Beginning the weekend of February 19, 2011, you will experience the future of tolling on Florida's Turnpike between Milepost 0 in Florida City to Milepost 47 at the Miami-Dade/Broward County line.
Welcome to The Less Stressway in Miami-Dade County where Turnpike drivers pay tolls without stopping. That’s right...no toll booths...no slowing down. Just plenty of drive! As a SunPass customer, you will experience The Less Stressway with no change to the way you normally travel Florida's Turnpike. No stops, the lowest toll rates available and special perks like airport parking.
Non-SunPass owners will not stop either, but they will pay a higher toll rate through the TOLL-BY-PLATE system. This system takes a photo of a license plate and mails a bill for the tolls, plus an additional administrative charge to the registered vehicle owner.
Since you already enjoy the SunPass advantage and will get to experience The Less Stressway for the lowest rate, why not let your non-SunPass owning friends, family and neighbors in on the scoop? SunPass is available at thousands of locations, visit www.SunPass.com to find the one most convenient for you. SunPass can be purchased using cash, credit or debit card. You can also replenish your account with cash, credit or debit card.
Be sure to tell your relatives and friends who rent a vehicle when they visit our state, that they are most likely able to become a part of the SunPass family as well; all they need to do is discuss their tolling options with their respective rental agent.
We hope you enjoy all-electronic tolling on The Less Stressway in Miami-Dade County. And soon, we'll be announcing more Less Stressway expansions in the future. For details visit www.FloridasTurnpike.com.
Thank you for being part of more than 5 million SunPass customers who choose Life in the SunPass Lane.
On Wednesday, December 2, 2009, workers will start installing bright orange plastic poles to separate two new express lanes from local lanes along southbound I-95 between Miami Gardens Drive / NW 186th Street and I-395 / State Road 836 in downtown Miami. Poles will be installed every night for approximately one week and the exit location will change daily until all poles have been installed.
For your future convenience we are expanding the 95 Express lanes.
Southbound 95 Express Lanes - Coming December 2, 2009. Tolling Begins mid January 2010. For more information please visit www.95Express.com
The new southbound express lanes will operate just like the existing northbound express lanes. However, electronic toll collection will not begin until mid January 2010. Please follow these guidelines when using the southbound express lanes.
Life in the SunPass lane got even better with more lanes for SunPass customers. Construction was completed this spring on the Sawgrass Expressway's (Toll 869) Deerfield toll plaza.
The project entailed removing the center tollbooths from the original toll plaza, located between the Sawgrass Expressway's Lyons Road and Turnpike interchanges, and constructing a SunPass 'signature gantry' west of the original toll plaza. The gantry houses the SunPass equipment over the travel lanes, as well as a catwalk where technicians can service and repair toll equipment while keeping the lanes open. Removing the tollbooths and gates allows motorists with SunPass to pay the toll while driving at highway speeds when traveling to and from Southwest 10th Street and Interstate 95, and when coming from northbound Florida's Turnpike.
SunPass customers headed to the Turnpike must pay the toll at the remaining tollbooths, along with cash customers and SunPass customers entering the Sawgrass Expressway from southbound Florida's Turnpike.
This $40 million project began in August 2007 and was completed on schedule, and marked the successful conversion of the Sawgrass Expressway into a toll road of the future. The Sawgrass Expressway is a 23-mile toll road located in western Broward County that serves as a link between Interstate 75, Florida's Turnpike and Interstate 95. In the last five years, the Sawgrass was widened from four to six lanes, intelligent transportation systems such as traffic cameras and electronic signs were installed, and open-road tolling was implemented at the Sunrise toll plaza and at all ramp toll plazas.
Helping you get to where you need to go, safely and efficiently, electronic message signs have been implemented both on and off Turnpike roadways. Electronic message signs provide roadway information before you reach the area ahead. The signs advise of roadway traffic, route diversion, road or lane closures, special event traffic and construction events.
The number of signs on and off the Turnpike has recently increased. There are now 74 signs on the Turnpike and 41 signs on roads prior to the Turnpike entrance points. This road signage prior to the Turnpike entrance points provides information about Florida's Turnpike before you enter the on-ramp, allowing you to choose an alternate travel route if desired.
The location of the electronic message signs placed on roads prior to the Turnpike entrance points are determined by physical suitability of the site, traffic volumes, traffic incidents and alternate route potential. The signs work through the use of fiber optic networks and wireless communications, which transmit communications via the Turnpike Traffic Management Center. Combined with the 74 electronic message signs on the Turnpike, Florida's Turnpike has implemented 115 signs throughout the state.
In April 2009, Florida's Turnpike executed a 30-year concession agreement with Areas USA FLTP, LLC (Areas) to operate the fuel, food and beverage and retail operations at Florida's Turnpike service plazas.
On April 2, 2009, Areas began providing Shell branded fuel through subcontractor Florida Turnpike Services (FTS) at the service stations. FTS will also operate the new convenience stores once constructed.
As of June 3, 2009, Areas is the new operator of the food and beverage and retail facilities at the seven service plazas that have restaurant facilities. With this change will come a transition to new food concepts, which will continue to evolve and expand until the completion in 2012.
Some of the new concepts proposed to adorn Florida's Turnpike service plazas include the following: Dunkin' Donuts®, Taco Bell®, Checkers®, Kentucky Fried Chicken®, Tony Roma's Express®, Earl of Sandwich®, Qdoba Mexican Grill®, Panda Express®, Long John Silvers®, Baskin Robbins®, Blimpie®, Cheeburger Cheeburger®, Chicken Kitchen®, Jamba Juice®, Nature's Table Cafe®, Villa Pizza® and Vicky Bakery®. Healthy food options are also slated to be included at these proposed restaurants.
The service plaza facilities will also receive makeovers. Construction is slated to begin in November 2010 and will continue through the end of 2012. These new buildings will feature Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Additional highlights include:
With changes abound, you will still be able to purchase a SunPass transponder for yourself, a family member or a friend! Stay tuned for progress updates.
Earlier this year, Florida's Turnpike reached a new milestone when the four millionth SunPass transponder was activated. Helping achieve this significant accomplishment was RESPECT of Florida, a non-profit agency who has provided SunPass transponder packaging services to Florida's Turnpike since 2007. RESPECT of Florida helps disabled Florida citizens reach their potential through gainful employment. This program provides members an opportunity to earn income and learn new skills, empowering them to become more independent and lead more fulfilling lives.
New technology upgrades to the SunPass program have recently been implemented. These upgrades will affect you if you have the original, Type III transponder with the LCD display screen. The LCD display screen no longer displays the amount of the toll paid, or the balance remaining, but it will indicate that the toll has been collected and paid. The display will be reinforced by the transponder beeps. To see an explanation of what the different visual and audible alerts mean click here.
You can also check your account balance any time online by visiting www.SunPass.com or by calling the SunPass Call Center at 1-888-TOLL-FLA.
To better serve SunPass customers, Florida's Turnpike has recently changed the SunPass Call Centers' hours of operation. The SunPass Call Center has extended weekday hours and discontinued weekend hours. New hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 7am to 7pm, and closed weekends. Please keep in mind you can access your account information online anytime at www.SunPass.com.
Enjoy the convenience of SunPass-only lanes when renting a car, even without your SunPass transponder. When renting a vehicle, just ask your rental car agency about electronic tolling. Many rental agencies use license plate recognition systems, which allow rental car customers to use the SunPass-only lanes to bypass congestion and traffic. Participating rental car companies include: Advantage, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Global, Hertz, Sunshine and Thrifty Car rental. So, the next time you, a friend or family member are renting a car in Florida, remember to ask about SunPass.
For more information on specific rental car programs, please contact your local rental car agency as each agency has separate programs and fees associated with electronic toll usage.
The convenience of using your SunPass transponder to pay for parking is now available at Tampa International Airport's Economy Parking Garage, and will soon be in all Tampa International Airport parking garages. To use this feature, simply upgrade your account to SunPass Plus by enrolling in Easy Pay auto-replenishment and enjoy the benefit of using your SunPass transponder to pay for parking. Just look for the SunPass Plus sign at the airport parking entrance and exit gates so you can fly through without stopping to pay cash. Many airport parking customers already enjoy this convenience at Orlando International Airport. Additional SunPass parking will be available at other major Florida airports in the future.
You may have noticed in stores, the SunPass package has a new look. A new, 'green' package has been developed - literally and figuratively. With a steadfast commitment to the environment, Florida's Turnpike Enterprise has lessened its environmental footprint by reducing the materials in the SunPass package. So, the next time you purchase a SunPass transponder for yourself, a friend or a family member, just go for the green.
The SunPass Mini is available statewide! At a mere 2.5" x 3" and as thin as a credit card, you'll hardly know it's there except when you're breezing down Florida's toll roads without stopping to pay tolls. Easily affixed to your car's windshield, the SunPass Mini also saves you 25% at most toll plazas and allows parking at Orlando International Airport.
This new transponder option allows SunPass customers to take advantage of the ultra thin microchip technology within the Mini. The SunPass Mini is not portable and must be permanently affixed to the inside of a glass windshield in order to function. Once the SunPass Mini is removed from a windshield, it will not work. Although the SunPass Mini does not beep when passing through a plaza, you can check your account balance at any time at www.SunPass.com or by calling the Customer Service Center at 1-888-TOLL-FLA. Additionally, an automatic email will be sent to the SunPass Mini registered email address on file if your account balance drops below $10.00.
You can purchase the new SunPass Mini at most Publix, CVS, Sedano's and Navarro stores, as well as at Turnpike service plazas for $4.99. Customers who complete the registration process will receive a $4.99 credit towards their prepaid toll account balance, making the new transponder kinda, sorta free!
The SunPass Portable is also still available for purchase and use, allowing customers the option to choose which transponder best suits their needs.
Please note that because the SunPass Mini must be adhered to glass in order to function, it will not work on most motorcycles.
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For more information on SunPass transponders click here.