New Orlando Toll Pass Covers Nearly Entire U.S. East Coast

Orlando’s Central Florida Expressway Authority Unveils Interstate Pass

First New Toll Pass To Work Across Florida As Well As East and Midwest USA

Orlando’s Central Florida Expressway Authority announced today the availability of the Florida’s first new toll pass to be compatible on CFX roadways, other Florida toll roads, and, crucially, nearly all toll roads across the East Coast, New England and Midwest United States. Today’s announcement comes less that three months after CFX began accepting E-ZPass on Orlando-area toll roads. Until now, only North Carolina’s QuickPass was compatible with both E-ZPass and Sunpass. In a written news release today, Brian Hutchings, spokesman for CFX, wrote that E-Pass Xtra is the “CFX response to the Moving Ahead for Progress in 21st Century Act (MAP-21), which requires all U.S. highway toll facilities to adopt interoperable technologies or best practices so drivers can travel across toll roads without the need to change transponders or open new accounts.”

E-Pass Xtra coverage map
Graphic: Central Florida Expressway Authority


MAP-21 was passed as part of the U.S. Congress’ 2012 highway authorization bill, and it required states across the country to introduce compatible technologies no later than October 2016. No funding authorization accompanied the mandate, but there was also no enforcement provision, and most states did not meet the deadline.

Florida Drivers Get First Interstate Transponder Option

The availability of the E-Pass Xtra  gives Florida drivers their first option for acquiring a toll pass that will be compatible with E-ZPass systems across the East Coast and Midwest, as well as the QuickPass and PeachPass systems in North Carolina and Georgia, respectively. SunPass, issued by Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, is currently not compatible on roads outside the Lower Atlantic region.

E-ZPass, IPass Still Only Work In Orlando

While Florida drivers now have an interstate toll pass option, drivers using E-ZPass, RiverLink or IPass will still only be able to use their transponders on Orlando roads, unless they purchase the E-Pass Extra, themselves.
There is also the option to use Florida’s Sunpass, but that transponder is compatible only in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. While Sunpass has been negotiating since at least 2016 to achieve interstate toll compatibility, no new date for compatibility has been announced. Previously-announced target dates in 2017 were missed on at least two occasions.

E-Pass Xtra transponder unit
Photo: Central Florida Expressway Authority


The new E-Pass Xtra unit is currently available only as a portable transponder unit, according to CFX, and can be acquired by visiting the CFX website to purchase a transponder unit or by visiting EPASSXtra.com. The unit, pictured here in a CFX photo, includes both the E-Pass and the E-ZPass logos.
The new pass will cost drivers $18.50 to purchase, and CFX will require a minimum balance of $10.00 once an account is opened.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story reported the E-Pass Xtra was the nation’s first new toll pass to be compatible with Florida roads and much of the East Coast and Midwest. E-Pass Xtra is, in fact, Florida’s first new toll pass with such compatibility.

Florida's E-ZPass Compatibility Not Easy To Understand

Roadways And Interchanges Only Partly Compatible

However, using E-ZPass in Florida will be tricky, at best, because the compatibility only extends to the Orlando metropolitan area. Even on roads where the E-ZPass will be accepted, key interchanges and roadways will not be compatible with E-ZPass. Adding to the confusion is the reality that sections of some roads will be incompatible, while other sections of the same road will be compatible with E-ZPass. More confusing, still, is that some interchanges, themselves, will also be only partially compatible. That means drivers can use one set of entrance or exit ramps with their E-ZPass, but not another set of ramps within the same interchange. The compatibility issues are detailed in a compatibility map CFX released earlier this month in an effort to ameliorate confusion. At one key interchange, where Florida’s Turnpike meets up with the Central Florida Greeneway (State Road 417), ramps from the Central Florida Greeneway to Florida’s Turnpike will not accept E-ZPass, unless you happen to be traveling south on 417 and want to go south on Florida’s Turnpike. If you are traveling northbound on Florida’s Turnpike and want to go north on the Central Florida Greeneway, your E-ZPass will work in that direction, too. But E-ZPass is not accepted on the other ramps of the same interchange. Florida’s Turnpike is operated by Florida’s Department of Transportation, and the Central Florida GreeneWay is partially operated by CFX and, in part, by FDOT.

CFX E-ZPass compatibility map
CFX released the official E-ZPass compatibility map in August 2018, which shows key interchanges, including I-95 and the Beachline Expressway, as well as Florida’s Turnpike at SR 417, are either not compatible with E-ZPass or only partly compatible.

Florida DOT Lacks E-ZPass Agreement

It is a problem, Hutchings admits, the CFX simply can not overcome without help from the state of Florida, which co-operates many key roadways with the CFX, including the Western Beltway, the Beachline Expressway, the Central Florida GreeneWay, and even the smallest segment of the Holland East-West Expressway that connects with Florida’s Turnpike. Thus, the compatibility issues, because Florida has yet to reach an operating agreement with the E-ZPass Group, the governing body for the nation’s largest electronic toll collection network.
Florida had been on the cusp of such an agreement, in part, in early 2017, said Chad Huff, spokesman for Florida’s DOT. The state was on track to begin accepting the I-Pass transponder, used in Illinois but a part of the E-ZPass network. It would have been a first step toward Florida accepting all E-ZPass transponders. However, a series of unspecified issues has delayed implementation for more than 18 months, so far.

A Florida DOT CCTV view of SR 91 at SR 417
This interchange of Florida’s Turnpike and the Central Florida GreeneWay is one example of a junction that is only partly compatible with E-ZPass. Drivers traveling north on Florida’s Turnpike who want to go north on the GreeneWay may use their E-ZPass, but drivers leaving the GreeneWay to go north on the turnpike may not.

Essentially, that means visitors to Florida who are using an E-ZPass will only be able to drive portions of Orlando’s toll roads using their transponders. Main roads, like Florida’s Turnpike, itself, will not be compatible with E-ZPass at all. For roads where E-ZPass is accepted, if a driver passes the wrong mile marker, they will incur a toll violation, unless they have the cash to pay for the toll. The only other option is to buy a SunPass, which is Florida’s toll transponder, but using both transponders, together, can often lead to duplicate charges, as the CFX roads also accept SunPass.

E-Pass Not Compatible With E-ZPass

Another issue, particularly for local drivers in the Orlando area, is that the CFX toll transponder, E-Pass, will not work on E-ZPass roads, even though the E-ZPass will work on some roads in Florida. Again, Hutchings said it is an administrative issue, not a technological one, that has created the snags, a sentiment shared by Florida’s DOT, Huff told TurnpikeInfo.com.
Florida’s DOT, Huff said, had the technology to read E-ZPass transponders and their data in place in 2017. The problem is in reaching the interoperability agreements with the various agencies of the E-ZPass network.
“Developing compatible business rules across agencies takes significant amounts of time,” Huff wrote in an email to TurnpikeInfo.com. “SunPass and the other Florida brands use the same technology and worked out business rules as electronic tolling was being introduced.”
As of this writing, Florida DOT did not have an update of when E-ZPass may be accepted on other Florida toll roads, outside the Orlando metropolitan area.
DOWNLOAD CFX COMPATIBILITY MAP

Editor’s note: The original version of this story misidentified the E-ZPass Group as the E-ZPass Interoperability Group.

'Catastrophic' Hurricane Irma Threatens Florida East Coast

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 11:26 p.m., Wednesday, September 6, in order to reflect the latest forecast and evacuation data.

Mandatory Evacuations Ordered For Coastal Residents

Hurricane Irma forecast track.
The projected track of Hurricane Irma, as issued by the National Hurricane Center at 11 p.m. Wednesday. Graphic: NOAA.

Fort Lauderdale, FL – Hurricane Irma now threatens the Florida east coast, according to the National Hurricane Center, and forecasters announced they would likely begin issuing hurricane watches for the Florida peninsula on Thursday. The system will impact South Florida, and  Florida’s Turnpike, by as early as Friday evening, and to forecasters say the massive category 5 storm could inflict ‘catastrophic’ wind and rain damage to affected areas into early next week.
The storm moved over the eastern Leeward Islands overnight Wednesday morning, making landfall on the British Virgin Islands, and dealing a blow to Puerto Rico, shortly thereafter. The storm is expected to continue to barrel its way on a west-northwesterly trek through the Caribbean through the next two to three days.

Hurricane Irma's projected wind field
The forecast wind field impact timeline for Hurricane Irma, through Sunday. Whether the storm remains off shore or strikes the peninsula, it will have a significant impact on South Florida, forecasters say. Graphic: NOAA.

The problem for Florida comes this weekend, and particularly Sunday evening into Monday morning, when the storm is expected to slip to the west of a high pressure ridge, allowing Irma to turn to the north. Forecasters do not have a firm handle on precisely where the turn will happen. If Irma turns sooner, rather than later, the eye wall would remain offshore of Florida’s peninsula. However, the massive storm, which has winds extending out 175 miles from its center, is expected to impact Florida’s east coast, whether off shore or not. That means regardless of whether the storm makes landfall, its impact will be unavoidable.

Evacuations Ordered For Florida Keys And Florida Peninsula

That forecast, and the storm’s potential for a life-threatening impact, have forced officials across South Florida to issue mandatory evacuation orders. Visitors in the Florida Keys were ordered to evacuate beginning Wednesday morning, and residents went under a mandatory evacuation Wednesday night.
Residents of low-lying and flood-prone areas of Broward County, which includes areas of Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale’s beaches, also are under a mandatory evacuation order beginning Thursday. Miami-Dade County issued evacuation orders later on Wednesday for much of its barrier islands, which includes Miami Beach.

Tolls Suspended On Florida Roads As Evacuation Traffic Builds

Meanwhile, tolls were suspended Tuesday afternoon for all Florida toll roads and bridges. Governor Rick Scott issued the order around 3:30 p.m., saying the move was necessary to help residents and visitors easily evacuate if necessary.
The Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike, which runs through Miami-Dade County, was already showing heavy traffic at its south end, in Florida City and Homestead, where residents and visitors fleeing the Florida Keys will connect with the roadway to evacuate.
Chad Huff, spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, said officials had not made a decision to change the traffic pattern on the turnpike, although that contingency does exist to aid evacuation. However, he could offer no timeline on when any decision to change the traffic flow would be made.

Hurricane Irma Forces Florida Evacuations

Tolls Suspended Across Florida’s Turnpike, Other Toll Roads

Fort Lauderdale – Tolls on Florida’s Turnpike, and all toll roads in the Sunshine State, have been suspended as Hurricane Irma makes its approach through the Caribbean. Governor Rick Scott made the announcement mid-afternoon Tuesday, saying the suspension of tolls will make it easier for Floridians and visitors to “more easily be able to prepare for any potential storm impacts … and quickly and safely evacuate when necessary.”

Pompano Service Plaza gas station
Workers at service plaza gas stations in South Florida, including the Shell at the Pompano Beach Plaza, pictured here in a 2016 file photo, reported plenty of fuel available, with no expected interruption in the delivery of new supplies.

Hurricane Irma has blown up into a super hurricane, with winds of 185 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center in MIami. That makes Irma the second-most powerful storm in history, only behind Hurricane Allen, which struck the Caribbean in 1980. At one point, Allen had winds of 190 miles per hour.

Hurricane Irma forecast track
Hurricane Irma’s forecast track, from the National Hurricane Center, issued at 5 p.m. on September 5.

For its part, Hurricane Irma is due to strike the northern Leeward Islands, east of Puerto Rico, tonight, and Puerto Rico, itself, on Wednesday. South Florida and the Florida Keys are currently in the forecast “cone”, or the projected path of the storm, which includes a margin of error. But Key West currently has a target on it, as the NHC forecast takes the storm’s path nearly directly over the island by Sunday.

Evacuation Orders Planned Wednesday In South Florida

That forecast track has forced officials set planned mandatory evacuations of the Keys beginning on Wednesday for visitors and residents, although the precise time of Wednesday’s expected evacuation order had not been determined.

Government offices in Miami-Dade County, along with schools, will be closed on Thursday and Friday so residents may prepare for the storm or evacuate. All school and park activities were also suspended. However, county officials had not yet issued any evacuation orders.

In Broward County and Fort Lauderdale, location of the home office of TurnpikeInfo.com, government emergency operations centers were activated, but no evacuation orders had yet been issued as of Tuesday evening.

Elsewhere, traffic on Florida’s Turnpike appeared light in most areas, and gas stations at service plazas in South Florida reported fuel available at both the Snapper Creek Service Plaza in Miami-Dade and the Pompano Beach Service Plaza in Broward County.

"Monumental" Interchange Project Moves Forward As First New Ramp Opens

New Innovation Way Interchange Replacing Monument Parkway Junction East Of Orlando

New onramp for Beachline Expressway in Florida
The Beachline Expressway begins getting a replacement interchange this weekend as authorities open the first ramp of the new Innovation Parkway junction.

The first ramp of a revised interchange system on Florida’s Beachline Expressway will open Friday, March 31, the Central Florida Expressway Authority has announced. The new ramp will route traffic directly from the southbound lanes of Innovation Way to the westbound lanes of the State Road 528, which is the Beachline.

“Motorists traveling south on Innovation Way will be able to access the new ramp directly instead of following the existing configuration through Monument Parkway,” officials announced in a written release. Authorities said the old southbound ramp, from Monument Parkway, will close as the new ramp opens this weekend. Monument Parkway becomes International Corporate Park Boulevard south of the Beachline Expressway.

The Innovation Way interchange, about nine miles east of Orlando International Airport, will replace the Monument Parkway/ICP interchange completely by early 2018. The interchange is being updated to accommodate new development in the area, which includes a new intrastate commuter rail system, All Aboard Florida.

Detour signs will be available to guide drivers on Monument Parkway, officials said. “Motorists traveling on Monument Parkway and ICP Boulevard will be directed to head north to Innovation Way to access the new ramp,” officials wrote.

Service Plazas Opened On Florida's Turnpike

Gas Stations Operational And Food Available

Tolls Remain Suspended Until At Least 11:59 p.m. Sunday, October 9

The service plazas on Florida’s Turnpike are all operational in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, according to a staff member at the Turkey Lake service plaza. The plazas had been closed as the storm roiled offshore Thursday and Friday, sending wave upon wave of feeder bands across the peninusla. The Florida Department of Transportation, under orders from the governor’s office, had closed all plazas in order to protect staff.

The plazas began reopening in South Florida Friday afternoon, and all are now operational, with the threat of Matthew now passed.
Meanwhile, tolls remain suspended across Florida’s Turnpike and other regional toll facilities, including Orlando’s toll roads and those in Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. While the free ride may be saving money, traffic congestion is occasionally up at some toll plazas, where officials are directing traffic into just a few lanes. The governor’s office released a statement late Sunday afternoon stating tolls would remain suspended until at least 11:59 p.m.

Sunday, October 9. However, regional tolling agencies were reviewing their toll status on a county by county basis.

Leesburg Toll Plaza
A southbound view of the Leesburg toll plaza on October 9, 2016, as drivers are pushed to the left-most lanes to accommodate toll suspensions. It was unclear Sunday when tolls would be reinstated on the Florida’s Turnpike. Image from Florida Department of Transportation.

Elsewhere, officials will be examining constructions sites in the coming days on Florida’s Turnpike and other regional toll roads to determine whether it is safe to resume maintenance and new construction operations. When that process is complete, construction restrictions will resume.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 4:50 p.m. to include the governor's office's latest statement on the status of tolls on Florida's Turnpike.

Tolls Remain Suspended On Florida's Turnpike

Governor Surveys Damage From Hurricane Matthew

No Statement Issued About Service Plazas Reopening As Gas Supplies Disrupted

Governor Rick Scott presser in Volusia County
Governor Rick Scott briefs media this morning in Volusia County.

Tolls remain suspended this afternoon on Florida’s Turnpike and other regional toll roads, including those in metropolitan Orlando, Tampa, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The service plazas on the turnpike remain closed in the most heavily-damaged areas, with only South Florida’s service plazas operational late Saturday afternoon.

As Hurricane Matthew weakens off the coast of the Carolinas, it remains unclear how quickly service plazas will reopen. This could be trouble for drivers who normally depend upon the fuel and other services provided at plazas. Fuel supplies at retail locations at various exits are likely to suffer some, as ports across the northeastern coast have been shut down due to Matthew.

The governor’s office, in its regular written afternoon briefing, said those ports are beginning to reopen. The governor’s office also assured residents and tourists officials were closely monitoring supply chain and distribution channels. “The state is monitoring for supply, distribution or retail fuel shortages or issues, specifically for isolated incidents of individual retailers experiencing temporary fuel shortages,” the governor’s press office wrote. “These individual retailers are being quickly refueled, and fuel is readily available across Florida.”

Officials at the Florida Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to requests for further information about the service plazas or tolling.

Florida Governor Tours Cities Ravaged By Matthew

Tolls Remain Suspended On Florida Toll Roads, Including Florida’s Turnpike

Some Service Plazas Reopened In South Florida

Florida Governor Rick Scott tours Cocoa after Hurricane Matthew
Florida Governor Rick Scott is accompanied by local and state law enforcement and national guard troops as he tours Cocoa, one of the towns impacted by Hurricane Matthew’s tango with Florida’s east coast.

Florida Governor Rick Scott toured storm-ravaged cities and counties in Florida this afternoon as the damage assessments following Hurricane Matthew’s visit to the state began in earnest. The governor met by telephone with mayors of dozens of cities this morning and again this afternoon, also paying personal visits to coastal communities, including the town of Cocoa, which is at the eastern terminus of the Beachline Expressway.

Tolls on the Beachline Expressway and all other regional toll roads, as well as Florida’s Turnpike, remain suspended this evening, the governor’s office announced in a statement released early Friday night. Some county tolling facilities may reinstate tolls as early as Saturday as officials examine the potential for putting toll workers back on the road. “All toll suspensions remain in effect and will remain suspended for at least 24 hours,” the statement read. “After the storm passes, county DOT officials will review this on a case by case basis.”

Meanwhile, three service plazas on the Florida’s Turnpike reopened in South Florida earlier in the day Friday, after conditions borne of the monster hurricane had largely passed from the region. Engineering assessments determined none of the buildings had suffered any structural damage that could be potentially harmful or life-threatening. All services plazas from West Palm Beach and south were open Friday night. Service plazas north of West Palm Beach remain closed, including two in the metro Orlando area, the Canoe Creek and Turkey Lake plazas.

Hurricane Matthew forecast track 2016-10-07 8PM EDT

As for Hurricane Matthew, itself, the storm has been downgraded to a powerful category 2 system, which is sending strong storm surges and high winds across the very northeastern edge of Florida and across coastal Georgia. The storm is expected to turn east into the Atlantic over the weekend, then turn south once more to head toward the Bahamas for a second time.

Florida's Turnpike, Orlando Still Whipped By Hurricane Feeder Bands

Hurricane Matthew, Just Offshore, Pulling Energy Over Central Florida

Turnpike Service Plazas Remain Closed At This Hour; Tolls Still Suspended

Hurricane Matthew continues is sea-bound spiral up Florida’s east coast this morning, after narrowly missing South Florida Thursday and Thursday night. The storm remains a category 3 monster, and forecasters expect the system will continue to spin along the coast on a northwesterly trek, before eventually turning overnight and into the weekend to run along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina.

NWS Weather Radar Melbourne - Hurricane Matthew 2016-10-17
Weather radar on the National Weather Service website shows lingering feeder bands of Hurricane Matthew continuing to influence Florida’s Turnpike weather, even as the storm has remained offshore.

The Central Florida Expressway Authority announced on their Twitter feed this morning that the Florida governor’s office had ordered tolls to remain suspended. That order will affect all toll roads in Florida, not just those operated by CFX.

CFX, which operates regional toll roads around Orlando's metropolitan area, announced on their twitter feed that the Florida governor's office had ordered tolls remain suspended on toll roads, which includes Florida's Turnpike.
CFX, which operates regional toll roads around Orlando’s metropolitan area, announced on their twitter feed that the Florida governor’s office had ordered tolls remain suspended on toll roads, which includes Florida’s Turnpike.

Meanwhile, service plazas on Florida’s Turnpike remain closed this morning as feeder bands of Hurricane Matthew continue to pelt Orlando and Central Florida, areas where people have already endured nearly 24 hours of incessant tropical whiplash. Even as Matthew was over the Bahamas, weather radar showed a steady onslaught of tropical energy flowing from the Atlantic over the central peninsula.

The danger posed by Matthew forced Disney World to close at 5 p.m. Thursday afternoon. The park remains closed today. Sea World, Universal Orlando, and other Orlando tourist destinations, most near or close to Florida’s Turnpike, are also closed. For Disney World, the closure is only the fourth time in its history, according to Mashable, that the theme park has closed. All closures were due to hurricanes, and all have happened since 1999.

Officials with Florida’s Department of Transportation have said they will reopen the service plazas along the turnpike only after Matthew has passed, and only when engineers have verified the structural integrity of any building that have been awash in Matthew’s massive wind field. “All Turnpike Service Plazas will re-open after Matthew passes and all the structures are deemed safe for operation and occupation,” officials said in a written statement.

Florida's Turnpike Buffeted By Outer Bands Of Hurricane Matthew

Category 4 Storm Clearing Bahamas And Speeding Toward U.S. Coast

Hurricane Warnings Extend North From Broward County Into Southern Georgia

The outer feeder bands of Hurricane Matthew have already begun whipping around drivers on Florida’s Turnpike in South Florida, particularly Miami-Dade County and Broward County, the first to begin feeling the impact of the storm. For those still driving Florida’s Turnpike this morning, officials have urged caution on the roads.

Hurricane Matthew wind field 2016-10-06 8AM
The enormous wind field of Hurricane Matthew will send high tropical storm-force winds and some hurricane force-winds across many portions of Florida’s Turnpike, up and down the peninsula, and other toll roads in Central Florida.

The Florida Highway Patrol was reporting heavy congestion on State Road 60 in Indian River County, where traffic is heading westbound toward Florida’s Turnpike in an effort to outrun the storm. Matthew is expected to graze the coastline along the Treasure Coast and Space Coast of Florida, even as its immense wind field influences most of the eastern peninsula and into the Florida Keys.

Tolls were suspended on most portions of Florida’s Turnpike and most of Central Florida’s toll roads Tuesday night, as officials prepared for evacuations from communities across a broad swath of the Florida’s east coast, particularly from Palm Beach County northward. The FHP reported all service plazas remained open, and customers were being permitted to fill up a five-gallon (19 liter) container of fuel, in addition to a vehicle fill-up.

High winds, which are already gusting across South Florida, are expected to get significantly worse through the early and mid-afternoon hours, reaching high tropical storm-force early Thursday evening. Some areas are expected to get hurricane force gusts, and sustained hurricane force winds are expected to impact northern segments of Florida’s Turnpike and, in particular, the east leg of the Beachline Expressway.

Hurricane Matthew forecast track 2016-10-06 11AM
Hurricane Matthew’s 11 a.m. forecast track from the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

As of 11 a.m., hurricane warnings were extended farther north, well into South Carolina, and the storm, itself, had gained strength and reclaimed its status as a category 4 hurricane. However, the storm is more compact than it had been, even as it has regained strength. Hurricane-force winds extend outward about 60 miles from the center, but tropical storm -force winds only extend outward about 160 miles, a contraction of about 15 miles from the previous advisory. Maximum sustained winds are at 140 miles per hour, with higher gusts.

Editor's note: Some supplemental information has been added to this report since it was first published. Information about the service plazas was added at 12:20 p.m. EDT.