Sawgrass Expressway
Encyclopedia
State Road 869 is a 23.875 miles (38.4 km) long state road located in Broward County, Florida
. The road acts as a de-facto bypass of Fort Lauderdale
and northern coastal Broward County, Florida
, extending north from a junction of Interstate 75 (SR 93
), Interstate 595
(SR 862), and SR 84
in Sunrise
, to Coral Springs
before heading eastward towards Florida's Turnpike
and terminating at Interstate 95
in Deerfield Beach
. The 20.763 miles (33.4 km) section west of the Turnpike is known as the Sawgrass Expressway, a limited-access toll road
; the section east of the Turnpike is a surface street (SW 10th Street). The expressway opened in 1986 and was added to Florida's Turnpike Enterprise in 1990. The entire tollway section is operated on an open-road tolling system for SunPass
users and six lanes wide. The at-grade section east of the Turnpike is maintained by FDOT.
users on the toll road. Traditional toll booths for cash customers are still accessible on the right side of the plaza areas. The expressway was widened from four lanes to its current six lanes during this time.
The highway begins at the north end of the I-75/I-595 interchange in Sunrise
, with protected everglades
to the west and newer residential and commercial developments to the east of the expressway for the first 12 miles. After a welcome sign, the expressway passes its lone free interchange to Sunrise Blvd. (SR 838), connecting to the Sawgrass Mills
outlet mall. It then intersects with the Sunrise Toll Plaza, the first of two toll plazas on the road before reaching the BankAtlantic Center
exit (no southbound exit). After intersecting with Oakland Park Blvd. (SR 816), it enters Tamarac
, intersecting with Commercial Blvd. (SR 870), and then enters Coral Springs. After interchanges at Atlantic Blvd (SR 814), and Sample Road (SR 834), it curves 90 degrees east, switching to an east–west orientation, with housing and other developments surrounding both sides of the highway. Still in Coral Springs, the highway's next interchange and last exit before additional tolls (both directions) is Coral Ridge Drive. Afterwards, it continues eastward, acting as the border between Parkland
to the north of the expressway and Coral Springs to the south of it towards the interchange with University Drive (SR 817). Three miles east of the University Drive exit, the expressway has an interchange with US 441/SR 7, which forms the borders between Coconut Creek
to the east and Parkland and Coral Springs to the west. The expressway then enters Coconut Creek at the interchange, with an exit with Lyons Road before entering Deerfield Beach
and approaching the Deerfield Toll Plaza just west of Florida's Turnpike
.
After crossing the Turnpike, the tollway reverts to a six lane surface street, SW 10th Street, still heading east in Deerfield Beach. It has intersections with two residential streets before reaching Powerline Road (SR 845). East of Powerline Road, SR 869 passes by residential and commercial zones, crossing several local streets for the remainder of its length, with SR 869 terminating at I-95 about two miles east of Powerline Road. There have been plans to extend the expressway east of the Turnpike to I-95 since the early 1990s, but local opposition has prevented it from going forward.
, but the proposed Snake Creek Expressway (in Broward County) became part of the Florida's Turnpike Extension
and the LeJeune-Douglas Expressway (in Dade County
) failed in the 1970s as the result of a county wide expressway revolt. On the other hand, the rerouting of Interstate 75 from the Tamiami Trail
to Alligator Alley
in 1973 increased the necessity of a northern/western bypass of Broward County and in 1983, the newly created Broward County Expressway Authority proposed the Sawgrass-Deerfield Expressway in its current alignment. A series of cost-cutting measures for the proposed toll road included removal of all planned rest stops and a shortening of the name of the road to Sawgrass Expressway (A consultant stated in an interview, "Those overhead signs are damn expensive").
The Sawgrass Expressway broke ground on November 2, 1984, and opened to traffic on July 3, 1986, at a cost of $200 million. The section between I-75 and Sunrise Boulevard opened on August 4, 1988. Bonds were sold in 1984 to finance construction and again in 1986 to partially refund the 1984 bonds. By 1990, however, the Sawgrass Expressway was plagued with a massive debt, light usage and was a subject of local political corruption. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise purchased the Sawgrass Expressway from the Broward County Expressway Authority in December 1990 as part of the expansion program authorized by the Florida Legislature in 1990 Senate Bill 1316. The Expressway, along with SW 10th Street west of I-95, was bannered as State Road 869 in 1995.
When the highway was first built, it was criticized for being a "road to nowhere", as it passed through undeveloped areas for most of its length. The road's $1.50 toll in its first few years was another criticism by local residents, contributing to the road's light usage. Commercial and residential developments boomed along the toll road in the late '80s and throughout the '90s, making it suitable for commuters. The swampland west of the Expressway is an Everglades Water Conservation Area and unlikely to be developed in the foreseeable future. The Sawgrass Expressway experienced its first toll hike on March 7, 2004, increasing the toll rate for non SunPass users to $2.00 for travel over the entire expressway, with SunPass users still using the original toll rates. For travel over only part of the expressway, a graduated toll system is in place.
Unlike most roads, the Sawgrass Expressway had a mascot, a swamp frog named Cecil B. Sawgrass, who appeared on signs greeting motorists entering the tollway southbound from State Road 845 (Powerline Road), as well as various road signs on the expressway. Signs featuring Cecil are becoming rare, as newer expressway signage uses only the standard TOLL 869 shield. In October 2005, Hurricane Wilma
damaged the expressway's welcome sign, resulting in its removal during cleanup.
Broward County, Florida
-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...
. The road acts as a de-facto bypass of Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
and northern coastal Broward County, Florida
Broward County, Florida
-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...
, extending north from a junction of Interstate 75 (SR 93
State Road 93 (Florida)
State Road 93 is the hidden Florida Department of Transportation designator for the following routes:*Interstate 75 from the Georgia state line to the interchange with the Palmetto Expressway and the Gratigny Parkway in Miami Lakes....
), Interstate 595
Interstate 595 (Florida)
Interstate 595 , also known as the Port Everglades Expressway and as the unsigned State Road 862, is a Interstate highway that connects Interstate 75 and Alligator Alley in the west with Florida's Turnpike, Interstate 95, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, US 1, and SR A1A before...
(SR 862), and SR 84
State Road 84 (Florida)
Originally extending from the Tamiami Trail in Naples to Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale, State Road 84 now consists of two noncontiguous pieces:...
in Sunrise
Sunrise, Florida
-Overview:Sunrise is a city in southwestern Broward County, Florida, United States. It was incorporated in 1961 by Norman Johnson – a developer whose World Famous Upside-Down House attracted buyers to what was then a remote area...
, to Coral Springs
Coral Springs, Florida
Coral Springs, officially chartered July 10, 1963, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, approximately northwest of Fort Lauderdale. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 121,096...
before heading eastward towards Florida's Turnpike
Florida's Turnpike
Florida's Turnpike , designated as the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, and originally known as the Sunshine State Parkway is a north–south toll road that runs through 11 counties in the Florida peninsula, from U.S...
and terminating at Interstate 95
Interstate 95 in Florida
Interstate 95 is the main Interstate Highway on the east coast of the United States; it serves the Atlantic coast of Florida. It begins at a partial interchange with U.S. Highway 1 just south of downtown Miami, and heads north past Daytona Beach and Jacksonville to the Georgia state line at the St...
in Deerfield Beach
Deerfield Beach, Florida
Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, USA. The city is named for the numerous deer that once roamed the area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,018...
. The 20.763 miles (33.4 km) section west of the Turnpike is known as the Sawgrass Expressway, a limited-access toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
; the section east of the Turnpike is a surface street (SW 10th Street). The expressway opened in 1986 and was added to Florida's Turnpike Enterprise in 1990. The entire tollway section is operated on an open-road tolling system for SunPass
SunPass
SunPass is an electronic toll collection system in use by the State of Florida and was originally created by the Florida Department of Transportation's Florida's Turnpike...
users and six lanes wide. The at-grade section east of the Turnpike is maintained by FDOT.
Route description
The Sawgrass Expressway was converted to open-road tolling in 2008 and 2009 at the Sunrise and Deerfield toll plazas, as well as on exit and entrance ramps, eliminating the need for toll plazas for SunPassSunPass
SunPass is an electronic toll collection system in use by the State of Florida and was originally created by the Florida Department of Transportation's Florida's Turnpike...
users on the toll road. Traditional toll booths for cash customers are still accessible on the right side of the plaza areas. The expressway was widened from four lanes to its current six lanes during this time.
The highway begins at the north end of the I-75/I-595 interchange in Sunrise
Sunrise, Florida
-Overview:Sunrise is a city in southwestern Broward County, Florida, United States. It was incorporated in 1961 by Norman Johnson – a developer whose World Famous Upside-Down House attracted buyers to what was then a remote area...
, with protected everglades
Everglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
to the west and newer residential and commercial developments to the east of the expressway for the first 12 miles. After a welcome sign, the expressway passes its lone free interchange to Sunrise Blvd. (SR 838), connecting to the Sawgrass Mills
Sawgrass Mills
Sawgrass Mills is a shopping mall operated by the Simon Property Group, in Sunrise, Florida, a city in Broward County. With of retail selling space, it is the sixth largest mall in the United States, and the second largest in Florida...
outlet mall. It then intersects with the Sunrise Toll Plaza, the first of two toll plazas on the road before reaching the BankAtlantic Center
BankAtlantic Center
The BankAtlantic Center is an indoor arena located in Sunrise, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and adjacent to the popular Sawgrass Mills Mall.The arena features 70 suites & 2,623 club seats.The arena is directly accessible from the Sawgrass Expressway...
exit (no southbound exit). After intersecting with Oakland Park Blvd. (SR 816), it enters Tamarac
Tamarac, Florida
Tamarac is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,427. It is part of the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census....
, intersecting with Commercial Blvd. (SR 870), and then enters Coral Springs. After interchanges at Atlantic Blvd (SR 814), and Sample Road (SR 834), it curves 90 degrees east, switching to an east–west orientation, with housing and other developments surrounding both sides of the highway. Still in Coral Springs, the highway's next interchange and last exit before additional tolls (both directions) is Coral Ridge Drive. Afterwards, it continues eastward, acting as the border between Parkland
Parkland, Florida
Parkland is an city in Broward County, Florida, where zoning laws are designed to protect the "parklike" character of the city. Initially, there were no stores or traffic lights in Parkland, though this changed in the early 2000s. As of the 2010 census, the population of Parkland was 23,962...
to the north of the expressway and Coral Springs to the south of it towards the interchange with University Drive (SR 817). Three miles east of the University Drive exit, the expressway has an interchange with US 441/SR 7, which forms the borders between Coconut Creek
Coconut Creek, Florida
Coconut Creek is a city in Broward County, Florida , nestled between Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. It had a population of 52,909 at the 2010 census...
to the east and Parkland and Coral Springs to the west. The expressway then enters Coconut Creek at the interchange, with an exit with Lyons Road before entering Deerfield Beach
Deerfield Beach, Florida
Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, USA. The city is named for the numerous deer that once roamed the area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,018...
and approaching the Deerfield Toll Plaza just west of Florida's Turnpike
Florida's Turnpike
Florida's Turnpike , designated as the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, and originally known as the Sunshine State Parkway is a north–south toll road that runs through 11 counties in the Florida peninsula, from U.S...
.
After crossing the Turnpike, the tollway reverts to a six lane surface street, SW 10th Street, still heading east in Deerfield Beach. It has intersections with two residential streets before reaching Powerline Road (SR 845). East of Powerline Road, SR 869 passes by residential and commercial zones, crossing several local streets for the remainder of its length, with SR 869 terminating at I-95 about two miles east of Powerline Road. There have been plans to extend the expressway east of the Turnpike to I-95 since the early 1990s, but local opposition has prevented it from going forward.
History
Originally planned to be the University-Deerfield Expressway when it was first proposed in 1960, it was supposed to be the northernmost part of a chain of expressways from Deerfield Beach to Coral GablesCoral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
, but the proposed Snake Creek Expressway (in Broward County) became part of the Florida's Turnpike Extension
Heft
Heft and similar can mean:*Robert G. Heft, a designer of the 50-star and 51-star versions of the USA flag*HEFT, the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike...
and the LeJeune-Douglas Expressway (in Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
) failed in the 1970s as the result of a county wide expressway revolt. On the other hand, the rerouting of Interstate 75 from the Tamiami Trail
Tamiami Trail
The Tamiami Trail is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 from State Road 60 in Tampa to U.S. Route 1 in Miami. The road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90....
to Alligator Alley
Alligator Alley
Alligator Alley is a section of Interstate 75 and State Road 84 extending from Naples on the west coast of Florida to Weston on the east...
in 1973 increased the necessity of a northern/western bypass of Broward County and in 1983, the newly created Broward County Expressway Authority proposed the Sawgrass-Deerfield Expressway in its current alignment. A series of cost-cutting measures for the proposed toll road included removal of all planned rest stops and a shortening of the name of the road to Sawgrass Expressway (A consultant stated in an interview, "Those overhead signs are damn expensive").
The Sawgrass Expressway broke ground on November 2, 1984, and opened to traffic on July 3, 1986, at a cost of $200 million. The section between I-75 and Sunrise Boulevard opened on August 4, 1988. Bonds were sold in 1984 to finance construction and again in 1986 to partially refund the 1984 bonds. By 1990, however, the Sawgrass Expressway was plagued with a massive debt, light usage and was a subject of local political corruption. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise purchased the Sawgrass Expressway from the Broward County Expressway Authority in December 1990 as part of the expansion program authorized by the Florida Legislature in 1990 Senate Bill 1316. The Expressway, along with SW 10th Street west of I-95, was bannered as State Road 869 in 1995.
Unlike most roads, the Sawgrass Expressway had a mascot, a swamp frog named Cecil B. Sawgrass, who appeared on signs greeting motorists entering the tollway southbound from State Road 845 (Powerline Road), as well as various road signs on the expressway. Signs featuring Cecil are becoming rare, as newer expressway signage uses only the standard TOLL 869 shield. In October 2005, Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Wilma was the twenty-second storm , thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, and fourth Category 5 hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 season...
damaged the expressway's welcome sign, resulting in its removal during cleanup.