State Road 905 (Florida)
| Card Sound Bridge | |
|---|---|
Card Sound Bridge, looking west towards the toll station
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| Coordinates | 25°17′14″N 80°22′07″W / 25.2873°N 80.3685°WCoordinates: 25°17′14″N 80°22′07″W / 25.2873°N 80.3685°W |
| Carries |
 CR 905A (Card Sound Road) |
| Crosses | Card Sound |
| Locale | Miami-Dade County |
| Maintained by | Dade and Monroe Counties |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 2800ft |
| History | |
| Construction cost | $2.6 million |
| Opened | 1926 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 1900 vehicles per day |
| Toll | $1 |
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 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 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 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, the real estate interests wanted access to thousands of acres of wilderness in the Upper Keys to develop and sell.
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Wikipedia