  State Road 528 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Andersen Beachline Expressway | ||||
 SR 528 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byFTE,CFX, andFDOT | ||||
| Length | 53.499 mi[1] (86.098 km) | |||
| Existed | February 16, 1974–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  I-4 nearDoctor Phillips | |||
| Major intersections |
| |||
| East end |  SR A1A near Cape Canaveral | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Florida | |||
| Counties | Orange,Brevard | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
State Road 528 (SR 528), alternatively named theMartin Andersen Beachline Expressway (with parts previously named theBee Line Expressway), is a partially-tolledfreeway in the U.S. state of Florida; it is maintained by theFlorida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE), theCentral Florida Expressway Authority (CFX), and theFlorida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Spanning approximately 53 miles (85 km) along a west–east axis, it connectsInterstate 4 (I-4) inOrlando withI-95,Titusville, andCape Canaveral on theSpace Coast. It passes close to thetourist areas of Orlando, includingSeaWorld andUniversal Orlando, and serves the north entrance toOrlando International Airport. Near its east end, it passes over theIntracoastal Waterway on the Emory L. Bennett Causeway, and ends atSR A1A andSR 401 nearPort Canaveral.
Martin Andersen, a retired publisher, used his influence to get the original stretch of road (fromSR 520 to Orlando International Airport) built in the 1960s.[2]
The entire Beachline is compatible with theSunPass,E-Pass,Peach Pass,NC Quick Pass, andE-ZPass electronic toll collection transponders on both mainline plazas and interchange tolls.[3][4]
The westernmost eight miles (13 km) of the Beachline Expressway, from I-4 toSR 482 near the airport, is known as theBeachline West Expressway and is FTE owned. The section of the expressway is most famous for providing the link fortourists between Orlando International Airport and Orlando area attractions such asSeaWorld andUniversal Orlando, andWalt Disney World via I-4. The Beachline begins at an interchange with I-4 (exit 72), and heads east, with interchanges with the tourist-drivenInternational Drive, Orangewood Boulevard, andJohn Young Parkway. The highway then jogs north to a massive combined interchange withFlorida's Turnpike andUS 17/US 92/US 441 (Orange Blossom Trail) at exit 4; this interchange servesThe Florida Mall to the north of the road. The section of the Beachline Expressway from exit 0 to exit 4, with the exception of the express lanes, is a "free movement" section, requiring no tolls. The expressway continues east to the Beachline West barrier toll and then toSR 482 (McCoy Road/Sand Lake Road) (exit 8), ending FTE maintenance at the northwest edge of the airport.[5]
CFX maintenance begins at the northwest corner of the airport, with a free movement section between exits 8 and 9 (Tradeport Drive/Conway Road), followed by two airport-access interchanges withSR 436 andGoldenrod Road. The last of the Beachline's free movement sections is between SR 436 and withSR 15 just east of the airport. Three miles (4.8 km) east of the airport, it intersects with theSR 417 (Central Florida GreeneWay), heading out of Orlando, with the road straightening out as a beeline for the rest of its journey in Orange County. From the GreeneWay toI-95, the Beachline Expressway travels through mostly uninhabited marshlands. It intersects with a barrier toll just east of the GreeneWay, and has interchanges withInnovation Way and Dallas Boulevard, followed by one more barrier toll. East of the toll plaza, SR 528 reachesSR 520, the last interchange before theOrange–Brevard county line, ending CFX maintenance and tolls.[6]
FDOT maintenance begins at the eastern end of the SR 520 interchange, and SR 528 crosses theSt. Johns River into Brevard County at mile 35.775.[1] Just east of the Brevard County line, the road veers southeast at the interchange withSR 407. It then enters the Space Coast development area before the interchange with I-95 at exit 205 (signed as exit 42AB on SR 528). It continues east, with interchanges withSR 501/SR 524 andUS 1 before crossing over theIntracoastal Waterway on the Emory L. Bennett Causeway, followed by interchanges withSR 3 and Banana River Drive before ending atSR A1A andSR 401 nearPort Canaveral.
There are three mainline toll plazas on the tollway and each of them have at least two express lanes dedicated toSunPass forelectronic toll collection, which do not require motorists to stop at a booth, as well as lanes dedicated to cash collection. While the Dallas Boulevard off ramp has a dedicated ETC lane along with an exact change lane, the other two ramp toll plazas only have a combined ETC/Exact Change lane, with no change provided.
The Central Florida Expressway Authority, which operates part of the Beachline from McCoy Road, just east of the airport, to SR 520, acceptsE-ZPass. FTE, which operates the Beachline from McCoy road west, also accepts E-ZPass.[7]
Tolls on the east-pointing ramps at SR 520 are collected by FDOT, and 25 cents of the $1.25 CFX barrier toll east of the airport also goes to FDOT.[8] There are no toll roads in Brevard County so technically the 25 cents is only for use of the FDOT road section inOrange County. Nonetheless, most road maps show theBrevard County section from the Orange County line toI-95 to be a toll road because it is impossible to travel over it without incurring a toll elsewhere. The Toll SR 528 shield is also used on this stretch of road as well as on exit signs along I-95.
The current toll rates took effect in July 2012.[9]
Twomanaged lanes in each direction were opened in 2019 and 2020 for the eight miles betweenI-4 and McCoy Road nearOrlando International Airport. They were originally built as Express Lanes with congestion-based tolling, but the additional tolls were never implemented, and they have now officially been converted to Thru Lanes. Although drivers will pay the same toll as for the general use lanes, a SunPass or compatible transponder is required to use the Thru Lanes. Eastbound drivers can enter from the general use lanes just east of I-4, and can exit shortly before Consulate Drive andFlorida's Turnpike, or just before the airport. Westbound drivers can enter just west of the airport or the Turnpike, and exit only at I-4.[10]
Prior to the construction of the Bee Line, State Road 528 was a surface road connectingInterstate 4 with theMcCoy Jetport (now Orlando International Airport) andSR 15 (Narcoossee Road). It ran alongSand Lake Road (nowState Road 482) from I-4 east toOrange Blossom Trail (US 17/US 92/US 441,SR 500/SR 600), where it turned south to reach Landstreet Road. Landstreet Road took SR 528 to Orange Avenue (SR 527) atTaft, where SR 528 turned back north toMcCoy Road. McCoy Road led east past the north entrance to the Jetport to SR 15; part of this is now SR 482, while part of McCoy Road from about one mile (1.6 km) east of SR 527 now serves as afrontage road to the Beachline Expressway.
Aninterchange at SR 528 and Kirkman Road (SR 435) was built c. 1958 to serve the newMartin Marietta complex (nowLockheed Martin) just to the south of that junction.[11] At that time, the area at the west end of SR 528 was basically empty, and the land was a part of the extensive Martin-owned Orlando Central Park, covering roughly the area bounded by I-4 to the west/northwest, the Florida Turnpike to the northeast/east, and SR 482 (West Sand Lake Road) to the south.
The Emory L. Bennett Causeway and approaches, running fromSR 520 west ofCocoa northeast on what is nowSR 524 and east acrossUS 1, theIndian River Lagoon,Merritt Island and theBanana River, was dedicated on October 11, 1963, as a two-lanetoll bridge and road.[12] It was assigned the SR 528 number over its whole length. At the same time, the presentSR 401 north of SR 528 was also built.[11] The causeway was named in honor ofEmory L. Bennett, recipient of theMedal of Honor for his actions during theKorean War, and is part of theIndian River Lagoon Scenic Highway. SR 528 was initially opened in 1967 and named "The Bee Line Expressway," because it "beelined" east to Interstate 95. The Bee Line Expressway's southern fork was the mainline SR 528 and went to Interstate 95 and then Bennett Causeway to Cocoa Beach, while its northern fork, also designated SR 407, went northeast to I-95 and SR 405 (Columbia Boulevard) at Titusville. (Note: Beeline simply meant the most direct path from one point to another)
Martin Andersen, then owner of theOrlando Sentinel, helped form the Central Florida Development Commission to ensure that Orlando would prosper, with one of its goals being developing an "adequate road system". With the completion ofFlorida's Turnpike andI-4 in 1963 and 1965, Orlando hadfreeway connections to the northwest, southwest, southeast and northeast, but lacked such a connection to theKennedy Space Center to the east.
A bill creating theOrlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA) was signed into law in 1963, which, unlike theState Road Department (SRD), could raise money for new roads usingtolls. Its immediate goal was to build a road to the Kennedy Space Center, but the law was written with the intent of a larger expressway network.[13]
The OOCEA wanted to build a freeway all the way from I-4 to Cape Canaveral, but ran into several problems. It had issues with raising money for the road; traffic projections fell short of necessary to pay for the largebond issue required. It also did not have the authority to build inBrevard County, and many Brevard residents opposed the roads, as it would draw business away from the Cape Canaveral area to Orlando.[13]
The setbacks resulted in a much shorter expressway route running fromSR 15 (Narcoosee Road) east of the McCoy Jetport east toSR 520 in east Orange County. This was known as theBithlo Cutoff, as it allowed traffic from southern Orlando to reach SR 520 without going north and east toBithlo. West of SR 15, the existing SR 528 was to carry traffic to I-4. A new alignment would be built betweenOrange Blossom Trail and Orange Avenue (SR 527), directly connecting Sand Lake Road to McCoy Road (SR 482), and McCoy Road east from Daetwyler Drive (the Jetport entrance) to SR 15 would be widened as adivided surface road. Additionally, to handle traffic from downtown Orlando, SR 15 (Hoffner Avenue) between Conway Road andGoldenrod Road would be rebuilt. Concurrently, the SRD was extending Lake Barton Road (nowSR 436,Semoran Boulevard) south to the Jetport, where it would meet the Bee Line, which opened in 1969.[13]
In November 1964, the OOCEA and SRD signed an agreement where the OOCEA would build the road, and then turn it over to the SRD, which would operate and maintain it, giving tollrevenue to the OOCEA. Construction of the $6.8 million (equivalent to $50.1 million in 2024[14]) project began in early 1966, withgroundbreaking at the location of the present Dallas Boulevard interchange (exit 24). The 17.4-mile (28.0 km) road was dedicated on July 14, 1967, at the toll plaza just east of SR 15, and the remaining section (Orange Blossom Trail to Orange Avenue) opened nine days later. The OOCEA board had voted to name it after Martin Andersen in December 1966, and in 1967 theFlorida Legislature passed this designation into law.[13]
In early 1967, the Florida State Turnpike Authority (FTA) announced plans for an expansion of the Turnpike System, including taking over the existing Bee Line and Bennett Causeway and forming a continuous route from the Turnpike to the Atlantic Ocean, with a spur (nowSR 407) to theOrsino Causeway. Enabling legislation was signed into law in July 1967. However,inflation caused problems with that plan. In December 1968, bonds were sold for a joint project—FTA would build from McCoy Jetport west to the Turnpike (at the existing Orlando-South interchange withOrange Blossom Trail), and Orange and Brevard Counties would fund the extension from SR 520 east to the Bennett and Orsino Causeways, in addition to a four-laning on the Bennett Causeway.[13]
Aninterchange atSR 15 replaced anat-grade crossing c. 1971.[11]
The FTA planned to build from the Turnpike east past the Jetport to SR 15, upgrading the existing SR 528 (McCoy Road) withfrontage roads from west of the Jetport to SR 15. An interchange would be provided with the newSR 436, planned to open in 1969. However, GovernorClaude Kirk insisted that the new road continue west past the Turnpike toI-4, and so the FTA did not have enough money to upgrade the road past the Jetport. (The FTA merged into the newFlorida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in 1969.) The piece from west of the Jetport to the Turnpike opened in late July 1973, and the rest of the road to I-4 opened in December. The road had one toll booth lying between the Turnpike and Jetport. The rest of the road to I-4 was free; initially there were no interchanges except atInternational Drive, just east of I-4, but overpasses were built at roughly one-mile intervals which would eventually provide exits for Orangewood Boulevard andJohn Young Parkway.[13]
At the same time, construction had begun on the eastern section, originally known as theCentral Florida Expressway,[8] by December 1971. The road ran east from SR 520 past a toll booth to theSt. Johns River, where it crossed into Brevard County. Shortly after crossing, it split, with a two-lane spur (SR 407) heading northeast, intersectingI-95, and ending atSR 405 west of the Orsino Causeway for access to the central part of theKennedy Space Center. The main line headed southeast from the split and then east across I-95 to join the Bennett Causeway approach just west ofUS 1. The causeway was widened, with a new eastbound side added c. 1970–1971,[11] and the extension of the Bee Line to connect with the two causeways opened February 16, 1974.[13] The former Bennett Causeway approach west of the new road becameSR 524.
While the sections west and east of the Jetport werefreeways, the piece along McCoy Road, from west of the Jetport to SR 15, was a four-lanedivided surface road. It had two major intersections—Daetwyler Drive (the Jetport entrance) andSemoran Boulevard (SR 436), and a number of minor access points. Adding to the need for an upgrade was theGreater Orlando Aviation Authority's plans for expanding the Jetport (which becameOrlando International Airport once the expansion was complete in September 1981).[13]
To help pay for the upgrade, the OOCEA raised tolls at the Bee Line toll plaza (east of SR 15) from 35 cents to 50 cents (equivalent to $1.34–1.91 in 2024[15]) Bonds were sold in January 1981, and the finished SR 436/Airport interchange was dedicated on January 21, 1983. The toll plaza just west of the Airport interchange opened July 2, 1983.[13]
In 2016, the Airport Toll Plaza was removed replacing it with four ramp tolls on exits 8 and 9.
The spaces left for interchanges on the section west of the Turnpike have since been used by junctions with Orangewood Boulevard and Universal Boulevard,John Young Parkway and a partial interchange at Consulate. The Turnpike constructed a southbound SunPass-only off-ramp at milepost 255 to Consulate Drive, which provides a more direct connection to westbound Beachline via the Consulate ramps, and incidentally toOrange Blossom Trail. This ramp is used primarily by commuters; cash customers, mostly tourists, must exit at Turnpike exit 254 to make this connection. Consulate is a partial interchange, to and from westbound Beachline only. East of SR 15, similar connections have been built with International Corporate Park Boulevard and Dallas Boulevard.
The interchange withSR 417 (theEastern Beltway) opened June 26, 1990, resulting in the toll booth east of SR 15 being moved several miles east.[13]
Tolls were removed on the Bennett Causeway on June 29, 1990, as the bonds were paid off, making the road free east of the SR 520 interchange.[16]
With the startup of theDisney Cruise Line fromPort Canaveral in 1998, Disney started running buses along the Bee Line for tourists going betweenWalt Disney World and the port.
SR 528 east ofSR 436 was designated theKennedy Space Center Highway in 1998 by theFlorida Legislature.[17]
The 20-cent FDOT toll booth east of SR 520 was rounded up to 25 cents in July 1996 to improve efficiency. After an agreement signed May 8, 1998 by the OOCEA and FDOT, it was removed May 11, and replaced with an additional 25 cents at the $1 (originally 35-cent) OOCEA toll east of SR 417. The extra 25 cents goes to FDOT, as traffic that exits atSR 520 now has to pay an extra quarter—the 25-cent ramp tolls pointing eastward at the SR 520 interchange were added August 19, 1999.[8][18]
The last at-grade interchange on the original Bee Line alignment, a connection on the westbound side to a derelict portion of the McCoy Road frontage, was finally eliminated in 2002 as part of the Goldenrod Road extension project. The break in the frontage allowing eastbound traffic to cross over to McCoy Road at that point had been closed about a decade before during a resurfacing project. At that point, the Bee Line became completely limited-access from I-4 toSR 401.
In 2003, a new interchange was completed at George J. King Blvd at Port Canaveral, extending thefreeway beyond SR 401. While SR 528 officially ends at SR 401,[19] signage continues it alongSR A1A to the new interchange at the city limits ofCape Canaveral.
Between 2003 and 2011, the Bennett Causeway's eastbound bridge over theIndian River Lagoon was replaced.
The name of the entire road, except betweenUS 1 andSR 3 (where it is the Emory L. Bennett Causeway), was officially designated as theMartin Andersen Beachline Expressway by the 2005 Florida Legislature.[20] This was done afterlobbying by Brevard County, which wanted the shortest route to theAtlantic Ocean from the Orlando area designated as such. An organization representing businesses on theSpace Coast has put upbillboards calling it "Orlando's closest beach".
During 2006 construction began on a redesigned interchange withSR 436 at the entrance toOrlando International Airport. It was completed in early 2008. A new flyover ramp was built from the Beachline westbound into the airport, eliminating the weaving of cars entering and leaving the airport from/to the Beachline. The mainline toll plazas east and west of the airport remain subject to traffic congestion because of the high percentage of tourists at those plazas who must pay with cash since they don't have access toSunPass,E-Pass or other acceptableelectronic toll collection transponders.
The interchange at exit 13 (SR 15) was reconstructed between September 2007 and July 2009, which expanded the interchange ramps and replaced the old bridges with wider ones, and did not eliminate free movement that exists between that exit and exit 11 (SR 436).[21]
In May 2007, the FTE began Phase I of a project to widen the Beachline West. It encompasses the reconstruction of the mainline toll plaza located near milepost 5, which is now complete. The new mainline toll plaza features two electronic (E-pass/SunPass) at-speed express lanes in each direction in the middle of the roadway (with capability to add another when the roadway proper is widened), and four staffed lanes in each direction to accommodate cash customers.[citation needed] The OOCEA had a similar reconstruction of the Beachline main toll plaza just east of the Greeneway between January 2008 and July 2009.[21]
In June 2008, a $49 million (equivalent to $69.9 million in 2024[14]) project to widen the Beachline from the Turnpike to McCoy Road to four lanes in each direction began. Improvements include widening the existing bridge structures at US 441, Landstreet Road,CSX Transportation, CSX Taft Yard, Orange Avenue and McCoy Road, with a new bridge being constructed for the access ramp over CSX.[22]
In 2011, an accident involving an exploding fuel truck destroyed the overpass atSR 3. Traffic was forced to exit the highway around the damage. The overpass was replaced, high priority, within 30 days, for $2.2 million (equivalent to $3.02 million in 2024[14]).[23]
Sightseers wishing to view the final launch of theSpace Shuttle Discovery in 2011, caused a 40-mile (64 km) backup from Cape Canaveral.[24]
On March 19, 2012, the Beachline Dallas Boulevard Toll Plaza went into service, in between the Dallas Boulevard and SR 520 interchanges, with a toll of $0.75, ending the previous free movement section of the expressway. This also dropped the previous toll of the Beachline Main Toll Plaza to $0.75, from $1.00 previously.[25] The expressway remains toll-free east of the SR-520 exit to Cape Canaveral.
On July 1, 2014, the Beachline East Expressway segment (SR 520 toUS 1/SR A1A) was transferred from FDOT toFlorida's Turnpike Enterprise.[26]
East of the GreeneWay, a new interchange atInnovation Way opened on March 5, 2018.[27]
On September 1, 2018, CFX started acceptingE-ZPass on the portions of the Beachline that it manages citing some 35 million out of state visitors that use E-ZPass tolling devices.[28] The westernmost few miles of the Beachline, operated by FTE, became compatible with E-ZPass in 2021.[29]
The Turnpike began a massive widening project between I-4 and the Turnpike mainline in fiscal year 2016 to include two express lanes in each direction.[30] The project was completed July 2019.
The Cocoa to Orlando segment ofBrightline's rail line between Miami and Orlando was built along the Beachline Expressway. The line began operation on this section in September 2023.[31][32]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange | Williamsburg | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | I-4 –Orlando,Tampa | Exit 72 (I-4); toDisney World andUniversal Orlando |
| 0.855 | 1.376 | 1 | International Drive | ServesSeaWorld &Aquatica | ||
| 1.904 | 3.064 | 2 | Universal Boulevard/Orangewood Boulevard | ServesOrange County Convention Center | ||
| Williamsburg–Orlando line | 3.120 | 5.021 | 3 |  CR 423 (John Young Parkway) | Signed as exits 3A (south) and 3B (north) eastbound | |
| 4.299 | 6.919 | 4 |     Florida's Turnpike /US 17 /US 92 /US 441 | Exit 254 (Florida's Turnpike) | ||
| Orlando | 6.0[33] | 9.7 | Beachline West Toll Plaza | |||
| Belle Isle–Orlando line | 8.143 | 13.105 | 8 | Jetport Drive / CR 527 (Orange Avenue) | Eastbound exit only; transition fromFTE toCFX maintenance; Access to CR 530 Boggy Creek Road | |
  SR 482 west (McCoy Road) | Tolled westbound exit and eastbound entrance; no eastbound exit; Access to CR 530 Boggy Creek Road | |||||
| Orlando | 9.225 | 14.846 | 9 | Tradeport Drive/Conway Road | Tolled westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| 10.734 | 17.275 | 11 |    SR 436 north (Semoran Boulevard) –Int’l Airport | Formerly signed SR 436 Exit 1 | ||
| 12.085 | 19.449 | 12 | Goldenrod Road | Goldenrod Road is tolled; Unsigned SR 551 | ||
| 13.448 | 21.642 | 13 |  SR 15 (Narcoossee Road) | |||
| 15.536 | 25.003 | 16 |  SR 417 –Tampa,Orlando | Exit 26 (SR 417); toUniversity of Central Florida andOrlando Sanford International Airport | ||
| | 16.8[33] | 27.0 | Beachline Mainline Toll Plaza | |||
| | 19.759 | 31.799 | 19 | Sunbridge Parkway/Innovation Way | Tolled westbound exit and eastbound entrance; formerly exit 20; opened March 2018 | |
| | 19.759 | 31.799 | 20 | International Corporate Park Boulevard | Former interchange; Replaced by Exit 19 Sunbridge Parkway/Innovation Way | |
| Wedgefield | 23.783 | 38.275 | 24 | Dallas Boulevard | Tolled interchange; eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| | 26.0[33] | 41.8 | Dallas Mainline Toll Plaza | |||
| | 30.844 | 49.639 | 31 |  SR 520 | Tolled westbound exit and eastbound entrance; transition fromCFX toFTE maintenance. End of tollway. | |
| Brevard | | 36.975 | 59.505 | 37 |     SR 407 toI-95 north –Kennedy Space Center,Titusville | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; Spur route under FTE maintenance |
| Cocoa | 41.728 | 67.155 | 42 | I-95 –Miami,Daytona Beach | Signed as exits 42A (south) and 42B (north); Exit 205 (I-95) | |
| 45.280 | 72.871 | 45 |  SR 524 (Clearlake Road) / Industry Road | Signed as exits 45A (SR 524) and 45B (Industry Road) westbound | ||
| 45.956 | 73.959 | 46 |  US 1 –Cocoa,Titusville | Western terminus ofSR A1A concurrency; transition fromFTE toFDOT maintenance. | ||
| 46.843[34]– 47.278 | 75.387– 76.087 | Bennett Causeway over theIndian River | ||||
| Merritt Island | 48.842 | 78.604 | 49 |  SR 3 –Merritt Island,Kennedy Space Center | ||
| 51.405 | 82.728 | 52 | Banana River Drive | |||
| 52.359[34]– 52.571 | 84.264– 84.605 | Bennett Causeway over theBanana River | ||||
| Cape Canaveral | 53.323 | 85.815 | 54A |  SR 401 north –Cape Canaveral Space Force Station,Port Canaveral | Southern terminus of SR 401; Port Canaveral exit for A Cruise Terminals 1-3 and North Cargo Piers | |
| 53.343 | 85.847 | 54B | Jetty Park,Port Canaveral | Port Canaveral exit for B Cruise Terminals 4-10 and South Cargo Piers | ||
| 53.499 | 86.098 |  SR A1A south –Port Canaveral,Cape Canaveral,Cocoa Beach | SR A1A continues south | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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