Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Upgrade underway at Glades Road and turnpike
Doctor Detour answers your transportation questions.
Q: The Florida Turnpike intersection at Glades Road is a disaster at rush hours.
Why can't they put new entrances and exits at either Yamato or Clint Moore or Boca Rio roads? Am I the only one who sees this as an easy fix to the Glades Road problem? Jason Glick, Boca Raton
A: You’re not the only one, but building new interchanges is not an easy, or cheap, fix. More than 30,000 vehicles use the Glades Road exit daily. A plan to build another exit at Palmetto Park Road was canceled in 2010 due to resistance from residents west of Boca Raton and a drop in toll revenues during the Great Recession.
Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise has no immediate plans to add interchanges at any of the neighboring crossroads.
Instead, the Glades Road interchange is in the middle of an $8.3 million upgrade that includes widening the exit ramp from the northbound turnpike to Glades Road to two lanes, adding an additional right turn lane from the turnpike exit ramp to westbound Glades Road, and adding an auxiliary lane on the northbound turnpike among other things. Construction is scheduled to be done next summer.
Also, “smart” traffic signals with sensors were installed in the area to synchronize the lights based on the amount of traffic on Glades Road.
Q: I renewed my registration and was surprised to receive a new license plate. It seems to be a waste of taxpayer money. Is there a good reason why the state changes plates and numbers? Leon Springer, Boynton Beach.
A: Florida law requires the replacement of all license plates every 10 years because the metal plates might lose some reflectivity with age and dirt buildup, which reduces visibility for law enforcement purposes.
Also, with the growing dependence on toll-byplate, metal license plates need to reflect the strobe lights on overhead gantries so cameras can clearly read the plate and charge tolls to the right driver.
And, there are only so many license renewal stickers you can put on a plate.