MacArthur Causeway County Causeway | |
|---|---|
 MacArthur Causeway, connectingDowntown Miami andSouth Beach | |
| Coordinates | 25°46′40″N80°09′51″W / 25.777711°N 80.164233°W /25.777711; -80.164233 |
| Carries | 6 lanes of  SR 836 /SR A1A |
| Crosses | Biscayne Bay |
| Locale | Miami toMiami Beach |
| Official name | General Douglas MacArthur Causeway |
| Maintained by | FDOT |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Causeway,beam,girder |
| Material | Slabs,girders,fill |
| Total length | 3.5 miles (5.6 km) |
| Longest span | 0.4 miles (0.64 km) |
| Clearance above | 68 feet (21 m) |
| History | |
| Designer | Frederic R. Harris, Inc.,American Bridge Company |
| Opened | February 17, 1920; 106 years ago (1920-02-17)[1] |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of MacArthur Causeway | |
TheGeneral Douglas MacArthur Causeway is a six-lanecauseway that connectsDowntown Miami toSouth Beach viaBiscayne Bay inMiami-Dade County.
The highway is the singular roadway connecting themainland and beaches to Watson Island and the bay neighborhoods ofPalm Island,Hibiscus Island, andStar Island. The MacArthur Causeway carriesState Road 836 andState Road A1A over the Biscayne Bay via agirder bridge. Interstate 395 ends at Fountain Street, the entrance to Palm Island Park which has atraffic light as well as bus stops.
In the late 1910s, with the deteriorating woodenCollins Bridge (now, theVenetian Causeway) as the only direct land route between mainland Miami and thebarrier islands of Miami Beach, construction on the roadway began in 1917. The roadway, dedicated as the County Causeway, was completed in 1920.Watson Island wasreclaimed surrounding the western end of the roadway, completed in 1926.
Having undergone several lane and structural expansions following opening of the original two-lane road, theState Road Board andDade County Commission voted to rename the causeway in honor of World War IIGeneralDouglas MacArthur in 1942.[2] The causeway was accessible from mainland Miami viaBiscayne Boulevard and intersectingside streets through the 1960s. Construction of direct highway access toI-395 was complete in the 1970s. The replacement of the westernmost and easternmost spans began in the 1990s, as the eastbound lanes of the bridges were completed in 1995 and westbound lanes finished in 1997.
Crossings of theBiscayne Bay | ||||
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25°46′40″N80°9′52″W / 25.77778°N 80.16444°W /25.77778; -80.16444
