Florida State Road 408
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Toll_408_Shield.jpg
Florida State Road 408, also known as the Spessard Holland East-West Expressway, is a 'limited access' toll road connecting Florida's Turnpike in western Orange County, Interstate 4 in Downtown Orlando and the Central Florida GreeneWay. The East-West was constructed by the Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority or OOCEA from 1972-1973 and extended from State Road 50 East of Goldenrod Road to State Road 50 at Kirkman Road in West Orlando. It was named in honor of former Florida governor Spessard Holland. Two toll plazas on the road are also named in his honor--the Holland East and Holland West. The original route for the East-West was 13.3 miles and cost over $89 million to construct.
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The Eastern Extension
The OOCEA began construction of the Eastern Extension of the East-West Expressway in 1987 and completed it on May 12, 1989. The extension took 408 from its terminus near Goldenrod Road to its present-day terminus at State Road 50 and the Central Florida Research Park which abuts the University of Central Florida. A third mainline toll plaza was added to the East-West at Dean Road. The cost of this 6 mile extension was $105 million. The original eastern terminus became part of the Central Florida GreeneWay and the whole length of SR 4080.
The Western Extension
This second extension to the East-West would allow motorists to use the expressway to drive onto Florida's Turnpike without leaving the system. SR 408 actually takes exit 1 to end at SR 50; the last bit to Florida's Turnpike is known as The Turnpike Connector and is maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise. Construction began at the OOCEA's behest in 1989, and construction of the 6 mile extension and fourth toll plaza at Hiawassee Road was completed in late 1990 at a cost of $102 million.
408 At Work
Currently the corridor is undergoing a $600 million widening project. As part of the project, two thru lanes are being added along the entire length of the expressway from Hiawassee Road in the west to the Goldenrod Road in the east. All the toll plazas are being reconstructed with express E-Pass lanes (one of the toll plazas is being relocated from its current location), and the interchange with the Central Florida GreeneWay will be rebuilt. The construction is expected to be completed in 2010.
Separate from the project is a new interchange with Interstate 4. It will begin construction in late 2005, and is being handled by the Florida Department of Transportation.
External links
- Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority (http://www.expresswayauthority.com/)
- Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (http://www.dot.state.fl.us/turnpikepio/)
- Florida Department of Transportation (http://www.dot.state.fl.us/)