Gov. Ron DeSantis announced nearly $63 million in upgrades to rest stops along the Florida Turnpike, including new restaurants like Zaxby’s and Jimmy John’s, part of a broader effort to improve and widen the cross-state highway.
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At a press conference at the Turkey Lake Service Plaza in Orange County, DeSantis said nearly $8.5 million will be spent to improve amenities and customer services at six of the Turnpike’s eight service plazas. Turkey Lake, the rest area closest to Orlando, will be among the plazas to receive the upgrades.
“We challenge the vendor to be able to improve those options. Sometimes that may mean bringing in new companies … but maybe it just means sprucing up some of the existing stations which had maybe shown a little bit of wear and tear,” DeSantis said.
But the vast majority of the money, nearly $54 million, will be used to add 150 new parking spaces for semi-trucks at Turkey Lake and the Canoe Creek Service Plaza south of St. Cloud, according to Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, who spoke alongside DeSantis Tuesday.
“Trucks are a very heavy user of our Turnpike system. They are absolutely critical to the delivery of goods and services for all of our communities here in the state of Florida,” Perdue said, “There has been a significant shortage of truck parking throughout the whole state.”
The improvements are part of a $20 billion plan to widen the Turnpike, which extends from Miami to Wildwood in Sumter County, where it connects with Interstate 75. When the project is complete, the Turnpike’s main line will be widened by 965 “lane miles” to have at least six lanes, with some areas having up to 10 or more lanes, according to an FDOT graphic.
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The project is 55% complete.
DeSantis touted the completion of one section of lane-widening in Lake County in June, a stretch from State Road 50 in Clermont to Hancock Road in Minneola.
“That’s added critical capacity through Orange and Lake counties,” he said. “And if you’ve driven through that part of the Turnpike since it opened, you’ve definitely seen a reduction in the delays and in the traffic backups.”
FDOT had previously announced last year its plan to widen the Turnpike in Osceola County.
Nicola Liquori, the Turnpike’s executive director, said at the press conference that travelers have logged about 9.5 billion miles traveled on the Turnpike’s main line over the past year alone. The Turnpike is used daily by an average of more than 3 million customers, according to FDOT’s website.
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