Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise appreciates your interest in this project. Please use the navigation menu to view public meeting videos and display boards. Clicking on the graphic will enlarge the view. The display boards are available for download on the main project website under the Documents section. If you wish to submit comments, please click on the “View Comment Form” button shown below.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise (Enterprise) is planning to widen Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) from south of Sunrise Boulevard (Milepost 0.0) to south of SR 7 (US 441) (Milepost 18.0), through a series of projects. These projects will provide additional capacity to meet future traffic demand in 2045, improve hurricane evacuation times and improve safety within the corridor. The Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) widening from north of Atlantic Boulevard (Milepost 9.0) to north of Sample Road (Milepost 12.0) will be the second segment of the series to be constructed.
This project covers approximately three (3) miles of the Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) mainline. The proposed improvements include widening this segment to increase the number of lanes from six (6) to ten (10) lanes. However, the additional lanes will not open until the adjacent widening projects are complete. The project will also reconfigure the Sample Road Interchange to enhance safety and traffic flow.
The Enterprise follows a five-phase Project Development Process for delivering needed infrastructure improvements to communities throughout the state. The phases include Planning, Project Development & Environment (PD&E) Study, Design, Right-of-Way (ROW) Acquisition, and Construction.
The Planning and PD&E Phases of this project have been completed, and the project is currently in the Design Phase. Construction plans, specifications, and final estimates to build a project are developed during this phase.
The adjacent widening projects north and south of the Sample Road interchange project will be constructed in the following order:
The Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) is a 21-mile limited access roadway located in northern Broward County. The majority of the Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) is located on the western fringes of the Broward County urban area and is designated as an evacuation route providing connectivity to other evacuation routes such as I-75, Florida’s Turnpike, and to I-95 through the SW 10th Street Connector Project. Within the project limits, the Everglades Wildlife Management Area is located to the west of Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) and residential and commercial developments to the east.
The project segment is located in the city of Coral Springs in Broward County, from north of Atlantic Boulevard (Milepost 9.0) to north of Sample Road (Milepost 12.0), approximately three (3) miles of the Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) mainline. The Enterprise is coordinating with Broward County and the city of Coral Springs to provide the needed capacity improvements along the Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869).
Proposed improvements include widening this segment to increase the number of lanes from six (6) to ten (10) lanes. However, the additional lanes will not open until the adjacent widening projects are complete. Additional improvements include pavement reconstruction, pavement milling and resurfacing, and reconfigure the Sample Road Interchange to enhance safety and traffic flow.
The project’s Design phase will be completed by third quarter of 2023 and construction is anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2024.
The project begins at Milepost 9.0 of the Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) and end at Milepost 12.0, a distance of three (3) miles. The project limits include the Sample Road interchange. Major design features of the project are covered in Maps 2, 3 and 4.
Continuing northward, there is an existing noise wall located to the east of Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869). A noise study evaluation, consistent with federal and state regulations, was performed for this project.
The proposed improvements will have no impact to the existing noise walls and all existing noise walls will remain. Additionally, a new noise barrier is proposed at the Coral Springs Sports Complex.
For more information regarding the noise wall evaluation process, please view the Florida’s Turnpike Traffic Noise Video.
In addition to widening Sawgrass Expressway, the two (2) existing Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) bridges over Sample Road will be widen. Each bridge will consist of a 12-foot inside shoulder, five 12-foot travel lanes and a 10-foot outside shoulder.
The project also includes major improvements to the Sample Road Interchange. The existing interchange at Sample Road will be converted to a partial Diverging Diamond Interchange. In a Diverging Diamond Interchange design, traffic crosses to the other side of the roadway between ramps. The crossover point will be signalized to enhance safety and traffic flow.
A Diverging Diamond Interchange provides significant safety and traffic benefits compared to traditional interchanges. These include:
Finally, at the end of the project, the Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) crosses over the South Florida Water Management District C-5 Canal. The two (2) existing Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) bridges over the C-5 Canal will be widened to form one (1) structure consisting of 4-foot, 8-inch inside shoulders, five 12-foot lanes, and 10-foot outside shoulders.
The existing 6-lane Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) will be widened to 10-lanes.
The existing grassed median will be converted to a paved median with a concrete barrier wall. Since this is the second segment being constructed to accommodate ten (10) lanes, only six (6) lanes will be striped for use until the adjacent segments of the Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) are constructed.
The two (2) existing Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) bridges over the C-5 Canal will be widened to form one (1) structure consisting of 4-foot, 8-inch inside shoulders, five 12-foot lanes, and 10-foot outside shoulders.
The two (2) existing Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) bridges over Sample Road will be widened. Each bridge will consist of a 12-foot inside shoulder, five 12-foot travel lanes, and a 10-foot outside shoulder.
The proposed roadway typical section beneath the Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) will accommodate an additional third lane on Sample Road within the interchange.
Travel lanes will remain open during peak periods. Short-term detours will be limited to construction along the four (4) existing ramps and for the placement of overhead sign structures. Short-term detours will only occur Sunday through Thursday as needed.
The short-term northbound detour, shown as a turquoise line, will be used by northbound travelers during construction of the Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869), northbound off ramp, installation of overhead signs and Dynamic Message Sign structures on the Sawgrass Expressway. Southbound travelers will use the same detour, shown as a dashed purple line.
The short-term southbound detour, shown as a blue line, will be used by southbound travelers during construction of the Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869), southbound off ramp, installation of overhead signs and Dynamic Message Sign structures on the Sawgrass Expressway. Northbound travelers will use the same detour, shown as a dashed yellow line.
A noise study evaluation, consistent with federal and state regulations, was performed for this project.
The proposed improvements will have no impact to the existing noise walls and all existing noise walls will remain. Additionally, a new noise barrier is proposed at the Coral Springs Sports Complex.
For more information regarding the noise wall evaluation process, please view the Florida’s Turnpike Traffic Noise Video.
The Florida Department of Transportation complies with various non-discrimination laws and regulations, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, or family status.
Please contact one of the Title VI coordinators, Laura Duran or Aldrin T. Sanders to express any concerns regarding FDOT’s compliance with Title VI.
Your questions and comments are essential to this process and will help Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise understand your concerns and suggestions for the proposed improvements presented. There are multiple ways to submit your comments to Florida’s Turnpike.
First, you can contact the Project Manager, Teresa Price at (407) 264-3440 or via email at Teresa.Price@dot.state.fl.us or the Community Outreach Specialist, Kerry French at (407) 264-3908 or via email at Kerry.French@dot.state.fl.us.
Secondly, you can submit your questions and comments directly through the comment form on the project website at www.SawgrassAtlantictoSample.com.
Lastly, in-person attendees may ask questions to Turnpike representatives and review the aerial maps and other exhibits on display.
Please submit written questions and comments no later than October 10, 2022, to become part of the public meeting record.