Rickenbacker Causeway

Edit links
Coordinates: 25°44′01″N 80°09′45″W / 25.7335608°N 80.1623748°W / 25.7335608; -80.1623748
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Rickenbacker Causeway
Rickenbacker Causeway as seen from
Downtown Miami in February 2010
Coordinates25°44′01″N 80°09′45″W / 25.7336°N 80.1624°W / 25.7336; -80.1624
Carries6 lanes of unsigned SR 913
CrossesBiscayne Bay
LocaleThe Roads, Miami to Key Biscayne
Maintained byFDOT
Characteristics
Total length5.4 miles (8.7 km)
Longest span0.6 miles (0.97 km)
History
OpenedNovember 9, 1947; 76 years ago (November 9, 1947)[1]
Statistics
Toll$2.25
Location
Map

The Rickenbacker Causeway is a

barrier islands of Virginia Key and Key Biscayne across Biscayne Bay.[2]

Background

The Applied Marine Physics Building at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, located off Rickenbacker Causeway on Virginia Key in September 2007
Rickenbacker Causeway in 2014
bridge
View of Downtown Miami from the bridge in January 2020

The Causeway is a toll road, owned and operated by Miami-Dade County. Automobiles traveling southbound from Miami pay a toll of US$2.25[3] as of 2018; northbound traffic is not charged any toll. Tolls are collected via Sunpass; C-Pass transponders or cash are no longer accepted.[4]

In July 2021, Mayor

public private partnership.[5] The Village of Key Biscayne, for which the causeway is the only ingress and egress to Miami, is participating in the process.[6]

Also known as (unsigned)

Cape Florida Lighthouse in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park
.

Named after Eddie Rickenbacker, the American World War I flying ace and founder and president of Miami-based Eastern Air Lines, the causeway provides access to the Miami Seaquarium, the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, MAST Academy, Virginia Key Park, and Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key, and to Crandon Park, the Village of Key Biscayne, and Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on the island of Key Biscayne.

History

Talk of a bridge to Key Biscayne, Florida inspired by the bridges connecting Miami to Miami Beach, started in 1926. The northern two-thirds of Key Biscayne was owned by William John “W.J.” Matheson, who had established a coconut plantation on the island. In February 1926 Matheson entered into an agreement with land developer D. P. Davis to develop and re-sell the northern half of Key Biscayne, including all of what is now Crandon Park and about half of the present Village of Key Biscayne. Later in 1926 the City of Coral Gables incorporated with Key Biscayne included in its boundaries. There were dreams of a bridge to the island, making Key Biscayne the seaside resort for Coral Gables that Miami Beach had become for Miami.

In March 1926, the

1926 Miami Hurricane
crossed over Key Biscayne on its way to Miami. While there were no deaths on the island, most of the buildings on Key Biscayne were destroyed or badly damaged, and many of the plantings were lost, including half of the coconut trees. D. P. Davis was not able to meet his end of the contract; he declared bankruptcy and then disappeared en route to Europe by ship. The Florida Land Boom was over, as were plans for a bridge.

William Matheson died in 1930, leaving the island to his children. There was a flurry of interest in 1939, when the

sea port. There was even talk of putting an air base on the north end of Key Biscayne, as well. In 1940 William Matheson's heirs donated 808.8 acres (327.3 ha) of land, including two miles (3.2 km) of beach on the Atlantic Ocean on the northern end of Key Biscayne to Dade County to be used as a public park (Crandon Park). The county commissioner who negotiated the gift, Charles H. Crandon, had offered for the county to build a causeway to Key Biscayne in exchange for the land donation. Planning for the air and sea complex on Virginia Key was still proceeding, and construction on a causeway to Virginia Key started in 1941. The Attack on Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into World War II
stopped all work on the causeway and the development of Virginia Key.

After the end of World War II, Crandon pushed on with the project. He got financier

road bed and public beach areas, both to the west of Virginia Beach and on the southern reaches of the island. In November 1947 the Rickenbacker Causeway – 1.2 miles (1.9 km) of bridges and 2.7 miles (4.3 km) of roadway on fill – finally opened.[9]

In the late 1960s and 1970s the sites along the Rickenbacker Causeway continued to increase in popularity. After increasing in the mid 1960 because of the American television series

killer whale (two years later, Lolita became their second. The two killer whales performed together until Hugo's death in 1980). Shortly afterward, Planet Ocean, a themed tourist attraction, opened its doors. Newly integrated beaches were often crowded; the causeway near the drawbridge
across the Intracoastal Waterway, and bridgeway near the mainland, became favorite fishing spots.

But popularity had a price: by 1980 it became evident that the concrete and steel structures supporting the roadway west of Virginia Key needed replacement. Five years later, the high-rise William Powell Bridge and new bridging nearest the toll plaza were built and opened at a cost of $27 million. With exception of the drawbridge (which was removed) the old bridging was left intact to serve as fishing piers.[10] In 2011, the West Fishing Pier was demolished.[11]

Since the opening of the new bridge, the

bicycling route from Key Biscayne to Florida City.[citation needed
]

References

  1. ^ Henry Cavendish (9 November 1947). "Thousands to See Official Dedication of Causeway, Park". The Miami Daily News. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  2. ISBN 0-87530-450-8
  3. ^ "Rickenbacker Causeway Toll Increases A Quarter To Pay For Bear Cut Bridge Repairs". The Huffington Post. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  4. ^ Miami-Dade County Online Services. "Rickenbacker Causeway - Miami-Dade County".
  5. ^ The Miami and Rickenbacker may be privatized. Some Miami Beach residents want out accessed Miami Herald Aug 5 2021
  6. ^ Cava: KB Will Get Seat At Causeway Table Key Biscayne Independent accessed 8/5/2021
  7. ^ Florida Department of Transportation, Official Florida Transportation Map 1998
  8. ^ "Florida @ SouthEastRoads - Florida 913".
  9. ISBN 1-56164-096-4
    . pp. 153-162.
  10. ^ Blank. p. 173.
  11. ^ "SFI".

25°44′01″N 80°09′45″W / 25.7335608°N 80.1623748°W / 25.7335608; -80.1623748

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rickenbacker_Causeway&oldid=1211386130"