Seven Mile Bridge

Seven Mile Bridge.  Monroe County, Florida, United States/Aerial of the Florida Keys featuring the Overseas Highway and the Seven Mile Bridge. We follow the Highway 1 with aerial footage from Islamorada to Marathon Florida. The original roadway from the Mainland to Key West opened in 1928 as State Road 4A, however there was a 41 mile gap from Lower Matecumbe and No Name Keys. When the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 destroyed parts fo the Overseas Railroad, the bridges where retrofitted with concrete for vehicular traffice. In 1938 the highway opened as Route 1 and finally connected Key West with the Mainland.The Seven Mile bridge is actually 6.79 miles and opened in 1982. The old bridge is now used for pedestrian and bicyclist traffic. In 2014 the Florida Department of Transportation approved a $77 Million plan to restore the old bridge.For more on our Aerial Photography see celebrationsoftampabay.com or contact [email protected] The Seven Mile Bridge is an iconic bridge in the Florida Keys of United States, stretching out into the open sea, connecting Knight's Key in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. At the time of its completion in 1982, it was the longest continuous concrete segmental bridge in the world, and is currently one of the longest bridges in America.Seven Mile Bridge actually consist of two bridges in the same location. The older bridge, originally known as the Knights Key-Pigeon Key-Moser Channel-Pacet Channel Bridge, was constructed from 1909-1912 as part of the Overseas Railroad. After the railroad sustained considerable damage during the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, the bridge was refurbished for automobile use only. Dismantled tracks was recycled, painted white, and used as guardrails. It had a swing span that opened to allow passage of boat traffic, near where the bridge crosses Pigeon Key - a small island that once served as the work camp for the Florida East Coast Railway. When Hurricane Donna in 1960 inflicted further damage, decision to construct a new bridge was made. www.amusingplanet.com