Florida State Road 817

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Locally known as University Drive, Northwest 27th Avenue, and Unity Boulevard, State Road 817 is a 29-mile-long divided highway serving western Broward County and northern Miami-Dade County, Florida. Its southern terminus is an intersection with SR 9 (which continues southward as Northwest 27th Avenue/Unity Boulevard) in Opa-Locka; its northern terminus is an interchange with the Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) in Coral Springs. State Road 817 also serves:

• Tamarac
• Margate
• Lauderhill
• Sunrise
• Plantation
• Davie
• Cooper City
• Pembroke Pines, Florida
• Miramar
• Miami Gardens

North Lauderdale lies less than one-half mile to the east of SR 817; University Drive continues beyond the north SR 817 terminus into Parkland before ending near the Palm Beach County border.

A major commuter road since its construction, SR 817 passes through suburban residential developments, major shopping districts, and dairy farms (which have been disappearing in the urbanization process that has been proceeding since the 1980s). Sites along or near SR 817 include:

• Opa-Locka City Hall
• St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, five blocks to the west of SR 817
• Dolphin Stadium (home stadium of the Miami Dolphins National Football League team) and Calder Race Track in Miami Gardens
• North Perry Airport in Miramar
• campuses of Nova Southeastern University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, and Broward Community College in Davie
• Several enclosed shopping centers north of Davie, including Broward Mall, once Florida’s largest
• The Miami Dolphin's Training Camp at Nova Southeastern University in Davie

[edit] Planned extension into Palm Beach County

According to maps published by Fort Lauderdale-based Dolph Maps in 2003, an extension of University Drive into Palm Beach County has been proposed. Under the proposal, the north-south highway will cross Hillsboro Road (Palm Beach County Road 827) and eventually connect with Glades Road (SR 808). It remains to be seen if the proposal comes into fruition, and when/if it does, whether the State Road 817 designation would be extended to the western end of SR 808, SR 808 extended southward to connect with SR 817, if both State Roads would be “covered” by a single number (this would not be unprecedented: see State Road 823 and 955 in Miami-Dade County), or if only a Palm Beach County Road designation (most likely CR 808) is applied.

Florida State Roads
Preceded by 816	State Road 817	Succeeded by 818