State Road 417 (SR 417), also known as the Central Florida GreeneWay, Seminole County Expressway (depending on the location), Eastern Beltway and Orlando East Bypass, is a tolled

limited-access A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

forming the eastern

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

around the city of

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is owned and maintained by the

Central Florida Expressway Authority The Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) is a highway authority responsible for construction, maintenance and operation of toll roads in six counties of Greater Orlando (Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, and Brevard Counties). It was ...

(CFX) and

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) is a unit of the Florida Department of Transportation that operates toll roads in Florida. The current Executive Director is Nicola Liquori. History The Florida State Turnpike Authority was authorized by the F ...

. The CFX section was posthumously named after former Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority chairman Jim Greene. SR 417 was originally planned to be a full beltway around Orlando. Eventually, the beltway was divided, with the west side being designated SR 429, and the east side retaining the SR 417 designation. The two expressways will be non-continuous, until 2023, when SR 429 will be extended via Wekiva Parkway to meet SR 417 in the Sanford/Heathrow area.

Route description

Although SR 417 is signed north-south throughout its entire route, it runs east-west between Celebration and CR 15. After the latter road, it runs north-south through the rest of its route. The Southern Connector as well as the beltway begins at an interchange with I-4 in Celebration. This section, run by

is , extending to the

International Drive International Drive, commonly known as I-Drive, is a major thoroughfare in Orlando, Florida, United States, and is the city's main tourist strip. I-Drive is located several miles southwest of proper Downtown Orlando in the southernmost limits ...

interchange. Between the International Drive interchange and the

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

–

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...

county line, the tollway is known as the Central Florida GreeneWay, and is operated by CFX. The Seminole Expressway section of the tollway begins at the county line. This section, also run by

is , extends to an interchange with I-4 in Sanford at the end of the beltway.

Tolls

There are six mainline toll plazas on the tollway and have at least one express lane dedicated to E-Pass/ SunPass for electronic toll collection (ETC), which do not require motorists to stop at a booth, as well as lanes dedicated to cash collection. The Celebration toll plaza has one ETC lane, and all of the others have at least two ETC lanes. The ramp toll plazas have a lane dedicated to ETC and exact change only, with no change provided. While both E-Pass and SunPass are accepted at all interchanges along the toll road, portions maintained by CFX are signed as E-Pass and portions maintained by FTE are signed as SunPass. The current toll rates took effect in July 2012.

History

Phase I: The Eastern Beltway

The first phase of SR 417, then termed the Eastern Beltway, extended from what was the east end of the East–West Expressway northward to SR 426 (Aloma Avenue) in Seminole County. It allowed commuters to bypass the crowded

Semoran Boulevard State Road 436 (SR 436), known as Semoran Boulevard for most of its length and Altamonte Drive in Altamonte Springs, is a north-south road (east-west after US 17/92) in the Orlando area running from US 441 in Apopka to the Beachline Expressway ...

, as well as give expressway access to the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

. The OOCEA began construction of phase I in July 1987 and the road was opened to the public on December 16, 1988 at a cost of $105 million, with $35 million being spent on acquiring the

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

for the route.

Phase II: The Southeastern Beltway

Phase II, the "Southeastern Beltway", was considered one of the most important parts of the Eastern Beltway because motorists could use this portion to travel from downtown

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

to the

Orlando International Airport Orlando International Airport is a major public airport located 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Downtown Orlando, Florida. In 2021, it handled 19,618,838 passengers, making it the busiest airport in the state and seventh busiest airport i ...

without ever getting off the

expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...

system. This portion of the GreeneWay had passed through some of the most barren portions of

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

. It skirts the

Econlockhatchee River The Econlockhatchee River (Econ River for short) is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 21, 2011 north-flowing blackwater tributary of the St. Johns River. The E ...

marshes that cover some of eastern Orange and northern

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...

. The OOCEA began construction of the Southeastern Beltway, from Colonial Drive to the

Beachline Expressway State Road 528 (SR 528), alternatively named the Martin Andersen Beachline Expressway (with parts previously named the Bee Line Expressway), is a partially-toll road, tolled state road in the U.S. state of Florida; it is maintained by ...

in January 1989, and opened ahead of schedule in July 1990. The route cost $72 million, with an estimated $13 million being spent on acquiring the

Phase III: The Southern Connector

The "Southern Connector" was to become a route extending from SR 528 all the way to SR 535. The OOCEA began construction of the road in November 1991 and completed construction July 1, 1993, at a cost of $273 million. It was during the construction of this section that the entire beltway project was renamed the Central Florida GreeneWay. From 2015 through 2016, a limited interchange was completed with SR 417 and Florida's Turnpike. As of 2017, motorists traveling on SR 417 in either direction can exit onto Florida's Turnpike in both northbound and southbound directions, but only motorists on Florida's Turnpike northbound are able to exit onto SR 417, and only onto the northbound direction of SR 417. However, construction has begun as of late 2017 to complete the originally planned fully directional interchange.

Phase IV: The Seminole Expressway

The Seminole Expressway, the northern leg of SR 417, is located in Seminole County and is owned and operated by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise. The section south of Aloma Avenue to the county line (less than one mile) was acquired from the Seminole County Expressway Authority in April 1990 as part of Florida's Turnpike Expansion Program authorized by Senate Bill 1316. The initial stretch, from just south of Aloma to

US 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length, with ...

/ 92 opened in phases in 1994. The final six miles (10 km) connect to Interstate 4 near Sanford/ Lake Mary, and opened to traffic on September 15, 2002, approximately seven months ahead of the final schedule. This leg features only one mainline toll plaza (just south of CR 427), but it is also the priciest toll plaza on SR 417 at $2.50 per vehicle. This section also features the only "free movement" on SR 417. No toll is collected for motorists traveling between I-4 and Rinehart Road (whose interchange with SR 417 is used for travelers on SR 46 and CR 46A to get to and from SR 417).

Phase V: Southern Connector Extension

Due to the multiple entities involved, which included OOCEA,

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

, Osceola County, private landowners, the

Reedy Creek Improvement District The Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) is the governing jurisdiction and special taxing district for the land of Walt Disney World Resort. It includes within the outer limits of Orange and Osceola counties in Florida. It acts with the sa ...

, and the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, building the southernmost between I-4 and the GreeneWay became a complex task. Eventually, they agreed on the Southern Connector Extension, as well as the

Osceola Parkway Osceola Parkway, signed as County Road 522 (CR 522) since around 2003 (and originally planned as State Road 424), is a , partially tolled arterial road extending east–west across the northern boundary of Osceola County, Florida, roughly p ...

. Florida's Turnpike began construction of the extension from the GreeneWay to I-4 in 1994 and completed construction in mid 1996. The project cost almost $153 million, with $74 million coming from contributions from the private parties involved in building this route, making it possible to get from

to the

without ever driving on Interstate 4.

Later changes

In 2008, the Turnpike Enterprise began a $49 million project to reconstruct the Lake Jesup toll plaza, allowing for the inclusion of SunPass/E-PASS express lanes. The project was completed in April 2011. On December 14, 2011, the northern terminus of SR 417 was extended from Interstate 4 to International Parkway. The $11.4 million project began construction on November 29, 2010. The Turnpike Enterprise and OOCEA (now CFX) agreed to build a partial interchange between SR 417 and Florida's Turnpike in the late 2000s, after negotiations dating back to a 1991 field study. The interchange is being built in two phases. The first phase, built by CFX, added ramps from southbound SR 417 to southbound Florida’s Turnpike and from northbound Florida’s Turnpike to northbound SR 417. Construction on the first phase began in September 2013 and opened on January 26, 2015. The second phase, completing the interchange, will be built by the Turnpike Enterprise with construction beginning in late 2014 and expected to be completed in 2017, several years ahead of its original completion date. In January 2015, the speed limit along the entire highway was raised to from the previous speed limit. The increase followed a study that found 85% of drivers on the highway already drove between .

Future

The OOCEA 2030 Master Plan suggests widening the entire expressway to six lanes from International Drive to the Seminole County line. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise has completed a project development & environment study (PD&E) to evaluate the widening of the Seminole Expressway, the portion of SR 417 north of University Boulevard. Construction between University Boulevard and SR 434 is currently not scheduled to begin until 2020. In 2019, construction is anticipated to start on a new interchange between SR 429 (Wekiva Parkway), SR 417, and Interstate 4. This will complete the beltway around Orlando.

Exit list

References

External links

SR 417 (Central FL GreeneWay) - Central Florida Expressway Authority
{{Fla Tpk 417 417 417 417 417 417 417 417 417 Freeways in the United States 1988 establishments in Florida Central Florida Expressway Authority Beltways in the United States