Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike

Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike
Ronald Reagan Turnpike West Dade Expressway West Dade Tollway State Road 821
Route information
Maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
Length:	47.856 mi (77.017 km)
Existed:	May 1, 1973 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 1 in Florida City
	SR 874 in Kendall US 41 in University Park, Sweetwater and Tamiami SR 836 in Fontainebleau and Tamiami US 27 in Hialeah Gardens I-75 in Hialeah and Miramar
North end:	Turnpike in Miramar
Location
Counties:	Miami-Dade, Broward
Highway system
Florida State Highway System Interstate US SR Former Pre-1945 Toll Scenic ← SR 820 SR 821 SR 822 →

The Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (HEFT), designated as the Ronald Reagan Turnpike and originally known as the West Dade Expressway or the West Dade Tollway, is a north–south free-flow toll road southern extension of the similarly tolled Florida's Turnpike. The 48-mile-long (77 km) expressway runs around the west and north sides of the Greater Miami area, extending from U.S. Route 1 in Florida City (near Homestead) to the Turnpike mainline four miles north of the Golden Glades Interchange. The road carries the hidden designation of State Road 821 (SR 821). It was opened in stages between 1973 and 1974, after the main line of the Turnpike was completed, and is used by both commuters and travelers to the Florida Keys and Everglades National Park. Due to its path, it acts as a de facto outer beltway for Miami, with the Palmetto forming an inner beltway. Unlike other Florida's Turnpike Enterprise highways, it is treated as if it were part of Florida's Turnpike mainline by highway signs and exit numbers, despite its separate state road number.

The road begins at a partial interchange with US 1 in Florida City next to the Florida Keys Outlet Center, where the road heads northeast as a four lane expressway. Travelers to here from the northern parts of the Turnpike Extension can continue south along US 1 to the Florida Keys or the Everglades National Park (via SR 9336). This point also marks the beginning of the HEFT's hidden designation of State Road 821.

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Wikipedia