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35-469: 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 Transportation . 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

70-575: A Tequesta village on the cape. The pre- Seminole tribes of south Florida did not practice agriculture , and probably used the cape as a base for fishing and hunting. Mariners and fishermen visited Cape Sable to take on fresh water. Hunters also visited the cape, which had more wildlife than the Florida Keys . During the Second Seminole War , residents of the Florida Keys worried about Seminoles ' using Cape Sable and threatening

105-634: A 312-mile (502 km) limited access toll highway that connected the panhandle area through Orlando to Miami . The turnpike is part of an initiative to finance transportation with user fees. Cape Sable Cape Sable is the southernmost point of the United States mainland and mainland Florida . It is located in southwestern Florida , in Monroe County , and is part of the Everglades National Park . The cape

140-648: 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, County Road 905A has its northern terminus at an intersection with US 1 in Florida City and its southern terminus at County Road 905 in northern Key Largo five miles (8 km) to

175-453: 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-foot (20 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 ,

210-407: 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 (equivalent to $ 4.3 million in 2023); under an agreement with their Monroe brethren, Dade County officials would oversee the construction of an 11-mile (18 km)-long Card Sound Road to the wooden drawbridge . Construction of both the road and

245-482: A separate unit for tolled facilities under Florida's Turnpike Enterprise . Each district is managed by a district secretary. Each district also has major divisions for administration, planning, production, and operations. In 1954, the State Road Department completed the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge , the first fixed span to connect Saint Petersburg directly to Bradenton . This greatly shortened

280-407: A wooden floor, bed, washstand, kerosene lantern, 2 chairs, and mosquito netting. A swimming pool was built nearby with coconut palms, along with a small bridge to Middle Cape and some small drainage ditches to make the land look more appealing. Ultimately, only a few lots would ever be sold, and the "Club House" was destroyed around 1931 by a hurricane. In 1948 the company sold their 135,000 acres to

315-520: Is a peninsula issuing from the southeastern part of the Florida mainland , running west and curving around to the north, reaching Ponce de Leon Bay , at the mouth of the Shark River . It forms the southern and western margins of Whitewater Bay . There are three prominent points on the cape, each of which hosts a designated backcountry campsite: The campsites are part of the "outside route" of

350-437: Is a complex of marshes and mangrove covered land. The largest lake on the cape is Lake Ingraham, which is long and narrow, running just behind the beach from near East Cape to past Middle Cape. There is little evidence of any extensive settlement of Cape Sable by humans. There are adequate sources of fresh water on the cape, and areas of arable land . There are a few small Indian shell mounds there. The Spanish reported

385-481: 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 State Road Department ( SRD ). The current Secretary of Transportation is Jared W. Perdue. The State Road Department, the predecessor of today's Department of Transportation, was authorized in 1915 by

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420-648: The Everglades Wilderness Waterway , with permits required for an overnight stay, obtained from the Flamingo Visitor Center. The cape also has many lakes and beaches. Cape Sable is home to the mangrove diamondback terrapin ( Malaclemys terrapin rhizophorarum ) and the Florida gopher tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus ). Before Hurricane Donna reduced their range in 1960, more than 3,000 of the now-endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrows ( Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis ) used

455-512: The Florida Legislature . For the first two years of its existence, the department acted as an advisory body to the 52 counties in the state, helping to assemble maps and other information on roads. The 1916 Bankhead Act passed by Congress expanded the department's responsibilities and gave it the authority to: establish a state and state-aid system of roads, engage in road construction and maintenance, acquire and own land, exercise

490-623: The Overseas Highway , 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,

525-840: The southwest Florida coast. The United States Army established Fort Poinsett on East Cape in 1838 to discourage contacts with the Spanish and to protect the Florida Keys. This fort did not prevent the Seminole attack on Indian Key. In 1856, during the Third Seminole War , the Army established Fort Cross on Middle Cape. Traces of Fort Poinsett could be seen until it was destroyed by the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 . The settlement of Flamingo , formed around 1892,

560-437: The 2011 Legislative Session, and placed the commercial vehicle licensing, registrations, fuel permits, and enforcement all under the purview of DHSMV. The Florida Transportation Commission, made up of nine commissioners chosen by Florida's Governor and Legislature , provides oversight for the state's department of transportation (DOT). The department consists of seven geographic districts. In May 1994, an eighth district

595-634: The Beachline East Expressway, the Pinellas Bayway , and the Seminole and Lake County portions of otherwise Central Florida Expressway Authority owned roads. Tolls on all department-owned facilities are collected by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise. In addition, FDOT operates and manages several park-and-ride lots and Commuter Assistance Programs throughout the state. The seven districts each have a Districtwide Commuter Assistance Program. Florida has seven transportation districts and

630-675: The Cape Sable Land Company) was set up as a subsidiary of the Florida East Coast Railroad to manage and sell property in the area. The subsidiary president, James E. Ingraham (the railroad's vice president), had a road built from Homestead to the Cape from 1914 to 1916. This road was subsequently named the Ingraham Highway , and in 1922 would be extended to Flamingo. Along the road he also built

665-491: The Florida Keys. In 1840, a Seminole raiding party, which was believed to have traveled over Cape Sable, attacked and destroyed the settlement on Indian Key . The United States government was concerned that Spanish authorities in Cuba were supplying the Seminole to support their resistance. They knew that Cuban fishermen, including the "Spanish Indians" who had been evacuated to Cuba from Florida in 1821, continued to fish along

700-635: The Homestead Canal, which extends to the Gulf of Mexico. In 1916, the Model Land Company constructed a "Club House" on East Cape to serve as sales headquarters and hotel for prospective customers, fishermen and hunters. The building consisted of offices on 6-foot pilings with a enclosed porch on the outside for meal serving, along with 6 tents ("cottages") around the base that were rented for $ 2.50 per day ($ 26.52 in 2022). Each "cottage" had

735-454: The cape. Nearly the full length of the cape facing Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico is a fine sand beach extending inland less than 100 yards (91 m). Behind the beach in the eastern and middle parts of the cape is a marl prairie , extending from Flamingo to approximately Northwest Point. Inland from the marl prairie, and over all of the northern part of the cape behind the beaches,

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770-452: 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 (equivalent to $ 35.8 million in 2023). 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

805-493: 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 2016, Card Sound Bridge is traversed by 3500 vehicles daily. 25°17′14″N 80°22′07″W  /  25.2873°N 80.3685°W  / 25.2873; -80.3685 Florida Department of Transportation The Florida Department of Transportation ( FDOT )

840-641: 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

875-659: The intersection of present-day U.S. Route 1 and US 41 in Miami to Homestead), even though there was still a 40-mile (64 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

910-450: 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. Effective August, 2017, the toll booth was closed and all employees were laid off. In December, 2017, the toll booth was removed in preparation for an automated toll booth to be installed in the spring of 2018. This is expected to save Monroe county approximately $ 300,000 per year in employee wages. Like

945-406: 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 (21 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

980-520: 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. By the 1940s, the bridge was considered outdated, and many defects caused by World War II led to the ultimate demise of the Bridge. In 1941, a water pipeline was constructed from the Everglades to Key Largo along

1015-469: 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

1050-566: The right of eminent domain, and accept federal or local funds for use in improving roads. The Office of Motor Carrier Compliance created in 1980 transitioned from the Florida Department of Transportation to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) division of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) on July 1, 2011. The consolidation is a result of Senate Bill 2160, passed by lawmakers during

1085-518: The travel time between the two cities, as before cars would have to either use a ferry or drive about 70 miles (110 km) around Tampa Bay . A parallel span was completed in 1971 to make the bridge Interstate standard, and it became part of I-275 . After the newer, southbound span was destroyed in 1980 when the SS Summit Venture collided into it, a replacement bridge was finished in 1987. In 1974, FDOT completed Florida's Turnpike ,

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1120-577: Was formed for the state's Turnpike System . In April 2002, the Turnpike district expanded as Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) and operates as the business unit for the department. The FTE owns and maintains 511 miles (822 km) of toll roads. Each district is managed by a district secretary. The department also owns and maintains other toll roads and bridges: the Garcon Point Bridge , Sunshine Skyway Bridge , Alligator Alley ,

1155-510: Was redesigned and rebuilt, raising the water clearance from five feet to nine feet to accommodate storm surge. On January 25, 1928, the 2,800-foot (850 m), wooden, Card Sound Bridge was opened to traffic. When Card Sound Bridge was opened, the State Road Department (the predecessor to the Florida Department of Transportation ), extended the State Road 4A designation from downtown Homestead to Key West (prior to this, SR 4A went from

1190-599: 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. 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-mile (35 km)-long bridge from Cape Sable to No Name Key did not succeed due to

1225-489: Was the only major settlement on Cape Sable. By 1900, 50 families lived in the small town. In 1905, warden and sheriff Guy Bradley was killed after confronting poachers near the town; his death, along with 2 others, led to the end of the commercial feather trade. In 1910, only 3 homes in the town were still occupied. In 1912, Henry Flagler received 260,000 acres of land across 3 counties, 210,000 of which were located on or near Cape Sable. The Model Land Company (also known as

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