Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority
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The Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority or OOCEA is the toll road authority responsible for the construction and upkeep of toll facilities in Orange County, Florida. The OOCEA was founded in 1963 and charged with providing modern expressway roads which were free of taxpayer funding. In the forty years since it was founded, the OOCEA has built the Martin Andersen Bee Line Expressway (State Road 528), the Spessard Holland East-West Expressway (State Road 408), the Central Florida GreeneWay (State Road 417), and most recently, the Western Expressway (State Road 429). The OOCEA also built the Goldenrod Extension, which extended Goldenrod Road from SR-15 past SR-528 and into Orlando International Airport. This extension is controlled access, which means it is not a true expressway, and once the extension is paid for, tolls will be lifted, and the OOCEA will no longer have control or be responsible for the road.
Current construction projects include an extension of the Western Expressway known as the Wekiva Parkway and an extension of Maitland Boulevard (State Road 414) known as the Apopka Bypass.
The OOCEA operates an electronic toll collection system known as E-PASS.
While the OOCEA has been involved with and cooperated with the Florida Department of Transportation on several projects, the two organizations have not been on the best of terms. After many years of threats, false starts, and arguments, the OOCEA and the Florida DOT have finally agreed to terms to build an interchange at SR-417 and the Florida Turnpike.
External links
- Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority (http://www.expresswayauthority.com/)