Driving at sea

This is the old seven mile bridge on US 1 in the Keys. This bridge was closed in 1982 and a new wider one was opened just to the left, out of the picture. This is the longest bridge in the Keys. (actually 6.8 miles on my odometer). The overseas highway started out as a railroad, built by a south Florida tycoon named Henry Flagler in the early 20th century. The original bridge was completed in 1912 and had railroad tracks on it. The railroad was wiped out in the infamous cat 5 Labor Day hurricane of 1935, still the strongest on record in the US with a barometric pressure of 26.35 inches! By that time of course automobiles were beginning to overshadow trains, so when the route was rebuilt it was done as a highway. There have been no trains in the Keys since 1935.