Seven Mile Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Seven Mile Bridge with the original in the foreground | |
| Coordinates | 24°41′54″N81°10′36″W / 24.6982°N 81.1767°W /24.6982; -81.1767 |
| Carries | 2 lanes of US 1 |
| Crosses | Moser Channel |
| Locale | Florida Keys,Monroe County, Florida |
| Maintained by | Florida Department of Transportation |
| ID number | 900101 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Precast segmentedbox girder bridge |
| Total length | 35,719.2 feet 6.765 miles (10.887 km) |
| Width | 38 feet (12 m) |
| Longest span | 135 feet (41 m) |
| Clearance below | 65 feet (20 m) |
| History | |
| Construction cost | $45 million[1] (equivalent to $123 million in 2024 dollars) |
| Opened | May 24, 1982 |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Seven Mile Bridge | |
TheSeven Mile Bridge is abridge in theFlorida Keys, inMonroe County,Florida,United States. It connectsKnight's Key (part of the city ofMarathon, Florida) in the Middle Keys toLittle Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Among thelongest bridges in existence when it was built, it is part of theOverseas Highway in the Keys, which is part of the 2,369-mile (3,813 km)U.S. Route 1.[1][2]
There are two bridges in this location. The modern bridge is open to vehicular traffic; the older one only to pedestrians and cyclists. The older bridge, originally known as the Knights Key-Pigeon Key-Moser Channel-Pacet Channel Bridge, was constructed from 1909 to 1912 under the direction ofHenry Flagler andClarence S. Coe as part of theFlorida East Coast Railway's Key West Extension, also known as theOverseas Railroad.
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After the railroad was damaged by theLabor Day Hurricane of 1935, the line was sold to theUnited States government, which refurbished Seven Mile Bridge forautomobile use. Unsupported sections were added in 1935 to widen it for vehicular traffic. Dismantled trackage was recycled, painted white, and used as guardrails. It had aswing span to allow passage of boats in theMoser Channel of theIntracoastal Waterway intoHawk Channel, near where the bridge crossesPigeon Key, a small island that held a work camp for Flagler's railroad.Hurricane Donna in 1960 caused further damage. The current road bridge was constructed from 1978 to 1982.
The vast majority of the original bridge still exists, although the swing span has been removed. The 2.2-mile (3.5 km) section to Pigeon Key, used as afishing pier and long open to motorized vehicles to give access to the key, was closed to motorized traffic in 2008 after the unsupported sections began to sag.[3] In 2014, theFlorida Department of Transportation approved a $77 million plan to restore the old bridge.[2] By 2017, the pedestrian section was closed for extensive repairs, and reopened in January 2022.[4]
The new bridge is a box-girder structure built from precast,prestressed concrete sections, comprising 440 spans. Near the center, the bridge rises in an arc to provide 65-foot-high (20 m) clearance for boat passage. The remainder of the bridge is considerably closer to the water surface. The new bridge does not crossPigeon Key.
The total length of the new bridge is actually 35,862 ft (10,931 m) or 6.79 miles (10.93 km), and is shorter than the original. The bridge carries the Florida Keys aqueduct, supplying water to points west, as well as fiber optic cables, providing telecommunications to and from the lower Keys.[5]
Each April, the bridge is closed for about 2.5 hours on a Saturday for theSeven Mile Bridge Run that commemorates theFlorida Keys bridge rebuilding project. The event began in 1982 to commemorate the completion of a federally funded bridge building program that replaced spans that oil tycoonHenry Flagler constructed in the early 1900s to serve as a foundation for hisOverseas Railroad.
The Seven Mile Bridge was engineered byFigg & Muller Engineers (who also engineered the much tallerSunshine Skyway Bridge). The structure was completed six months ahead of schedule and has earned eight awards, including an Exceptional Award for Cost Savings Innovation from the Federal Highway Administration.[6]
The bridge has been featured in films and television series, such asRoad House,Licence to Kill,[7]True Lies,[8][9]2 Fast 2 Furious,[10]Burn Notice, and is seen in the upcoming video gameGrand Theft Auto VI.
Original bridge
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Current bridge
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