The Orchard Pond Parkway, also known as County Road 0344 (CR 0344), is a privately built, two-lane

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically ...

, covering a distance of in the northern part of Leon County, Florida, acting as a partial bypass of

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

and providing the only connection north of Interstate 10 between the northeastern and northwestern parts of the city. Replacing a dirt road that formerly covered the route, it opened in 2016; using

open road tolling Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The ma ...

, it is considered to be the first privately built toll road to be constructed in the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. A

multi-use trail A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

parallels the road along the old dirt roadway.

Route description

The Orchard Pond Parkway covers a distance of roughly , and is a super two-style toll road, with two, undivided traffic lanes. The road follows an east–west path in northern and northwestern Leon County, Florida, in the rural–urban fringe area of Tallahassee, the state's capital city. Connecting Meridian Road (CR 155) with Old Bainbridge Road (CR 0361), the eastern end of Orchard Pond Parkway routes into Bannerman Road (CR 0342), providing a connection to

U.S. Route 319 U.S. Route 319 (US 319) is a spur of U.S. Route 19, US 19. It runs for from the foot of the John Gorrie Memorial Bridge across from downtown Apalachicola, Florida to U.S. Route 1 in Georgia, US 1/Georgia State Route 4, SR 4 in Wadley, Georgia, th ...

(US 319) and providing a complete bypass route across the northern quadrant of Tallahassee. The speed limit on the route is set at . The parkway was built partially along the route of, and replaced, Orchard Pond Road, an unimproved

dirt road A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...

which had, prior to the construction of the parkway, been the only route allowing access across the northwestern quadrant of Tallahassee north of Interstate 10 (I-10). It had long been considered an especially hazardous route due to its condition, with a rough surface, narrow lanes, and tight bends; drivers following the route often found it taking 30 minutes or more to traverse the short distance, which would become muddy during heavy rains and washboarded during dry spells. The road also was an environmental hazard, with mud, silt, and debris flowing off of the roadway into lakes along its route during major rainstorms.

History

The first privately built toll road to be constructed in Florida, and the first toll road built in Leon County, Florida, construction of the Orchard Pond Parkway was begun in January 2015. The projected completion date was January 2016, although the project was delayed by several months. Constructed by Jeff Phipps, owner of Orchard Pond Plantation, the route was designed to have a minimal environmental impact, along with multiple

wildlife crossing Wildlife crossings are structures that allow animals to cross human-made barriers safely. Wildlife crossings may include underpass tunnels or wildlife tunnels, viaducts, and overpasses or green bridges (mainly for large or herd-type animals); a ...

s being installed. Upon completion the road was handed over to the Leon County government, to be leased back to the constructor over a 99-year term with the lease fees acting as payment for the route. The cost of the project was approximately $17 million, $13.5 million of which was provided as a loan from the Florida Department of Transportation Infrastructure Bank; of recycled

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

was used during the construction of the roadway. The Orchard Pond Parkway opened on April 18, 2016; as an introductory measure to encourage local drivers to familiarize themselves with the route, tolls were not collected until May 1. Following that date,

using the Florida Department of Transportation's SunPass system was instituted, with

toll-by-plate Video tolling (sometimes referred to as video billing, toll by plate, pay by mail, or pay by plate) is a form of electronic toll collection, which uses video or still images of a vehicle's license plate to identify a vehicle liable to pay a road ...

as an option for drivers without a SunPass transponder. Traffic volumes for the road were projected to rise to 2000 cars per day; the highest recorded daily traffic count in the first ten months of operation, following the imposition of tolls, was 1800 cars. The route is considered to be an example for potential future projects to follow, being described as the first step in "a new Capital Circle", providing a bypass for truck traffic to the north of Tallahassee to match the existing partial beltway to the south of the city, reducing traffic congestion and improving safety in the city's busy downtown area, through which a

truck route A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

currently passes.

Recreational trail

Following the opening of the Orchard Pond Parkway, the old dirt road route was converted into a recreational

; the Orchard Pond Road Trail opened in August 2016. Two entrances, one on the parkway itself and another accessed from Old Bainbridge Road, provide access to the trail for

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

, and

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

traffic. In 2019, funding for phase 2 of the trail was

vetoed A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto pow ...

by Florida Governor

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Repres ...

Major intersections

References

External links

*{{official, 1=http://orchardpondparkway.com/ Toll roads in Florida Roads in Leon County, Florida 2016 establishments in Florida