Florida State Road 589

Infobox road
state=FL
marker_

type=toll
route=589
alternate_name=Suncoast Parkway
Veterans Expressway
length_mi=53.65
length_round=2
length_ref= [http://www.dot.state.fl.us/planning/statistics/pdfs/fedaidreport.pdf FDOT Federal-Aid Report]
established=1994 (extended 2001)
direction_a=South
direction_b=North
starting_terminus=
junction=
ending_terminus= "(future)"
previous_type=FL
previous_route=586
next_type=FL
next_route=592
browse=fl browse|previous_type=FL|previous_route=559|route=|next_type=FL|next_route=569

The Veterans Expressway and Suncoast Parkway (State Road 589) is a north-south toll road near the Florida Gulf Coast [Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, [http://www.dot.state.fl.us/turnpikepio/pdfs/veterans.pdf Veterans Expressway] ] [Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, [http://www.dot.state.fl.us/turnpikepio/pdfs/suncoast_proj1.pdf Suncoast Parkway] ] . Maintained and operated by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, this 57-mile transportation corridor was built to accommodate the increasing commuter traffic in the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area, with an extension of the Suncoast Parkway (to US 19/98 north of Crystal River in Citrus County) in the planning and development stage [ [http://www.suncoast2online.com/index.php Suncoast Parkway 2] ] .

The Veterans Expressway

Completed in October 1994, the 15-mile-long Veterans Expressway (originally known as the Northwest Hillsborough Expressway)extends 15 miles from SR 60 (the Courtney Campbell Causeway) west of Tampa International Airport to SR 597 (Dale Mabry Highway) in northern Hillsborough County. The southern two miles, between Courtney Campbell Causeway and Hillsborough Avenue (on the west side of Tampa International Airport), upgraded Eisenhower Boulevard to expressway standards with frontage roads and is not tolled. North of Hillsborough Avenue, the remaining 13 miles are within new right-of-way.

Between Courtney Campbell Causeway and Dale Mabry Highway, intermediate interchanges are provided at Independence Parkway, Memorial Highway, Hillsborough Avenue, Waters Avenue, Anderson Road, Linebaugh Avenue/Wilsky Boulevard, Gunn Highway, Erlich Road, Hutchison Road and Van Dyke Road. There are two mainline barrier plazas (Anderson and Sugarwood) and six ramp plazas. The "N minus 1" formula is used for truck toll rate schedule.

Financial Problems

As part of the Northwest Hillsborough Expressway, an endeavor by the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority. The Veterans Expressway was supposed to have been a beltway bypassing Tampa from the northwest. Further aspirations may have led to a full beltway around the city. Unfortunately, community opposition and rising construction and land costs cancelled the beltway plan. And the ordering by the state to build the Veterans Expressway in the early 1990s shelved an improvement project for the airport interchanges and depleted the THCEA of funds to complete the Veterans. As a result, Florida's Turnpike purchased the right-of-way, but used the pre-existing design to construct the highway. All section of State Road 589 in Hillsborough County were designated the Veterans Expressway by the 1992 Legislature.

The Suncoast Parkway and SR 568

Opened in 2001, the 42-mile-long Suncoast Parkway (SR 589) proceeds north from the Veterans Expressway to US 98 in Hernando County, Florida, USA, near Chassahowitzka. Drivers of automobiles traveling the entire length of the Suncoast Parkway pay $3.00 US toll.

The Suncoast Parkway is the first Florida's Turnpike Enterprise toll road to feature open road tolling. The three mainline toll plazas on the Suncoast Parkway feature bypasses where those paying cash remain on the mainline and stop at the toll plaza while those with Sunpass or related transponders exit the mainline roadway, bypass the toll plaza and then re-enter the mainline. This differs from other open road tolling locations in Florida where transponder users remain on the mainline and bypass toll booths built to the side.

With the completion of the Suncoast Parkway, the stub of the Veterans Expressway from Exit 13 to Dale Mabry Highway was designated State Road 568.

Suncoast Parkway Extension

With the Suncoast Parkway extension in Citrus County still unresolved, ten different alignments, with four southern segments, twelve central segments, and one northern segment, have been brought to attention regarding the parkway's routing. Regardless of the alignment (if selected and built), the proposed interchanges is as follows. [ [http://www.suncoast2online.com/maps.php Suncoast Parkway 2 Map] ]

Controversy

Critics of the Suncoast Parkway extension believe that such a plan would disrupt the quiet, undisturbed sections of Citrus County and bring forth more urban sprawl to the county. Furthermore, impacted residents fear that the parkway alignments come too close to their residences and will cause excessive noise and decreased property values.

Reconstruction and other improvements

In August 2005, a massive reconstruction project began on the interchanges between I-275 and Memorial Hwy, near Tampa International Airport after being shelved for over fifteen years. The project will consist of a four-level stack interchange at the Spruce St Interchange, a three-level interchange at the Courtney Campbell Causeway, and an extensive auxiliary exit ramp system stretching from Independence Pkwy to just north of I-275. Even though thru traffic will be separated from local and airport traffic on the northbound lanes, the southbound thru lanes will not be built until a later phase in 2012+. The first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed in 2010 with a cost of $202 million. The second phase currently in the early design stages and there is currently no timetable set for construction. [ [http://www.mytbi.com/content/projects/projects.asp?roadID=11 Tampa Airport Interchanges project] ]

Project Updates

As of early December 2007, a new ramp from SB SR 589 to SR 60 west opened, allowing better access from southbound Veterans Expressway to the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

On Saturday, December 22, 2007, several new ramps in the airport vicinity opened to traffic. (1) A ramp from SB George J. Bean Pkwy to NB SR 589, which will provide airport commuters direct, free-flow access to the Veterans Expressway and Hillborough Ave. (2) The new flyover ramp (pictured above), which will lead outbound airport commuters to I-275 and Kennedy Blvd. And (3) a feeder from the new flyover ramp to Cypress St, allowing another point of entry into the WestShore Business District. [http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2007/12/22/312021.html] . According to FDOT [http://www.mytbi.com/news/details.asp?newsid=2356] , the new flyover is 2,096 feet long and 75 feet high at it's peak.

Also according to FDOT [http://www.mytbi.com/news/details.asp?newsid=2356] , the temporary ramp from SB George J. Bean Pkwy to NB SR 589 that opened in 2006, will remain open to allow WB SR 60 and Independence Pkwy commuters to easily access these highways. A permanent ramp will eventually be built to further facilitate this purpose.

Other Improvements and Projects

As of July 2006, a study is being performed on a project that would widen the Veterans Expressway to eight lanes between Memorial Highway and Van Dyke Road. [FDOT, [http://www.veteransexpresswaywidening.com Veterans Expressway Widening Project Information] ]

As of August 2007 video camera's have been added on the road every 10th of a mile down the span of the toll road.

Exit list

Other former sections

In addition to the current State Toll Road 568, there were two other roads that once carried the SR 589 designation. Originally, State Road 589 was concurrent with State Road 60 between Exit 2A and Exit 1, then extended to West Spruce Street and Boy Scout Boulevard. These roads were redesignated as SR 616

The SR 60/589 concurrency was planned to be extended southward to I-275, where SR 589 would branch off onto the West Crosstown Expressway and become part of the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway, at Exit 4. The West Crosstown was canceled due to a freeway revolt, and the SR 589 and SR 449 desigantions were eliminated from the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway.

References

External links

* [http://www.mytbi.com/content/users/projectinfo.asp?projectID=72&RoadID=11 Tampa Airport Interchanges Project Page]
* [http://www.suncoast2online.com/ Suncoast Parkway Proposed Extension Project Page]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20041025105103/web.mit.edu/spui/www/flsr/58x.html Florida Route Log(SR 589)]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20041028162544/www.bayciti.net/hrd/vets.htm Cancelled Veterans Expressway Extension]