Has anyone had the opportunity to ride the new 595?

[Papillons2]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

I totally agree about Miami's express lanes being a mess. It's so jerry-rigged...like they just put up these cheese-ball cones to seperate them from the regular lanes. 595 is done right. It's properly seperated. 95 should be like what 595 now is!.

I'll take 595 -- either now or previously -- any day of the week over the Miami-Dade stretch of I-95. The road is unable to handle the traffic volume and the express lanes are most definitely set up haphazardly. And is it my imagination, or are the lanes narrower there than on I-95 in Broward and Palm Beach counties? Seems like it's a real squeeze to keep even my compact car between the lines. Glad I don't make the drive to downtown Miami too often because that stretch is easily as hazardous to your health as smoking three packs of cigarettes a day.

On another traffic/roads-related subject, Michael Mayo of the Sun Sentinel had an interesting column today on the Sawgrass Expressway and the possibility of extending it to I-95, removing the Southwest 10th Street bottleneck between the two major highways. The original plan when the Sawgrass was built in the late '80s was to have it go all the way to I-95, but politically connected condo commandos in Deerfield Beach managed to get that shot down. In retrospect, that seems horribly short-sighted. East-west driving seems like a slow go in north and northwest Broward and a Sawgrass extension might help, assuming drivers are willing to pay the tolls.

[wizrap]

Yes, I saw the article -- Michael Mayo is correct -- extend Sawgrass Expressway so it connects to I-95. I remember when the residents of Century Village and other nearby condos were bussed to the commission meetings -- there was a major political democratic machine working the residents at that time; now, many, if not most, have died and the next generation that has replaced them is younger and more diverse, with a different set of priorities than their grandparents.

I had a chance to drive the 595 express lanes eastbound early on Sunday morning -- no tolls -- and I was able to bypass all the other drivers that were crossing lanes and slowing down to take their exits. If this type of road can be built in central Broward you would think that the extension of Sawgrass Expressway in northern Broward would be a no-brainer.

[ruski]

While at it, they should also connect I-75 (well, Gratiny) to I-95.

[OptimusPrime69]

Originally Posted by Papillons2

I'll take 595 -- either now or previously -- any day of the week over the Miami-Dade stretch of I-95. The road is unable to handle the traffic volume and the express lanes are most definitely set up haphazardly. And is it my imagination, or are the lanes narrower there than on I-95 in Broward and Palm Beach counties? Seems like it's a real squeeze to keep even my compact car between the lines. Glad I don't make the drive to downtown Miami too often because that stretch is easily as hazardous to your health as smoking three packs of cigarettes a day.

On another traffic/roads-related subject, Michael Mayo of the Sun Sentinel had an interesting column today on the Sawgrass Expressway and the possibility of extending it to I-95, removing the Southwest 10th Street bottleneck between the two major highways. The original plan when the Sawgrass was built in the late '80s was to have it go all the way to I-95, but politically connected condo commandos in Deerfield Beach managed to get that shot down. In retrospect, that seems horribly short-sighted. East-west driving seems like a slow go in north and northwest Broward and a Sawgrass extension might help, assuming drivers are willing to pay the tolls.

No, it's not your imagination. the lanes on 95 are narrower in Dade...because of the expresss lanes they installed. Again, they jerry-rigged them into existance. That highway was not buit for express lanes in mind. They inched the lanes closer together and took away the shoulder to accomodate the express lanes. It's very unnerving to ride on 95 south of the golden glades interchange....... oh and to think they're putting them in on 95 in broward now too. . . southward up til FLL airport.

I wish they would extend the sawgrass to 95. It makes total sense. It's weird how it just ends at powerline rd. and then it's this small surface street. It would appear on the south side of the road they have a lot of room for expansion.

[Nolefan34]

The Sawgrass "bottleneck" isn't really bad at all. In fact, it only takes maybe 2-5 minutes on SW 10th Street between the end of the Sawgrass and 95. The real bottleneck is the horrible exit ramps from 95 to SW 10th Street. This bottleneck could be eliminated by simply re-doing the exit ramps so that they curve instead of it being a regular intersection with stoplights. If they do wind up extending the Sawgrass, they could just build it elevated above SW 10th Street. It wouldn't be a big deal since there is plenty of land on both sides of SW 10th Street to construct ramps on.

As far as 95 in Dade, those lanes used to be normal width before they put the express lanes in. There really wasn't any room to expand. They squeezed the express lanes into the existing space and hardly widened the actual road at all. That is why the lanes are narrower.

[Ft Laud Guy]

**For anyone reading this, here is a Public Service Announcement regarding the new 595 Express lanes that should have been made at the time of opening (but was not...):

IF you are on the 595 Express lanes and need to summon fire-rescue personnel via 911 for an incident (injury accident, fire, etc), expect to be asked by the operator what color stripe is on the nearest light pole and which direction you are traveling (eastbound or westbound). The color and direction you provide will determine which units will have the closest response, since the express lanes are not otherwise clearly marked for, or easily accessed from, the "normal" travel lane entrances and exits.

/PSA

[transitfan]

Originally Posted by ruski

Yes, I have been commuting on the new express lanes for a few days. Awesome sauce. Icing on the cake is that they are currently free of charge. I am wondering how much they will cost once they start charging for them.

Looks like 50 cents for now, up to $2.00 eventually.

I-595 reversible express lane tolls to be 50 cents for two weeks. - Sun Sentinel

[ruski]

I have been having a blast on these beautiful lanes! Pure enjoyment of driving.