Skip to main content

2017 Southeast Trip Part 12; Turnpiked

After traveling east through the Everglades on US 41/Tamiami Trail I continued to Florida's Turnpike Extension and turned south towards Florida City.


Back when I was living in Florida the Turnpike Extension was still being widened and improved.  Considering the improvement project began circa 2013-2014 when I was working between Orlando and Key West it was a little odd to see that work was still ongoing.


I don't recall the exact exit I used but I bailed off the Turnpike Extension before the terminus in Florida City.  I was heading towards Biscayne National Park and I ended up on SW 137th Avenue in front of Homestead Miami Speedway.  The Speedway opened in 1995 and for the past two decades has been the location of the last NASCAR race of the season.  Originally the track was configured like a 1.5 mile version of Indianapolis Motor Speedway but since has been converted to high banks.







Florida City has all sorts of signage oddities.  FL 997 was created out of FL 27 in 1983 to avoid two routes with the same number touching.  In the case of FL 27 the northern terminus was at US 27 northwest of Miami.  FL 997 is entirely on Krome Avenue and is currently undergoing upgrades to a divided highway.





Florida's Turnpike was in the process of getting new shields when I was passing through Florida City.  I like how the map of Florida shows the Turnpike but would still like the Keys to make an appearance again.





FL 9336 is an infamous numbering of a 9 mile road from US 1 west to Everglades National Park was also formerly part of FL 27.  I'm not sure why the designation was given such an odd number when FL 999 was available.  FL 9336 was part of the Ingraham Highway which was a road built through the Everglades to Flamingo at Cape Sable.  There are some abandoned alignments of the original Ingraham Highway in Everlades National Park which can be seen on Google Maps west from the Royal Palm Visitor Center.


FL 27 can be seen on the 1956 and 1964 State Highway Map of Florida along with the original alignment of the Ingraham Highway to Cape Sable.

1956 Florida State Highway Map

1964 Florida State Highway Map 

Palm Drive and Canal Drive were apparently part of FL 906 which went to Biscayne National Park but was decommissioned in the 1980s.  I'm not sure where FL 906 turned north to connect from Palm Drive to Canal Drive but I believe it was SW 137th Avenue.  Irregardless I took the projected route of FL 906 east to Biscayne National Park.






Not much had changed at Biscayne National Park since 2012 (which is the time frame the previous Florida Friday stub had been written).  I took the boardwalks out as far as I could but really I was just hoping for a distance photo of downtown Miami.  Unfortunately the sky wasn't all that clear and I really couldn't see the sky scrapers to the north.  After looking through the visitor center I traveled back west to Florida City to my hotel to prepare for the next day along the Overseas Highway.












Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dillon Road

Dillon Road is a 34.2-mile highway located in northern Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California.  Dillon Road begins at Avenue 48 on the outskirts of Indio and ends to the west at California State Route 62 near San Gorgonio Pass.  Dillon Road was developed the 1930s as a construction road for the Colorado River Aqueduct.  Dillon Road serves as a northern bypass to much of the development of Coachella Valley.  Dillon Road is known for it's frequent dips and spectacular views of San Gorgonio Pass.   Part 1; the history of Dillon Road Dillon Road was constructed as a haul road for the Colorado River Aqueduct through Coachella Valley.  The Colorado River Aqueduct spans 242 miles from Parker Dam on the Colorado River west to Lake Mathews near Corona.  Construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct began during January 1933 near Thousand Palms and was made functional on January 7, 1939.  West of Berdoo Canyon Road the alignment of Dillon Road is largely concurrent with the Colorado

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road is an approximately 21-mile highway located in southeast Kern County.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road begins at Tehachapi Boulevard (former US Route 466) in Tehachapi and crosses the Tehachapi Mountains via the 4,820-foot-high Oak Creek Pass.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road enters Antelope Valley of the wider Mojave Desert and passes by the historic stage station of Willow Springs to a southern terminus at Rosamond Boulevard.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road has historic ties to the Havilah-Los Angeles Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road due to the once reliable presence of water at Willow Springs. Part 1; the history of Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road Oak Creek Pass and Willow Springs were known to the local tribes of the Tehachapi Mountains for generations.  The first documented European crossing of Oak Creek Pass was during 1776 as part of an expedition by Francisco Garces.  Oak Creek Pass is as used again by John C. Fremont during an 1844-1845 expedition to e

Former California State Route 152 east of Pacheco through the San Luis Reservoir

Dinosaur Point Road east of Pacheco Pass to the waters of the San Luis Reservoir is the original alignment of California State Route 152.  Since July 1965, California State Route 152 has been realigned east of Pacheco Pass via a modernized expressway.  The original alignment of California State Route 152 on occasion reemerges from the San Luis Reservoir at Dinosaur Point.  Pictured above as the blog cover is the original alignment of California State Route 152 at Dinosaur Point disappearing eastward into the waters of the San Luis Reservoir.  Below California State Route 152 can be seen passing through what is now the San Luis Reservoir east of Pacheco Pass on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Merced County. Part 1; the history of California State Route 152 east of Pacheco Pass through the San Luis Reservoir site The present site of the San Luis Reservoir during the era of Alta California was part of Rancho San Luis Gonzaga.  Rancho San Luis Gonzaga was granted to Francisco Jose Riv