BOCA RATON, FL — The Turnpike is getting wider through the western edge of Boca Raton and Delray Beach. For many of the residents who called into a state hearing this week, the bigger question was how loud it will get.
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, part of the Florida Department of Transportation, held a design public hearing on July 15 and 16, 2026, on its plan to widen Florida's Turnpike Mainline, also known as State Road 91, from north of Glades Road to north of the L-38 Canal in Palm Beach County. The segment runs about 3.5 miles, from Milepost 76.8 to Milepost 80.2, through an area lined with gated communities west of Boca Raton.
This project is in addition to the one that started south of this section with construction activity in that areas started in January.
According to the project presentation, the plan would widen the Turnpike from six general-use lanes to eight and add one auxiliary lane in each direction. The project also realigns the southbound off-ramp at the Glades Road interchange and replaces the Turnpike bridges at Yamato Road, Clint Moore Road, and the L-38 Canal.
For residents in the communities that back up to the highway, the practical questions are noise, construction timing, and whether sound walls will go up along their property lines. Design is scheduled to be completed in late 2026, with construction expected to start in the third quarter of 2027 and take about five years, according to FDOT. The public comment period runs through July 29, 2026.
The project team said the auxiliary lanes would connect Glades Road to Atlantic Avenue as a merge lane, though the presentation noted that the southbound auxiliary lane will not open until a separate Turnpike widening project to the north is finished.
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise has also partnered with Palm Beach County Engineering and Public Works to widen Yamato Road from four to six lanes between west of Lakeridge Boulevard and west of the Turnpike, under county project number 2017-518. According to the presentation, that work adds buffered bike lanes and sidewalks, upgrades traffic signals at several intersections, and closes the eastbound and westbound U-turn openings just east of Gatehouse Drive.
The improvements build on a Project Development and Environment study the Turnpike Enterprise completed in 2010, according to the agency. The agency said it is now reevaluating that work during the design phase, including updated noise, environmental, and protected-species studies.
According to Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, the Turnpike portion of the project is paid for with toll revenue rather than general tax dollars, and Palm Beach County is funding the Yamato Road improvements. The agency said the added lanes, including the auxiliary lanes, will not carry an additional toll.
Much of the public comment at the July 15 virtual hearing focused on traffic noise. Speakers from communities including Whisper Walk, Casabella, Lotus Palm, and Meisner Country Club said they already hear the highway and expect it to get worse with more lanes.
Daphne Rubin, who said she lives in the southern part of Casabella, told the hearing her home sits about 425 feet from the Turnpike and that her family hears trucks and motorcycles inside the house, especially at night. "The noise is already very significant as it is today," she said, asking the agency to build a noise wall for the community if the noise study supports it.
Jim Holtrop, an acoustical consultant who spoke on behalf of a nearby property owner, said he had reviewed the project's sound study and urged FDOT to consider lightweight composite wall systems in spots where a concrete wall cannot be added to a bridge. Other speakers asked whether their communities were included in the noise study and raised concerns about lighting and road-surface noise.
Greg Macaloon, an attorney with Sachs Sax Caplan, told the hearing he is representing four associations — Long Lake Estates, Whisper Walk, The Bridges, and Boca West — and said the groups are in discussions with FDOT.
The July 15 and 16 sessions were also held to satisfy a state requirement. Under Florida Statute 479.25, a public hearing is required before the agency builds a wall that could block the visibility of an existing outdoor advertising sign, according to the project team.
Noise walls are proposed in qualifying areas along the corridor. According to FDOT, walls must meet the department's criteria, which are based on federal regulations, and must be constructible to be included in the final design. A draft noise study is posted on the project website.
The in-person hearing was held July 16 at the Dr. André Fladell Civic Center, 16700 Jog Road in Delray Beach. FDOT said property owners, tenants, and businesses within 500 feet of the work will be notified before construction begins, and that roads and bridges will stay open during the project, with occasional nighttime lane closures.
The agency said comments can be submitted through the project website or to the project manager through July 29, 2026, and will become part of the project record. Design is expected to be finished in the fourth quarter of 2026, with construction beginning in the third quarter of 2027.
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