Florida State Road 538
State Road 538 (SR 538), also known as the Poinciana Parkway, is a 7.2-mile (11.6 km) controlled-access toll road built in Osceola and Polk Counties, Florida. Construction began in 2013 and was completed in 2016. The road had been planned for decades to provide a traffic outlet from Poinciana northwest to US 17/US 92 and Interstate 4. Costs skyrocketed after land along the planned route was converted to a mitigation bank, requiring a bridge to span most of the 1.2 miles (1.9 km) stretch through the restored wetland. The road was originally planned to be built by Avatar—the primary developer of Poinciana—as a four-lane, limited-access highway; after the decision was made to build the bridge across the mitigation bank a toll was planned for the bridge segment of the road, but the collapse of the 2000s housing bubble and increased costs forced Avatar to abandon their plans to build the private toll road. About the same time, Osceola County formed the Osceola County Expressway Authority to build a loop road around the Kissimmee-St.Cloud area, which would include the Poinciana Parkway.
State Road 538 | ||||
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Poinciana Parkway | ||||
SR 538 highlighted in red | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by CFX | ||||
Length | 7.22 mi (11.62 km) | |||
Existed | April 30, 2016 –present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | Kinney Harmon Road in Loughman | |||
East end | CR 580 in Poinciana | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Florida | |||
Counties | Osceola, Polk | |||
Highway system | ||||
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