First phase of Crosstown Parkway becomes reality as bridge over the Turnpike opens to public

After years of planning, discussion and anticipation, the first segment of the Crosstown Parkway opened to traffic Tuesday as cars began moving across the brand new bridge over the Florida Turnpike between Bayshore and Cashmere boulevards.

Several emergency vehicles from the city’s police department, the St. Lucie County Fire District and Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Highway Patrol and the Port St. Lucie Volunteer Ambulance Service made the historic first trip carrying members of the City Council slowly from east to west, highlighting the importance of the new road for public safety.

The bridge now offers a faster, more convenient route between two halves of the city separated by the Turnpike, and connecting previously at two frequently congested points – St. Lucie West and Port St. Lucie boulevards.

Before the bridge opened, Council members held a brief ceremony at the top of the bridge, pointing out that work had been completed within the $24 million allocated budget and six months ahead of schedule.

The day also marked the beginning of new construction at other key points along the road. Work crews have now broken ground on the segment from Cashmere to I-95, which will be complete by summer of 2009 and on the I-95 interchange, which will be complete by the end of 2009. Other work has been under way since April on the segment east of the Turnpike from Bayshore to Manth Lane, which is halfway between Airoso Boulevard and Floresta Drive. That segment also will be complete by summer 2009.

Like the new bridge over the Turnpike, all segments will have sidewalks and open recreational space lining both sides, a wide median, curbs and decorative street lighting that will not spill into surrounding neighborhoods.

Voters approved a financing plan for the roadway in 2005 with a record-setting 89 percent approval. The opening of the bridge Tuesday was a direct result of the election.

The final segment to be built will be the bridge over the St. Lucie River. Plans for that construction are delayed at state-level offices in Tallahassee, where approvals have to be granted by the Departments of Transportation and Environmental Protection. Mayor Patricia P. Christensen is heading a task force of citizens and businesses to write letters to key officials in those departments urging them to speed the process and to approve the city’s preferred route over the river, known as West Virginia 1C.

Once complete, the full Crosstown Parkway will be about eight miles long. It will have access only at major intersections and no commercial developments will be built along the road, allowing for uninterrupted flow of traffic from one end of the city to the other.

For more information, contact:
Ed Cunningham
Interim Communications Director
City of Port St. Lucie
(772) 871-5219