Conners Highway
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The Conners Highway was a privately built toll road from West Palm Beach, Florida to Okeechobee, Florida, and a free continuation of the road as a National Auto Trail to Tampa, Florida. It cost $2 million to build across the swamps at the outskirts of the Everglades.
The toll section had three toll booths, at 20 Mile Bend, Canal Point and south of Okeechobee. It was opened on July 4, 1924. The last section of the full route to be paved, from Okeechobee to Sebring, was paved in 1925.
A toll of $1.50 per car and driver, and 50 cents extra per passenger, was charged at each toll booth. The route also included the Williams Ferry across the Kissimmee River west of Okeechobee, which charged 50 cents.
The highway was advertised as a cross-state alternate to the unpaved Tamiami Trail, also part of the west mainline of the Dixie Highway. Parts of it, including the tolled section, were used as the South Florida Connector of the Dixie Highway.
Tolls were removed on June 10, 1930.
[edit] The route
The following sections of the road ran along State Roads (numbers assigned in 1923 unless otherwise noted):
- SR 17 from Tampa to Plant City
- unnumbered from Plant City to west of Mulberry
- The route here used Collins Street, Alsobrook Street, Coronet Road, Sparkman Road, Old Mulberry Road, and Coronet Road, with curves to cut 90-degree turns.
- SR 79 (assigned 1933, long after tolls were removed) from west of Mulberry to Lake Wales
- SR 8 from Lake Wales to Okeechobee
- SR 29 (assigned 1925) from Okeechobee to south of Okeechobee
- SR 194 (assigned 1931, after tolls were removed) from south of Okeechobee to 20 Mile Bend
- SR 25 from 20 Mile Bend to West Palm Beach
