 State Road 986 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest 72nd Street / Sunset Drive | ||||
 SR 986 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byFDOT andSouth Miami | ||||
| Length | 5.883 mi[1] (9.468 km) Sunset Drive extends 12.5 mi (20.1 km) total[2] | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end | Kendale Lakes | |||
| Major intersections |  SR 826 inGlenvar Heights | |||
| East end |  US 1 inSouth Miami | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Florida | |||
| Counties | Miami-Dade | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Sunset Drive, also known asSouthwest 72nd Street is a 12.5-mile-long (20.1 km) east–westarterial road traversing the southwestern suburbs ofMiami,Florida, from the northwestern portions of theKendall area toCoral Gables. A central portion of Sunset Drive is maintained by theFlorida Department of Transportation asState Road 986 (SR 986), which runs from theHomestead Extension (HEFT) underpass to Southwest 69th Avenue[1] and is signed throughSouth Miami toUS 1.
Southwest 72nd Street begins as a private dirt road accessing farmland inunincorporatedMiami-Dade County, north ofThe Hammocks and west ofKendall West.[3] The road heads east and, upon reaching 167th Avenue, it becomes a paved four-laned divided road. Sunset Drive then continues east past residential neighborhoods for one mile (1.6 km), reaching a collection of neighborhood shopping centers and the western edge of the Kendall Westcommunity at Southwest 157th Avenue. From here to its eastern terminus, Southwest 72nd Street is given the designation ofMarjory Stoneman Douglas Sunset Drive.[4]
After another mile (1.6 km), and after passing by more residential neighborhoods, Sunset Drive crosses Southwest 147th Avenue and enters the unincorporatedKendale Lakes.[5] The road passes one block to the south of theMiccosukee Golf & Country Club, and continues east between the backs of residential neighborhoods for another two miles (3.2 km), older than those lying to the west, with the only break beingMiami Sunset Senior High. After crossing Southwest 127th Avenue, Sunset Drive's character changes as it passes by churches, schools, large-lot houses and market gardens until it reaches theHEFT.[2]
The locations of both termini of State Road 986 are unclear, with some commercial mapping[6] and evenFlorida Department of Transportation (FDOT) material[7] showing the western terminus of SR 986 at Southwest 127th Avenue and the eastern terminus at either the South Dixie Highway (US 1) orRed Road. According to the FDOT road inventory, the western terminus of SR 986 lies where Sunset Drive passes under the HEFT without an interchange, with the section of road west to Southwest 127th Avenue acknowledged as lying off theFlorida State Highway System.[1]
East of the HEFT underpass, SR 986 leaves Kendale Lakes and enters theKendalldistrict proper, cutting across its northwestern corner.[8] Sunset Drive first passes a small shopping district and then goes between two residential neighborhoods. As SR 986 approachesSouthwest 107th Avenue (SR 985), 1.1 miles (1.8 km) east of the HEFT, the road enters another shopping district. Once past SR 985, Sunset Drive almost-immediately crosses theSnapper Creek Canal and enters the eponymouscommunity ofSunset.[8] SR 986 then passes a mixture of houses, strip malls, commercial services and churches for the next 1.7 miles (2.7 km), whereupon it crosses aCSX railroad and passes under theDon Shula Expressway (SR 874) without an interchange. After another one-quarter mile (400 m) of strip malls, SR 986 crossesGalloway Road (SR 973) and enters the community ofGlenvar Heights.[8] East of Galloway Road, SR 986 gains a leafy residential character, reaching thePalmetto Expressway (SR 826) interchange after one mile (1.6 km). SR 986 carries on east through more leafy neighborhoods for another 0.7 miles (1.1 km). Here, the SR 986 designation stops at Southwest 69th Avenue,[1] the boundary between Glenvar Heights and the incorporated city ofSouth Miami.[9] Like at its western terminus, the FDOT inventory recognises Sunset Drive as far east as Red Road (approximately 1.3 miles (2.1 km)) as lying off the State Highway System.[1][6]
Sunset Drive continues east from SR 986's eastern terminus through leafy neighborhoods of western South Miami. The road's character changes once it passes Southwest 63rd Avenue, as Sunset Drive begins to enter South Miami'scentral business district, passing by low-rise apartment buildings, multi-storeyed office complexes, and the South Miami Hospital. At Southwest 62nd Avenue, eastbound motorists on Sunset Drive wishing to head north along US 1 are encouraged by signage to detour along it, while Sunset Drive continues east for one-quarter mile (400 m) through the civic heart of South Miami, including a section of road paved with red brick near the city hall. The road then passes under the elevatedMetrorail tracks, just to the south ofSouth Miami Metrorail station, and immediately meets the South Dixie Highway (US 1) at an oblique intersection.[2][7]
East of US 1, Sunset Drive scales down to become an undivided two-laned shopping street for the next two blocks, reaching Red Road (Southwest 57th Avenue) after1⁄4 mile (400 m). On the other side, Sunset Drive leaves South Miami and forms the boundary betweenCoral Gables, to the north, and an unincorporated section of Miami-Dade County to the south.[9][10] After passing between shops on the northern side of the road and houses on the southern side, Sunset Drive enters an opulent, leafy residential neighborhood, eventually losing its kerbing, and crossing entirely into Coral Gables about 1.2 miles (1.9 km) later.[11] After about 0.4 miles (640 m), Sunset Drive terminates atCartagena Plaza, atraffic circle that also featuresLeJeune Road's southern terminus andOld Cutler Road's northeastern terminus.[2]
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In 1996, theFlorida State Legislature passed a resolution renaming SR 986 asMarjory Stoneman Douglas Sunset Drive.[4]
Until 1997, its eastern terminus was three blocks further to the east of US 1 at Red Road, to intersect with a since-truncatedSR 959 on the South Miami-Coral Gables boundary.[citation needed]
The entire route is inMiami-Dade County.
| Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kendale Lakes | 0.000 | 0.000 | west end of state maintenance | ||
| Kendall | 1.113 | 1.791 |  SR 985 (Southwest 107th Avenue) | ||
| Sunset–Glenvar Heights line | 3.113 | 5.010 |  SR 973 (Southwest 87th Avenue / Galloway Road) | ||
| Glenvar Heights | 4.16 | 6.69 |  SR 826 –International Airport | interchange | |
| Glenvar Heights–South Miami line | 4.895 | 7.878 | Southwest 69th Avenue | east end of state maintenance | |
| South Miami | 5.883 | 9.468 | US 1 (SouthDixie Highway /SR 5) | no left turn eastbound (signs point via Southwest 62nd Avenue and Southwest 70th Street) | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
