July 11, 1953, as well as the Florida State Turnpike Authority, which had the ability to plan, design, and construct bond-financed toll roads, in whose creation Costar was instrumental, to be repaid through the collection of tolls from Turnpike customers. Thomas B. Manuel, known as the "Father of the Turnpike", served as chairman of the Florida State Turnpike Authority from January 1955 to January 1961. Manuel debated with state legislature members opposed to tollways, emphasizing the need for a good highway system in a tourism-driven state. During the 1955 legislative session, many small-county legislators and others opposed to the Parkway formed a "kill the 'Pike'" coalition; Manuel won over the legislators at his headquarters in the Floridan Hotel near the capitol. Only four votes against the turnpike were entered at the end of the session's roll call, and the Legislature granted permission to build with a $70 million bond issue in June 1955. A Turnpike bridge in Stuart bears his name to honor his contributions. Construction Construction on the Parkway began on July 4, 1955, starting at what is now the Golden Glades Interchange. In October 1956, all work on the Sunshine State Parkway north of Ft. Pierce was abandoned and plans for a state-long turnpike were shelved due to passage of the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, which provided for construction of limited-access highways in the corridors that had been under study for the Parkway Extension. One was Interstate 95, which was slated to connect Jacksonville with Miami in a similar alignment to the planned Sunshine State Parkway Coastal Route. This resulted in completion of a truncated highway that ran from Miami to Fort Pierce, opening on January 25, 1957. In January 1959, Governor LeRoy Collins, favoring a Parkway extension from Fort Pierce to Orlando, stated that building the Parkway north of Orlando would be unnecessary due to the interstate highway system. In late May 1959, the board authorized a study for the Parkway Extension to Orlando, and connecting the Interstate routes in Florida. In 1961, Governor Collins approved the sale of $80 million in bonds to finance the parkway extension from Fort Pierce to Wildwood, adding another of roadway and shifting Interstate 75's route eastward from its original alignment. The extension was opened in three stages: a section between Yeehaw Junction and Orlando opened on July 17, 1963, a section linking Fort Pierce and Yeehaw Junction opened