Florida State Road 408 - Definition

An example of the shield used for State Road 408 and other toll routes in Florida.

Florida State Road 408, also known as the Spessard Holland East-West Expressway, is a 'limited access' toll road connecting Florida's Turnpike in western Orange County, Interstate 4 in Downtown Orlando and the Central Florida GreeneWay. The East-West was constructed by the Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority or OOCEA from 1972-1973 and extended from State Road 50 East of Goldenrod Road to State Road 50 at Kirkman Road in West Orlando. It was named in honor of former Florida governor Spessard Holland. Two toll plazas on the road are also named in his honor--the Holland East and Holland West. The original route for the East-West was 13.3 miles and cost over $89 million to construct.

The Eastern Extension

The OOCEA began construction of the Eastern Extension of the East-West Expressway in 1987 and completed it on May 12, 1989. The extension took 408 from its terminus near Goldenrod Road to its present-day terminus at State Road 50 and the Central Florida Research Park which abuts the University of Central Florida. A third mainline toll plaza was added to the East-West at Dean Road. The cost of this 6 mile extension was $105 million.

The Western Extension

This second extension to the East-West would allow motorists to use the expressway to drive onto Florida's Turnpike without leaving the system. SR 408 actually takes exit 1 to end at SR 50; the last bit to Florida's Turnpike is known as The Turnpike Connector and is maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise. Construction began at the OOCEA's behest in 1989, and construction of the 6 mile extension and fourth toll plaza at Hiawassee Road was completed in late 1990 at a cost of $102 million.

External links

• Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority (http://www.expresswayauthority.com/)
• Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (http://www.dot.state.fl.us/turnpikepio/)
• Florida Department of Transportation (http://www.dot.state.fl.us/)