Pasco Suncoast Parkway, Ridge Road Extension Interchange Now Open

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — The squeaky wheel got the road open. After expressing impatience with the amount of time it was taking to fully open the interchange of the Suncoast Parkway at the new Ridge Road Extension, Pasco County commissioners announced Thursday that all ramps are now open at the interchange.

At the commission meeting last week, board members expressed frustration that the Florida Turnpike Enterprise, which operates Florida's toll roads, hadn't fully opened the interchange, which commissioners said served as a critical supply chain route for Pasco County and would serve as an evacuation route in case of a hurricane or other disaster.

In December, after 20 years in the planning, the county commission celebrated the opening of two lanes of the Ridge Road Extension — an eastbound and a westbound lane from Moon Lake Road to the Suncoast Parkway.

However, the Florida Turnpike Enterprise said it wouldn't be able to fully open the interchange until the fall because it wasn't able to get all the equipment it needed to operate the toll booth.

See related story: Phase 1 Ridge Road Extension Opens After 20 Years In The Making

Pasco commissioners weren't willing to wait after spending more than $47 million to build the 4.2-mile Ridge Road Extension and connect it to the parkway. They even looked into agreement to pay the toll road authority for any lost revenue if it opened the interchange without the ability to collect tolls.

“To have a government bureaucracy slow it down because it can’t collect money is ridiculous,” Pasco Commissioner Jack Mariano said. “If the road is ready, that road should be opened.”

The Florida Turnpike Enterprise received the message loud and clear.

On Thursday, just as commissioners were preparing to write a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis to complain, the toll road authority announced that all entry and exit ramps at the Ridge Road Extension and Suncoast Parkway interchange had opened.

The Florida Turnpike Enterprise noted, however, that the newly opened ramp from eastbound Ridge Road to the northbound Suncoast Parkway and the ramp from the southbound Suncoast Parkway to westbound Ridge Road will be closed Monday to Thursday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. for several weeks while the toll equipment is installed.

Drivers will be responsible for all tolls on these ramps once the toll equipment is in place.

Two additional lanes of Ridge Road, between the Suncoast Parkway and TownCenter Road, as well as a paved pedestrian trail, are set to open in the fall.

The project also includes Intelligent Transportation System improvements.