Crosstown Parkway (Port St. Lucie)

Crosstown Parkway is a 10-mile (16 km), six-lane[1] thoroughfare running east–west in Port St. Lucie, in the US state of Florida. The roadway runs between Interstate 95 (I-95) and US Highway 1 (US 1), where the road becomes Village Green Drive. The primary intent of the construction of this road was to ease congestion on the other two east-west routes through the city, Prima Vista Boulevard and State Road 716 (SR 716), which carries Port St. Lucie and Gatlin boulevards.

History

Throughout most of Port St. Lucie's history, there were only two primary east-west routes through the city, Port St. Lucie and Prima Vista boulevards. The need for a third east-west thoroughfare has been recognized since 1980. Construction on the first stretch of road began in 2007 to 2009, reaching from its current interchange with I-95 to Manth Lane, where it turned into West Virginia Drive.

Construction on the extension to US 1, including a 4,000-foot (1,200 m) bridge over the North Fork of the St. Lucie River started in 2017, and the bridge was opened to the public with a party on September 28, 2019.[2] At the intersection is a pair of towers, topped with sculptures of swimming fish and further decorated with tiles of wildlife in the St. Lucie River. Currently, there is a superstreet intersection at Floresta Drive, the first in Florida; recently, residents have been petitioning to change the superstreet intersection to one that is easier and less time-consuming to navigate.[3]

One proposed project is a linear park under the Crosstown Bridge, to be called "The Plaza Under the Bridge", which will include lighting, irrigation, a proposed floating dock, a gazebo, and a coquina hardscape.[4]

References
  1. American Consulting Professionals (n.d.). "Crosstown Parkway Extension, Manth Lane to US 1". American Consulting Professionals. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  2. Idle, Jillian (September 30, 2019). "Expansion of Crosstown Parkway opens to the public in Port St. Lucie". 5 WPTV. West Palm Beach, Florida: WPTV-TV. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  3. Gardner, Keona (December 4, 2019). "Fighting Floresta: Online petitions urging Port St. Lucie to change controversial intersection". TCPalm. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  4. "Crosstown Parkway Extension". City of Port St. Lucie.
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