In June 1955, a $70-million bond issue was floated and construction on the turnpike began a month later. The Turnpike Authority shelved plans for a state-long turnpike, however, when Interstate 95 was slated to connect Jacksonville with the rest of the state. This resulted in completion of a “bob-tail” version of the superhighway that ran from Miami to Fort Pierce. In October 1956, all work on the Sunshine State Parkway extension was abandoned due to passage of the Federal Interstate and Defense Highway Act, which provided for construction of limited-access highways in the corridors that had been under study for the Parkway Extension.

Governor LeRoy Collins, in January 1959, announced that the new interstate highways had killed the need for building the Florida Turnpike north of Orlando. He instead turned his attention to what he believed was an excellent chance for the toll road to be extended from Fort Pierce to Orlando.

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