Florida State Road 836

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Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) as seen going east towards downtown Miami.
Photo: Marc Averette

State Road 836, locally known as the Dolphin Expressway, is a 13-mile-long six-lane divided tollway currently extending from US 1 (SR 5) and SR A1A) in Miami, westward past Miami International Airport to the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (SR 821) in Sweetwater, Florida, USA. It is maintained and operated by the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority.

The toll for eastbound automobiles is $1.25, paid at a toll booth between Northwest 22d and Northwest 17th Avenues (toll is not collected from westbound traffic). The easternmost 1.29 miles of SR 836 (from Interstate 95 to US 1) is signed Interstate 395.

Originally envisioned as the Twentieth Street Tollway in 1964 (with a spur to the airport along LeJeune Road), construction on the Fourteenth Street East-West Expressway between the Palmetto Expressway and US 1 started in 1967 and was completed in 1969. Two years later, construction of the western extension to the Turnpike commenced (and finished in 1974). Also in 1974, the name of the tollway was changed to commemorate the success of the Miami Dolphins of the NFL, after back-to-back wins in the Super Bowl.

With the failure of the Florida Department of Transportation to build either the previously-planned airport spur or the proposed LeJeune Road Expressway to give additional access to the airport, Miami-Dade County's sole complete east-west throughway is now often congested, most commonly in the stretch between LeJeune Road (SR 953) and the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826). Short range plans include the construction of additional lanes and a redesign of a heavily-used interchange with SR 826. In addition, Miami-Dade Transit has begun the process of extending its Metrorail line along the Dolphin Expressway from a newly-relocated SR 953 west to the Turnpike and south to Florida International University.

Damage occurred to SR 836 during Hurricane Katrina when the high winds took down the 97th Avenue bridge which was already under construction. Nobody was injured.

This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the road's construction and/or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

[edit] Dolphin Expressway Extension (2004)

Construction of yet another extension of SR 836 started in 2004 [1]. The first segment (westward to Northwest 137th Avenue) is scheduled to be completed in 2007; the second segment (southward to Southwest 136th Street) is in the development stage. The extension will be accessible only to motorists with electronic toll-paying capability: there will be no capacity for the collection of cash at the planned toll booth. Although the toll is stated to be only for the extension, people going to the Florida Turnpike will also have to pay the toll, located between the NW 107th and 87th Avenue exits. Additional tolls are being placed at the 107th Avenue eastbound exit to catch those that would otherwise pay after the 107th exit.[2]

Below are a series of photos of the under construction segment.

Photo	Description
	The temporary end of the existing Dolphin Expressway. Across from the Turnpike is the under construction extension.
	The upcoming highway weaves in and out of a few local roads.
	The planned expressway heads towards a small local intersection.
	The planned expressway makes a 90 degree turn southward.
	The targeted end of the segment, heading southbound towards Tamiami Trail (US 41).

[edit] Exit list

Municipality	#	Destinations	Notes
		Florida's Turnpike - Fort Lauderdale; Orlando; Florida City; Key West (State Road 821)	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		State Road 985 - Northwest 107th Avenue
		State Road 973 - Northwest 12th Street; Northwest 87th Avenue; Galloway Road
		State Road 826 to Coral Way; to U.S. Highway 41; to Tamiami Trail; to Northwest 25th Street
		State Road 969 - Northwest 72nd Avenue; Milam Dairy Road	signed eastbound as a U-turn to SR 836 west, as there is no direct ramp from SR 826 north to SR 836 west
		State Road 959 - Northwest 57th Avenue; Red Road
		Northwest 45th Avenue	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Miami		State Road 953 - Northwest 42nd Avenue; Le Jeune Road; Coral Gables; Airport	exit left (eastbound and westbound)
		Northwest 37th Avenue - Airport	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		State Road 9 - Northwest 27th Avenue
		barrier toll (eastbound only)
		Northwest 17th Avenue - Civic Center; Hospitals	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		State Road 933 - Northwest 12th Avenue; Medical Center; Civic Center	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	1	Interstate 95 - Downtown; Fort Lauderdale	split into 1A and 1B (only signed westbound); I-395 begins eastbound and ends westbound
	2	U.S. Highway 1 - Northeast 2nd Avenue; Biscayne Boulevard; Arenas (Miami Arena and AmericanAirlines Arena) (State Road 5)	exit 2A eastbound (exit 2B is the same exit from the ramps from I-95)
		State Road A1A north - Miami Beach	eastbound exit and westbound entrance