Parkway to put zip in Pass

Work on SunPass-only lanes has caused delays. Soon 107 cameras will be watching.

By CHUIN-WEI YAP, Times Staff Writer
Published November 20, 2007

ODESSA - A pair of projects worth $28-million are under way on the Suncoast Parkway: One will create SunPass-only lanes on exit and entrance ramps, while the other adds 107 electronic eyes on the toll highway.

For drivers who have recently dealt with backups on the parkway at the State Road 54 exit, the $1.3-million SunPass project - called the SunPass Challenge - is the culprit.

The yearlong project will add SunPass-only lanes on each ramp along the whole length of the Veterans Expressway and Suncoast Parkway through Hernando, Pasco and Hillsborough counties. Each plaza will take seven weeks of round-the-clock work, said Joanne Hurley, spokeswoman for the Turnpike Enterprise.

At each plaza, the toll authority is taking down one of the ramp's two lanes, so they can rebuild it just for SunPass holders.

Before this, cash users and SunPass holders shared both lanes on each ramp.

"We found that SunPass users had to line up behind those who are paying cash," said Hurley. "We're implementing the SunPass Challenge ...so now they can keep on driving, through the SunPass-only lane."

That means cash users must have exact change and use only one lane. The toll attendants won't be around on the ramp anymore as work is finished.

"Throughout Florida's turnpike, this is now the trend," Hurley said.

The authority is warning drivers about "extreme peak-hour congestion for traffic exiting at SR 54" because of the project. Take the Van Dyke Road exit instead or use the Dale Mabry spur during the renovations.

The northbound SR 54 exit is the first to get this treatment in Pasco. In Hillsborough, it's the southbound Van Dyke Road entrance ramp.

One more thing: The speed limit on each exit is 25 mph, Hurley said.

The other Turnpike Enterprise project, the $27-million Intelligent Transportation System, will add 107 cameras, 13 message boards, fiber-optic cables and speed sensors on the highway in Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando and Polk counties.

Similar to systems already in place on U.S. 19 and the interstate, the cameras will watch traffic flow and look for congestion or accidents.

The sensors gauge traffic speeds. The overhead message signs tell drivers about potential jams, detours and approximate travel times.

But before anyone can say "Big Brother," the Turnpike Enterprise has an answer.

"None of the equipment being installed is for any kind of enforcement activities," Hurley said.

Chuin-Wei Yap can be reached at 813 909-4613 or cyap@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 19, 2007, 19:48:07]