The Northbound Exit Ramp Improvement project on the Turnpike Mainline (SR 91) was a major roadway improvement project in Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Florida.
The work included the realignment of the northbound exit ramp to remove the reverse curves that were contributing to a high vehicle overturning rate for vehicles entering the toll plaza facility. The alignment of the relocated ramp was difficult due to several controlling features, which made for a complicated design: the Ten Mile Creek bridge on the mainline, a cell tower, a facility that could not be impacted, the toll plaza, major gas transmission lines (18-, 24-, and 30-inch), and the merging of the northbound and southbound exit ramps.
The design minimized impacts to the cell tower by constructing a cantilever barrier wall system and reduced shoulder width for this dual lane ramp. This allowed for the roadway super elevation transition to not impact the connection of the two exit ramps and toll plaza.
The project also required stormwater pond facilities, Floodplain impact attenuation, signing and marking, complicated traffic control on both the mainline and ramp, overhead signs, lighting (including temporary lighting of detour ramp), ITS, FTE communication line relocation, utility coordination and permitting.