It looks clear at the moment because the road is yet to open, but the Central Florida Expressway Authority expects to see 6,000 vehicles a day use the initial stretch of the Wekiva Parkway in its first year of existence.
- 1st 2 sections of Wekiva Parkway south corridor opens Thursday
- Stretch is 5 miles from end of SR 429 to Kelly Park Road
- RELATED: Wekiva Parkway Sections 1A & 1B on CFX website
Here is a quick breakdown of what its opening means for you:
First off, when all is said and done by 2021, the Wekiva Parkway will finish Central Florida's beltway, connecting all the way north to State Road 417 and the Interstate 4 corridor.
There are essentially two halves to the project. CFX is building the southern corridor, while the Florida Department of Transportation is in charge of building the northern section.
What’s opening Thursday? The first two sections of CFX's southern corridor will open Thursday, which is a 5-mile stretch extending north of the existing end of State Road 429 at Connector Road to Kelly Park Road.
Central Florida's last portion of the beltway will also feature a big first: "The Wekiva Parkway is the first expressway in Central Florida to feature all-electronic tolling,” said Mary Brooks, a spokeswoman for the Wekiva Parkway. “So folks who use the Parkway won't need to stop, change lanes, slow down or anything. They will just continue to drive at safe highway speeds and be able to pay their tolls."
The new portion of the Wekiva Parkway opening Thursday, July 27, 2017, is a 5-mile stretch from the end of State Road 429 north to Kelly Park Road. (News 13)
That all-electronic tolling feature means motorists should consider getting a SunPass or an E-Pass. If you don't have either of these electronic devices in your vehicle, CFX will capture an image of your license plate and send you a monthly invoice — which is 20 percent more expensive with processing fees.
Aesthetically speaking, the Wekiva Parkway has a slew of features that no other CFX road has.
"You've got archways, you've got stone relief, and you’ve got warm earth tones, brown colors. You've always got decorative pedestrian hand-railing,” Brooks said. “You've got wider medians, where in about a year or so you will have enhanced landscaping with more mature trees.”
The first two CFX portions of the Wekiva Parkway cost $102 million. When completed, their sections will cost more than $270 million of the entire $1.6 billion project.