Southern Boulevard (Palm Beach County, Florida)

Southern Boulevard is the name given to US 98/SR 80 in central Palm Beach County, Florida.

Access

Southern Boulevard (the name itself) runs east/west, beginning at FL A1A in Palm Beach and terminating 45 miles west in Belle Glade. It is a significant route for Palm Beach County as it connects downtown West Palm Beach and Palm Beach International Airport with the fast-growing communities of Wellington and Royal Palm Beach. Exits for Southern Boulevard can be found on both Interstate 95 and Florida's Turnpike, thus adding to the route's significance.

Points of Interest

Southern Boulevard is predominantly ordinary along most of its corridor, but features a few spots that are noteworthy. The most famous being Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago estate, which sits on the northwestern corner of Southern's terminus at FL A1A. A few miles to the west at Palm Beach International Airport are flight schools where it is rumored September 11 hijackers inquired about lessons. The South Florida Fairgrounds, where the nationally televised Barrett-Jackson car auctions are held can be found along Southern as well as the Sound Advice Amphitheatre, which serves as the concert venue for many famous musicians. Also, Lion Country Safari (an 'amusement zoo' featuring many exotic animals) can be found when traveling west after departing the urbanized eastern section of Palm Beach County. Along Southern Boulevard's western corridor are vast sugar cane fields (controlled mostly by Florida Crystals) and refineries which produce a substantial amount of the sugar that is distributed throughout North America.

Construction and Widening

Prior to 2002, Southern Boulevard was only four lanes with a center left-turn lane. Traffic became ever-increasing amongst both motorists and truckers due to explosive growth in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach. Eventually, not only did gridlock become a serious problem, but fatalities as well. Many motorists would speed incessantly and improperly use the center turn lane as a break-down or passing lane. Some county commissioners even referred to the center lane as the "lane of death".

In 2002, the Florida Department of Transportation began a 100-plus million dollar project to widen and upgrade Southern Boulevard. The project calls for Southern Boulevard to become an eight-lane mini-expressway with bridges and on/off ramps at the most congested intersections while stoplights remain at others. There are to be seven bridged interchanges at (in order from east to west):

*Interstate 95-"Already Complete"
*Australian Ave./Congress Ave.(State Road 807)-"Already Complete"
*Military Trail (State Road 809)-"Almost Complete"
*Haverhill Road-"Almost Complete"
*Jog Road-"Almost Complete"
*Florida's Turnpike-"Almost Complete"
*US 441/State Road 7-"Almost Complete"

Construction on the project is expected to be completed in mid-2008.

Lane diagram

When construction on Southern Boulevard is complete, its composition of lanes will be as follows:

*Interstate 95 to Australian/Congress: Eight lanes
*Australian/Congress to Military Trail: Eight lanes
*Military Trail to Haverhill Road: Eight lanes
*Haverhill Road to Jog Road: Ten lanes (one auxiliary lane each direction)
*Jog Road to Florida's Turnpike: Ten lanes (one auxiliary lane each direction)
*Florida's Turnpike to US 441/State Road 7: Eight lanes
*State Road 7 to Royal Palm Beach Boulevard: Eight lanes
*Royal Palm Beach Boulevard to Forest Hill/Crestwood Boulevards: Six lanes
*Forest Hill/Crestwood Bloulevards to Palms West Parkway(Hospital): Six lanes
*Palms West Parkway to Belle Glade: Four lanes, divided-"needs to be six lanes at least till Binks Forest Drive/B Rd"