Card Sound Bridge
Encyclopedia
Card Sound Bridge is a high-rise toll
causeway
connecting southern Miami-Dade County
and northern Monroe County
. It is one of only two ways that motorists can leave or enter the Florida Keys (the other is U.S. Route 1). Toll for two-axle automobiles is USD $1.00 (USD $.50 for each additional axle), and SunPass
is not accepted at this toll plaza. The toll fee is waived upon evacuating the Keys for hurricanes or in instances in which US 1 is impassable.
. The bridge itself is on Card Sound Road, constructed by then-Dade County in 1926 for the original Card Sound Bridge. Toll employees are locals, living in a very small town along Card Sound Road on the north side of the bridge, and according to toll operators, a portion of the proceeds from the toll go to fund parts of their community.
, the history of Card Sound Bridge begins with the Overseas Railway - although at no time was the bridge part of Henry M. Flagler's plans. The concept of an Overseas Highway (then called "Overseas Road") began with the Miami Motor Club in 1921. At that time, southern Florida was undergoing a land boom, and the club wanted to attract new tourists to an easily reached fishing area. In addition, the real estate interests wanted access to thousands of acres of wilderness
in the Upper Keys to develop and sell.
Commissioners from Dade and Monroe Counties agreed to build a highway connecting Florida City
to Key Largo
. They preferred to build it alongside the Overseas Railroad, which was completed in 1912; commercial interests and motorists attending the joint meeting expressed a preference for a road extending to the southeast, to Card Sound, instead. In 1922, Monroe County residents approved the issuance of $300,000 of bonds for a new bridge; under an agreement with their Monroe brethren, Dade County officials would oversee the construction of an 11 miles (17.7 km)-long Card Sound Road to the wooden drawbridge
.
Construction of both the road and the drawbridge went slowly. The money ran out in 1925 and Monroe County voters were asked to approve the issuance of $2.6 million in bonds
in early 1926. The vote—passing the measure with only two dissenting votes—enabled construction to continue.
The swing span
drawbridge and road were both nearly ready for opening when, on September 18, 1926 a major hurricane
seriously damaged both. The bridge was redesigned and rebuilt, raising the water clearance from five feet to nine feet to accommodate storm surge. On January 25, 1928, the 2800 feet (853.4 m), wooden, Card Sound Bridge was opened to traffic.
), extended the State Road 4A designation from downtown Homestead
to Key West
(prior to this, SR 4A went from the intersection of present-day U.S. Route 1 and US 41 in Miami
to Homestead), even though there was still a 40 miles (64.4 km) gap in the road between Lower Matecumbe Key
and No Name Key
.
After the Great Labor Day Hurricane
destroyed sections of the Overseas Railroad on September 3, 1935, the State of Florida bought the remnants for $640,000 and proceeded to construct road bridges on top of the railroad trestles. The "Overseas Highway
" was completed and opened (as a toll road
) on March 29, 1938. The following year, US 1 was extended from Miami over Card Sound to Key West.
triggered a sequence of events that diminished the importance and usefulness of Card Sound Bridge. In 1941, a water pipeline was constructed from the Everglades
to Key Largo along the old railroad right-of-way; the following year, a new roadway was constructed beside the pipeline, and US 1 was rerouted along the new highway (locally known as the "18 Mile Stretch"). In addition to shortening the route by 13 miles (20.9 km), it enabled motorists to avoid the wooden bridges in northern Key Largo - including Card Sound.
A 1944 fire seriously damaged Card Sound's drawbridge, which was subsequently removed to prevent its further use; a 1947 hurricane and additional fires caused Monroe County officials to remove the Card Sound Bridge completely.
to No Name Key did not succeed due to the establishment of Everglades National Park
; a monorail
from Miami to Cape Sable to Key West met the same fate.
In the 1960s a plan to connect Key Biscayne
to northern Key Largo by way of Elliott Key
almost took root as officials from Dade and Monroe Counties differed on the division of toll revenues. In the meantime, the United States Department of the Interior
started purchasing land in Biscayne Bay
with an eye toward creating a new National Park
. The 1968 formation of Biscayne National Monument (which became Biscayne National Park
in 1980) hastened the demise of the "Islandia plan" (named after a sparsely populated municipality
on Elliott Key), but one component of the proposal survived: a new 65 feet (19.8 m)-high causeway
to be the new Card Sound Bridge.
The new causeway was completed and open to traffic in 1969. Card Sound Road became State Road 905A, a FDOT designation which was modified to SR S-905A in the mid-1970s. In the early 1980s, Card Sound Road was transferred to county maintenance in both Dade and Monroe Counties, although the stretch on northern Key Largo between Ocean Reef Club and US 1 is still "State Road 905" in Monroe County ordinances passed in the 2000s. Actually, Miami-Dade County Road 905A and Monroe County Road 905A have their northern terminus at an intersection with US 1 in Florida City and its southern terminus at Monroe County Road 905 in northern Key Largo five miles (8 km) to the east of Card Sound Bridge (CR 905 continues southwestward eight miles (13 km) until it joins US 1). Both CR 905 and 905A on Key Largo still show FDOT signs indicating State routes on their shoulders.
As of 2005, Card Sound Bridge is traversed by 1900 vehicles daily.
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
causeway
Causeway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
connecting southern Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
and northern Monroe County
Monroe County, Florida
Monroe County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 79,589. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county was 74,737....
. It is one of only two ways that motorists can leave or enter the Florida Keys (the other is U.S. Route 1). Toll for two-axle automobiles is USD $1.00 (USD $.50 for each additional axle), and SunPass
SunPass
SunPass is an electronic toll collection system in use by the State of Florida and was originally created by the Florida Department of Transportation's Florida's Turnpike...
is not accepted at this toll plaza. The toll fee is waived upon evacuating the Keys for hurricanes or in instances in which US 1 is impassable.
Operation
The primary responsibility for operating Card Sound Bridge lies with Monroe County, but maintenance of the bridge itself is shared between Monroe County and the Florida Department of TransportationFlorida Department of Transportation
The Florida Department of Transportation is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of the Florida State Road Department...
. The bridge itself is on Card Sound Road, constructed by then-Dade County in 1926 for the original Card Sound Bridge. Toll employees are locals, living in a very small town along Card Sound Road on the north side of the bridge, and according to toll operators, a portion of the proceeds from the toll go to fund parts of their community.
The first Card Sound Bridges
Like the Overseas HighwayOverseas Highway
The Overseas Highway is a highway carrying U.S. Route 1 through the Florida Keys. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway. Completed in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was heavily damaged and partially...
, the history of Card Sound Bridge begins with the Overseas Railway - although at no time was the bridge part of Henry M. Flagler's plans. The concept of an Overseas Highway (then called "Overseas Road") began with the Miami Motor Club in 1921. At that time, southern Florida was undergoing a land boom, and the club wanted to attract new tourists to an easily reached fishing area. In addition, the real estate interests wanted access to thousands of acres of wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
in the Upper Keys to develop and sell.
Commissioners from Dade and Monroe Counties agreed to build a highway connecting Florida City
Florida City, Florida
Florida City is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States and is the southernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 5,413,212 in 2007. The population was 7,843 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S....
to Key Largo
Key Largo, Florida
Key Largo is a census-designated place in Monroe County, Florida, United States, located on the island of Key Largo in the upper Florida Keys. The population was 11,886 at the 2000 census. The name comes from the Spanish Cayo Largo, or "long key"...
. They preferred to build it alongside the Overseas Railroad, which was completed in 1912; commercial interests and motorists attending the joint meeting expressed a preference for a road extending to the southeast, to Card Sound, instead. In 1922, Monroe County residents approved the issuance of $300,000 of bonds for a new bridge; under an agreement with their Monroe brethren, Dade County officials would oversee the construction of an 11 miles (17.7 km)-long Card Sound Road to the wooden drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
.
Construction of both the road and the drawbridge went slowly. The money ran out in 1925 and Monroe County voters were asked to approve the issuance of $2.6 million in bonds
Bond (finance)
In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
in early 1926. The vote—passing the measure with only two dissenting votes—enabled construction to continue.
The swing span
Swing bridge
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
drawbridge and road were both nearly ready for opening when, on September 18, 1926 a major hurricane
1926 Miami Hurricane
The 1926 Miami hurricane was a Category 4 hurricane that devastated Miami in September 1926. The storm also caused significant damage in the Florida Panhandle, the U.S. state of Alabama, and the Bahamas...
seriously damaged both. The bridge was redesigned and rebuilt, raising the water clearance from five feet to nine feet to accommodate storm surge. On January 25, 1928, the 2800 feet (853.4 m), wooden, Card Sound Bridge was opened to traffic.
State Road 4A and US 1
When Card Sound Bridge was opened, the State Road Department (the predecessor to the Florida Department of TransportationFlorida Department of Transportation
The Florida Department of Transportation is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of the Florida State Road Department...
), extended the State Road 4A designation from downtown Homestead
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....
to Key West
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
(prior to this, SR 4A went from the intersection of present-day U.S. Route 1 and US 41 in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
to Homestead), even though there was still a 40 miles (64.4 km) gap in the road between Lower Matecumbe Key
Lower Matecumbe Key
Lower Matecumbe Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys.It is located on U.S. 1 between mile markers 75--78.All of the key is within the Village of Islamorada as of November 4, 1997, when it was incorporated....
and No Name Key
No Name Key
No Name Key is an island located in the lower Florida Keys in the United States. It is 3 miles from US 1 and sparsely populated with only 43 homes. It is a fairly small island in comparison to its neighbor, Big Pine Key, which lies about a half mile to its west...
.
After the Great Labor Day Hurricane
Labor Day Hurricane of 1935
The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane was the strongest tropical cyclone of the 1935 Atlantic hurricane season, and one of the most intense hurricanes to make landfall in the United States in recorded history...
destroyed sections of the Overseas Railroad on September 3, 1935, the State of Florida bought the remnants for $640,000 and proceeded to construct road bridges on top of the railroad trestles. The "Overseas Highway
Overseas Highway
The Overseas Highway is a highway carrying U.S. Route 1 through the Florida Keys. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway. Completed in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was heavily damaged and partially...
" was completed and opened (as a toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
) on March 29, 1938. The following year, US 1 was extended from Miami over Card Sound to Key West.
Decline and fall of the wooden drawbridge
World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
triggered a sequence of events that diminished the importance and usefulness of Card Sound Bridge. In 1941, a water pipeline was constructed from the Everglades
Everglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
to Key Largo along the old railroad right-of-way; the following year, a new roadway was constructed beside the pipeline, and US 1 was rerouted along the new highway (locally known as the "18 Mile Stretch"). In addition to shortening the route by 13 miles (20.9 km), it enabled motorists to avoid the wooden bridges in northern Key Largo - including Card Sound.
A 1944 fire seriously damaged Card Sound's drawbridge, which was subsequently removed to prevent its further use; a 1947 hurricane and additional fires caused Monroe County officials to remove the Card Sound Bridge completely.
The return of Card Sound Bridge
In the two decades after the removal of the Card Sound wooden drawbridge, various schemes to increase access between the Keys and mainland Florida came and went. A 22 miles (35.4 km)-long bridge from Cape SableCape Sable
Cape Sable, Florida is the southernmost point of the US mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park. The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeastern part of the Florida mainland, running west and curving...
to No Name Key did not succeed due to the establishment of Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida that protects the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades. It is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and is visited on average by one million people each year. It is the third-largest...
; a monorail
Monorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
from Miami to Cape Sable to Key West met the same fate.
In the 1960s a plan to connect Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies south of Miami Beach and southeast of Miami...
to northern Key Largo by way of Elliott Key
Elliott Key
Elliott Key is the northernmost of the true Florida Keys , and the largest key north of Key Largo. It is located entirely within Biscayne National Park, in Miami-Dade County, Florida, east of Homestead, Florida...
almost took root as officials from Dade and Monroe Counties differed on the division of toll revenues. In the meantime, the United States Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
started purchasing land in Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida, United States. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts: North Bay, Central Bay, and South Bay. Its area is...
with an eye toward creating a new National Park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
. The 1968 formation of Biscayne National Monument (which became Biscayne National Park
Biscayne National Park
Biscayne National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southern Florida, due east of Homestead. The park preserves Biscayne Bay, one of the top scuba diving areas in the United States. Ninety-five percent of the park is water. In addition, the shore of the bay is the location of an extensive...
in 1980) hastened the demise of the "Islandia plan" (named after a sparsely populated municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
on Elliott Key), but one component of the proposal survived: a new 65 feet (19.8 m)-high causeway
Causeway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
to be the new Card Sound Bridge.
The new causeway was completed and open to traffic in 1969. Card Sound Road became State Road 905A, a FDOT designation which was modified to SR S-905A in the mid-1970s. In the early 1980s, Card Sound Road was transferred to county maintenance in both Dade and Monroe Counties, although the stretch on northern Key Largo between Ocean Reef Club and US 1 is still "State Road 905" in Monroe County ordinances passed in the 2000s. Actually, Miami-Dade County Road 905A and Monroe County Road 905A have their northern terminus at an intersection with US 1 in Florida City and its southern terminus at Monroe County Road 905 in northern Key Largo five miles (8 km) to the east of Card Sound Bridge (CR 905 continues southwestward eight miles (13 km) until it joins US 1). Both CR 905 and 905A on Key Largo still show FDOT signs indicating State routes on their shoulders.
As of 2005, Card Sound Bridge is traversed by 1900 vehicles daily.