Florida State Road 429
State Road 429 (SR 429), also known as the Daniel Webster Western Beltway or Western Expressway south of U.S. Highway 441 and the Wekiva Parkway north of U.S. Highway 441 is a limited-access toll road built and maintained by the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX), the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Its mainline currently extends 43.19 miles (69.51 km) from Interstate 4 (State Road 400) in Four Corners north to SR 46 in Sorrento. Control cities are Apopka and Tampa although the control cities for traffic at the entrances at U.S. Highway 441 and north are Orlando, Tampa, and Daytona Beach. SR 429 was originally planned as a western half of State Road 417.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Beltway Wekiva Parkway | ||||
SR 429 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by FTE and CFX | ||||
| Length | 43.190 mi[1] (69.508 km) | |||
| Existed | 2000–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  I-4 in Four Corners | |||
 US 192 in Four Corners Florida's Turnpike in Winter Garden  SR 414 / SR 451 in Apopka SR 453 in Apopka | ||||
| North end |  SR 46 near Mount Plymouth | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties | Osceola, Orange, Lake (future), Seminole (future) | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
State Road 429 traverses some of the highest elevations in Orange County and is often within a few miles of the Lake Wales Ridge. It runs along the west side of Greater Orlando. The road peaks at Mile Marker 13 where on clear days it is possible to see the skyline of downtown Orlando to the northeast and various portions of Walt Disney World Resort to the southeast.
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise maintains the portion of the expressway south of Seidel Road, and CFX controls the portion north of the interchange. FDOT will control the portion under construction north of State Road 46.
History
The highway is named the "Daniel Webster Western Beltway" in honor of Daniel Webster, Florida's longest-serving legislator and figure often involved in state transportation issues.[2]
Section A
Section A is the original 10.6-mile (17.1 km) section from Florida's Turnpike in Ocoee, to US 441 in Apopka. It has a toll plaza in the middle, which was the first toll-plaza in the Orlando area with open road tolling for users of the E-Pass and related electronic toll collection systems. The road itself was finished in July 2000, temporarily ending at SR 50, and the interchange with Florida's Turnpike, featuring the highest ramp in the Orlando area, was completed in February 2001.
SR 429 was originally planned to continue north from its original US 441 junction, but because the land needed for the SR 429 right of way was not secured ahead of time, new housing was developed north of the former SR 429/US 441 (now SR 451/US 441) intersection. This has forced a change in plans for the extension of SR 429.
Section B
Section B, also known as the Wekiva Parkway, would connect SR 429 from US 441 to I-4 in Sanford. This 25-mile (40 km) section of roadway is still currently under construction. It has been under debate for over a decade, due to its planned alignment being complicated by the ecologically-fragile Wekiva River basin and shifty support from Lake County. In 2004, an agreement was reached for its completion. It will be built largely as a long causeway with a limited number of exits to better control development in the region. It is now planned to link SR 429 with SR 417, creating a continuous beltway north of Orlando;[3] however, older plans involved a short drive on I-4 or its collector/distributor roads to reach SR 417.
On May 25, 2011, the Florida Department of Transportation and CFX announced that they have partnered to jointly explore construction of the Wekiva Parkway extension. The proposed route will extend through Orange, Lake, and Seminole counties and is estimated to cost $1.8 billion. Officials hope to break ground in 2012, with completion by 2021.[4]
On January 20, 2016, the first stub section from County Road 435 (Mount Plymouth Road) near Haas Road in Orange County to State Road 46 east of Camp Challenge Road in Lake County opened to traffic and it is the first all electronic toll road in Central Florida. [5]
On July 27, 2017, the Wekiva Parkway's mainline was extended from the US 441 connector road to a new northern terminus at Kelly Park Road.[6]
On March 31, 2018, the Wekiva Parkway's mainline was extended from Kelly Park Road to a new northern terminus at State Road 46. Along with this, a 3.36-mile (5.41 km) spur known as State Road 453 connecting the Wekiva Parkway with State Road 46 near Sorrento was opened in conjunction with the extension. This was the final section of the CFX's Section 2 of the road, and the final section of the CFX's section altogether. The final 12-mile (19 km) section of the Wekiva Parkway between State Road 46 and I-4 is under construction and is planned to open in 2023. This section will be constructed and maintained by FDOT.[7][8][9][10]
Section C
Section C is the 22-mile (35 km) section from Florida's Turnpike to I-4 (SR 400) in Four Corners south of Walt Disney World. The 3-mile (4.8 km) section from Florida's Turnpike to County Road 535 was completed in December 2002. The part from CR 535 south to W Osceola Parkway opened December 16, 2005, with the extension to US 192 opening December 23.[11] The Turnpike-maintained section, south of Seidel Road, was on a very tight construction schedule. An extended cold snap required the contractor to push to reach the opening date, although the interchanges at Western Way and Seidel Road were not complete. The Western Way interchange was not scheduled to open until Spring of 2006 to coincide with the opening of the new Expedition Everest ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The open road tolling gantry, while located north of US 192, was let for construction with the southern five miles (8 km) and was never intended to be open to traffic in conjunction with the 2005 opening between US 192 and Seidel. The Schofield Road interchange was identified as a future interchange, meaning that on December 23 no interchanges were open between US 192 and New Independence Parkway. Other openings were April 4, 2006[12][13] for Western Way, April 12, 2006 for Seidel Road, and December 9, 2006 for the remainder from US 192 south to I-4.[14] The Schofield Road interchange opened on May 2015.
State Road 414 Phase 2
During June 2010, construction work began on the westward extension of State Road 414. Approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) of current SR 429 roadway was demolished and on May 14, 2012 a new interchange opened from SR 429 northbound to SR 414 eastbound and from SR 414 westbound to SR 429 southbound. SR 429 and SR 414 now runs concurrently to a new intersection with U.S. Route 441 near Plymouth where the SR 414 designation ends. The control city is Mount Dora. The road previously signed as SR 429 north of the current SR 414 interchange has been redesignated as State Road 451, and has been extended across US 441 to a new north terminus at Vick Road.
Exit list
| County | Location | mi[1][15] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osceola | Four Corners | 0.000 | 0.000 | 1 | I-4 – Orlando, Tampa | I-4 east is exit 1; no exit number for I-4 west; exit 60 on I-4 (SR 400) |
| 0.745 | 1.199 | 1A | Sinclair Road | Tolled northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 4.512 | 7.261 | 6 | US 192 – Kissimmee | Tolled northbound exit and southbound entrance; unsigned SR 530 | ||
| Orange | 5.4 | 8.7 | Western Beltway Mainline Toll Plaza | |||
| 6.719 | 10.813 | 8 | Western Way / Hartzog Road – Walt Disney World Resort | |||
| Horizon West | 9.837 | 15.831 | 11 | Seidel Road | Tolled interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; transition from FTE to CFX maintenance | |
| 11.97 | 19.26 | 13 | Schofield Road | Tolled northbound exit and southbound entrance; opened May 2015 | ||
| 13.924 | 22.409 | 15 | New Independence Parkway | Tolled northbound exit and southbound entrance; to CR 545 (Avalon Road) | ||
| 15.90 | 25.59 | Independence Mainline Toll Plaza | ||||
| Winter Garden | 18.288 | 29.432 | 19 |   CR 535 (Winter Garden Vineland Road) | Tolled southbound exit and northbound entrance; to AdventHealth Winter Garden | |
| 21.252 | 34.202 | 22 | Florida's Turnpike – Miami, Ocala | Tolled road; exit 267A on Florida's Turnpike (SR 91) | ||
| Ocoee | 21.586 | 34.739 | 23 |  SR 50 (West Colonial Drive) | ||
| 23.026 | 37.057 | 24 |  SR 438 (Plant Street / Franklin Street) | Tolled northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 25.541 | 41.104 | 26 | West Road / Clarcona-Ocoee Road (CR 437) | Tolled northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 26.66 | 42.91 | Forest Lake Mainline Plaza | ||||
| Apopka | 28.053 | 45.147 | 29 |  CR 437A (Ocoee-Apopka Road) | Tolled southbound exit and northbound entrance; opened December 2011;; to AdventHealth Apopka | |
| 29.162 | 46.932 | 30 | CR 437A (Ocoee-Apopka Road) | Former northbound exit and southbound entrance; closed January 2012 | ||
| 29.3 | 47.2 | 30 | SR 414 east / SR 451 north – Maitland, Apopka | Southern terminus of SR 414 overlap; formerly exit 31; northbound exit and southbound entrance to SR 451 | ||
| 32.833 | 52.840 | 34 |   To US 441 (Orange Blossom Trail) / CR 437 (Plymouth-Sorrento Road) | Western terminus of SR 414; former exit 33 now relocated to SR 451 | ||
| Northern terminus of Western Beltway, southern terminus of Wekiva Parkway | ||||||
| 35.5 | 57.1 | Ponkan Mainline Toll Gantry (electronic toll collection) | ||||
| 37.20 | 59.87 | 38 | Kelly Park Road | Northern Terminus of SR 429 from July 27, 2017 to March 31, 2018. | ||
| 38.29 | 61.62 | 39 | SR 453 north – Mount Dora, Leesburg | Southern terminus of SR 453 (Wekiva Parkway); opened March 2018 | ||
| Mount Plymouth Mainline Toll Gantry (electronic toll collection) | ||||||
| 40.63 | 65.39 | – |  CR 435 (Mount Plymouth Road) | Former temporary interchange to connect with CR 435; closed March 2018 | ||
| Orange–Lake county line | | Transition from CFX to FTE maintenance | ||||
| Lake | | 41.75 | 67.19 | Toll gantry (electronic toll collection) | ||
| 43.19 | 69.51 | 44 | SR 46 – Sorrento, Mount Plymouth | Current northern terminus | ||
| Seminole | | 49.82 | 80.18 | 50 | Frontage Road | Interchange to open in early 2023 |
| Toll gantry (electronic toll collection) | ||||||
| 51.77 | 83.32 | 52 | SR 46 east | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; to open in early 2023 | ||
| 52.56 | 84.59 | Toll gantry (electronic toll collection) | ||||
| 53.16 | 85.55 | 53 | Heathrow | To open in early 2023 | ||
| 53.61 | 86.28 | 54 | I-4 | To open in early 2023; exit 101 on I-4 (SR 400) | ||
| – |  SR 417 south | Continuation beyond I-4; northern terminus of SR 417 (Seminole Expressway) (Already Open) | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- FDOT straight line diagrams Archived March 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, accessed January 2014
- Smith, James (May 8, 2008). "Webster leaves Legislature with family, principles, faith intact". Florida Baptist Witness. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
- http://www.wekivaparkway.com/
- D'Marko, Dave (May 25, 2011). "State, Expressway Authority form partnership to build Wekiva Parkway". Orlando, FL: Central Florida News 13. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
- http://wekivaparkway.com/pnews.php?d=106&p=1
- http://www.princecontracting.com/sr-429-wekiva-parkway-from-us-441-to-north-of-ponkan-road/
- Parks, Sean (March 7, 2018). "Commissioner Parks: Regional connectivity is key to raising Lake's quality of life". Daily Commercial. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- Spear, Kevin (March 16, 2018). "Wekiva Parkway segment set to open into Lake County". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- "New Wekiva Parkway section to open March 31". Fox 35 Orlando. March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- Hudak, Stephen (March 30, 2018). "As new stretch of Wekiva Parkway opens, concern for Mount Plymouth remains". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- Powers, Scott (December 16, 2005). "Western Beltway pushes 5½ miles farther south". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 20, 2005. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- Kassab, Beth; Powers, Scott (March 27, 2006). "New road access to Disney to open". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 12, 2012. (subscription required)
- "Western Way Opens". Orlando, FL: Central Florida News 13. April 4, 2006.
- Mckay, Rich (December 9, 2006). "Drivers, rejoice: Last leg of Western Beltway open". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- Staff (November 24, 2008). Florida Department of Transportation Interchange Report (PDF) (Report). Florida Department of Transportation. pp. 12–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 8, 2012.