn’t change the NB sign to Daytona.
I wish there was some mention of 95 at the Turnpike connector interchange since the Turnpike is mentioned on the connector interchange on 95.
The Turnpike SB after the connector was actually signed for Key West until the mid-late 2010s.
Going Northbound, I think that the Airport deserves more of a mention at 874 since it’s usually faster to head that way than down 836 unless there’s a lot of traffic on 826.
12:06 836 not 826
Finally, they’re probably not mentioning 95 much between WPB and Ft. Pierce because they want to keep travelers on the Turnpike and they’re probably assuming that most people who wanted to take 95 instead would probably be already on 95 by that point. It’s probably the first reason because there’s a lot more signs mentioning the Turnpike in this area on 95.
Oh yeah, definitely for the money re 95. And you’re right, airport should be mentioned at that first exit for sure.
@@ControlCityFreak I think they waited until 836 (the second exit) to mention the airport because of money as well since 836 is tolled all the way to the airport exit.
They probably mention the Turnpike at certain exits on 95 because not every exit along 95 connects to the Turnpike while most of the exits on the Turnpike connect with 95.
I think it would make more sense for the Turnpike to post a sign saying local traffic should get on 95 while thru traffic to Miami should stay on the Turnpike.
Exit 296 and Exit 285 use Miami as the southbound control city but Exit 278 uses Orlando as the southbound control city. Exit 278 opened in 2017 and many areas of Central Florida were still undeveloped when Exit 296 opened in 2005. I understand using Miami as the southbound control city from a pre-2017 point of view but this is outdated now. The turnpike interchanges in Lake County should use Ocala and Orlando as the control cities.
Theres a sign for Disney World way out before the 429 that says "Disney World 25 miles via 429". Used to work for the Turnpike. I worked the day the Desert Inn got hit by a semi.
Oh I missed that one. That’s pretty far out!
@controlcityfreak I just drove this segment today and took a picture but can’t upload it here. There is a Disney via 429 sign about 2 miles before the exit.
Florida loves its weird control cities.. Ocala, Lake City, Naples...
@faldovifendi6878 Out of those three, Lake City is the only one that I don’t like. Metro populations for Ocala and Naples are about 400k each, which is equivalent to other undisputedly excellent controls like Montgomery, Davenport, Shreveport, Flint, or Spartanburg. Unless some of these are, as Orwell would say, “more equal than others”?
@@tylermarchand2996 Actually.. I’m kinda flip-flopping on those three, I think they’re perfect secondary, but signing Tampa/Atlanta all the way from each other is IMO just feels better.
As for the service area at 1:54 - the sign looks like one you might see on a car dealership!
Anyway, it looks like Florida’s Turnpike took a page from the Kansas Turnpike’s playbook, with regards to the median service areas - and isn’t KTAG also valid for tolls in Florida? I heard something of that sort recently.
Oh cool, hadn’t heard that
I’ve seen median service plazas on I-95 in Maryland, and the Garden State Parkway just before the NJ/NY state line.
@@Ramiestarthey definitely have median service areas on Oklahoma's turnpikes.
That former home of the Royals is now a strip mall. Progress I guess?
I also call it “Whatever they’re calling Joe Robbie this week”. Saw a Marlins game there ~20 years ago and despite it being the World Series year it was pretty dead.
We have state roads, not state highways. :P
Florida is split into nine horizontal bands for purposes of state road numbering, which is why all the toll roads in South Florida start with an 8 or 9 (including the Turnpike itself, which is secret SR 91).
Drivers travelling between Atlanta and Miami and vice versa often use Florida's Turnpike to pay tolls for a shorter time of driving. An alternate is to stay on I-75 to drive freely except for entering Alligator Alley, and that takes more time than FL's Tpke.
@CrystalClearWith8BE It’s not 100% free. I’m 95% certain that Alligator Alley between Naples and Miami is tolled both ways.
Hypothetically, your toll-free route would entail either cutting over to 95 in Savannah from Macon (16) or in Jacksonville from Lake City (10)
@@tylermarchand2996, I edited my comment. I wasn't pay attention. Even though I'm not American, I checked Google Maps that you pay a toll entering Alligator Alley on either direction.
Most people who want to get to Miami from Atlanta without paying a toll usually just take I-75 to I-10 and then cut over to 95 in Jax.
Yeah definitely a faster route
@highway2heaven91 It looks like I 10 ever so slightly starts meandering back north after Lake City, but I suppose if the southwest quarter of 295 is utilized, it cancels out with the trek through Downtown along the 16-95 route. I remember back in 2021 driving 95 south through Jacksonville. It drops from 70 to a sluggish 50 (I recall 4 west through Orlando doing the same).
Out west, I’ve got a *surface street* beltway around my hometown that has significant 50 zones, and two 65 freeways. Even in the major California cities, 65 urban freeways are more common than ones at 55 or less!
If you can't pay cash on the turnpike, what do you use?
There are high speed cameras that capture your license plate, from which a human figures out where to mail the bill.
@@Kevin_C_Leonard_63 cool
toll by plate
What happens after Chiefs season? Follow the Mavericks and Comets around until Royals season starts?
Alaska, Puerto Rico, then some more stuff I’ll announce later
The Chiefs are in the Super Bowl Todd. Please beat the Niners. I’m pulling for the Chiefs
The Chiefs will be playing the 49ers in the Super Bowl
Yep!
They also played each other in the 2019 season’s Super Bowl too.
Wish the Chiefs were playing my Lions instead.
@@mikeshumaker Same.
Orlando? More like “Tallahassee South” 😂. Cause the FSU Seminoles are Undefeated in the city of Orlando (9-0-2).
Hi
Im Surprised they don't sign the Sanford airport going to northbound FL-417 From Northbound Turnpike. There's a decent amount of air traffic out of there.
True
Sanford Itl Airport is basically ignored and forgotten anywhere in the south of Downtown Orlando
Always felt like the section between Ft. Pierce and Miami was impractical for road trips. Could literally drive the same route on a different piece of pavement (I-95) for free.
@tmattix65 I don’t know, but maybe there’s some trade-off in higher speed limits? I’ve heard that the east-west Turnpikes in Oklahoma are 75 mph while 40 is only 70 mph. And during my 2021 summer road trip, I think I remember that the normal lanes of 495 in NoVA are 55 mph but the tolled express lanes are 65 mph…
@@tylermarchand2996as far as I know, the top speed limit in Florida is 70.
The sections that I have went through of I-75, I-4, I-95, and the Turnpike are all capped at 70 mph.
Are you gonna be doing US 17
He might when the Chiefs play the Commanders from I-95 in Point South to I-95 in Fredericksburg.
At some point but no immediate plans
I also don’t understand why Florida uses Naples and Ocala as control cities even though Fort Myers and Gainesville are bigger. Possibly because Naples is the jumping off point for Alligator Alley or US 41 thru the Everglades. And Ocala has a junction with US 301 heading towards Jacksonville.
Marion County (Ocala) is more populous than Alachua County (Gainesville).
Naples - that was the end of I-75 for many years. When the segment Miami to Naples was constructed the northbound control city was reciprocated.
Naples does kind of make sense due to it being the first/last city before crossing the Everglades. I do agree that Fort Myers should be a control city as well, despite the relatively close distance to Naples.
Ocala isn’t the best choice, but Gainesville isn’t significantly better or more relevant.
And for Turnpike Northbound, it should have been signed “To (I-75N) shield; Ocala” all the way from Orlando.
Most of that central Florida area isn’t really swampland. It’s more ranch land.
@usmpiano That I believe. I drove through Florida during my 2021 summer road trip across the country. The “swampiest” area I remember along my 95S-4W-75N-10W route was this segment just south of Gainesville (apparently, prior to the existence of a canal, a basin without access to the ocean!)
I think people assume my hometown of Reno is desert because, well, Nevada. In actuality, the “scant” 7 inches of precipitation Reno gets is too much to be classified as a desert. Case and point, residential areas in the south are pastureland populated by Wild Mustangs…
Also, you're probably better off staying on the Turnpike and paying the toll going down to the Miami area. I-95 is a nightmare for traffic from the Palm Beach area to Miami. Besides, pretty much every exit from the Turnpike connects to 95 anyway.
I admittedly haven’t been to South Florida, but I do question how horrific it really is. In 2021, I’ve experienced worse traffic south of Springfield in NoVA than in East Los Angeles, and in 2022, worse along the Kennedy Expressway than the Cross Bronx Expressway…
@@tylermarchand2996 the Turnpike is basically the express lanes and I-95 are the local lanes. And 95 is extremely congested compared to the Turnpike, especially during rush hour.
I mean Ocala is still better than Valdosta
Sure. It shouldn’t be Lake City either.
@@ControlCityFreakit should just be Atlanta with a secondary control city
true@@Readylizard
@@ReadylizardI’d be fine with that.
@firefox22992 I don’t see problems with either of them, but Lake City is a different story altogether. There’s a whopping 450 miles between Tampa/Orlando and Atlanta. Gaps this big are necessary only when there is little if anything of substance between a select two cities. West Texas, the Great Basin, and certain cross areas through the Great Plains or Rocky Mountains immediately spring to mind. Southern Georgia and Northern Florida are leagues apart from the aforementioned examples. A Tampa/Orlando-Ocala-Gainesville-Valdosta-Warner Robins-Macon-Atlanta order is a perfectly adequate breakdown of this corridor. Undeniably small areas like Lake City, Tifton and Cordele is too much.
I thought the turnpike was interstate 4?
Nope, 4 is the only free freeway in Orlando.
@@ControlCityFreak and it’s not totally free with the ultimate i4 tolled express lanes. VERY well worth it though.
2:05 Miami is great but Ocala should be replaced with Tallahassee IMO
what? Nah.. You need to jump over 2 different routes (I-75 and I-10) to reach Tallahassee from that point. It doesn’t make any sense to sign Tallahassee anywhere in the south of Gainesville.
@treyhazard7318 Not to mention that it you look at metro populations, the FOUR counties combined in the Tallahassee metro are only marginally higher than the ONE Ocala metro county.
@@faldovifendi6878 true but even though the turnpike doesn’t directly go to Tallahassee, you said yourself that the route there would be to follow it to those two interstates! Idk. I’m not from Florida lol, I don’t know the localities super well. I live in Connecticut though and we have the Merritt Parkway signed south for NYC even though it doesn’t directly reach it either- it’s still the best route! From the perspective of an outsider, if I were to be visiting with no map and have to navigate solely using signs, I’d rather have Tallahassee as the control city than Ocala. I wouldn’t even know where Ocala is lol. Have Ocala on the pull-through/main on-ramp signs as well, fine! But I think if you’re gonna put up little signs like that on the approach, use the bigger city imo.
@@tylermarchand2996 I’m really referring to purely geographical common knowledge lol. As an outsider I know where Tallahassee is but not Ocala. I’d rather be guided there personally :)
@@treyhazard7318 Tallahassee is pretty insignificant, and the majority of the Turnpike traffic doesn’t go to there, they are heading towards Ocala, Gainesville, or Atlanta.