Florida State Road 836

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State Road 836
Length: 14.00 mi (22.53 km)
East end: I-95 in Miami
Major
junctions:
SR 826 near Doral
Homestead Extension near Tamiami
West end: NW 137th Avenue in Tamiami
Florida State and County Roads
< SR 834 SR 838 >
Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) as seen going east towards downtown Miami.
Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) as seen going east towards downtown Miami.

State Road 836, locally known as the Dolphin Expressway, is a 16-mile-long six-lane divided tollway currently extending from US 1 (SR 5) and SR A1A in Miami, westward past Miami International Airport and the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (SR 821) to just north of the intersection of Southwest 137th Avenue and U.S. Route 41 (SR 90) near Sweetwater, Florida, USA. It is maintained and operated by the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority.

Until July 1, 2007, the toll for eastbound automobiles was $1.25, paid at a toll booth between Northwest 22nd and Northwest 17th Avenues (toll is not collected from westbound traffic). The easternmost 1.29 miles[1] of SR 836 (from Interstate 95 to US 1) is signed Interstate 395. With the completion of a three-mile-long section west of the Turnpike, tolls of $1.00 (75 cents for motorists with SunPass) are now collected from traffic in both directions west of SR 973 (Northwest 87th Avenue/Galloway).

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.

The signage before the new western terminus of the Dolphin Expressway. The sign also serves dually as the exclusive SunPass toll plaza.
The signage before the new western terminus of the Dolphin Expressway. The sign also serves dually as the exclusive SunPass toll plaza.

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 on August 25, 2005, when high winds from Hurricane Katrina took down the 97th Avenue bridge which was already under construction. Nobody was injured.

Construction of a second westward extension of SR 836 started in 2004 [1]. The first segment (westward to Northwest 137th Avenue) opened June 22, 2007; a planned third extension (southward to Southwest 136th Street) is currently in the development stage. The newly-constructed extension is accessible only to motorists with electronic toll-paying capability: there is no capacity for the collection of cash at the planned toll booth; in fact only motorists with SunPass are legally entitled to use the new section.

Although the toll was stated to be only for the extension, people going to the Florida Turnpike will also have to pay the toll, located near Northwest 97th Avenue. Additional toll booths (for both eastbound and westbound traffic) are placed at 97th Avenue. [2] Upon commencement of toll collection, motorists will pay one dollar (US) at the 97th Avenue booths (SunPass owners are to be charged 75 cents); the toll for the extension will be 25 cents.

[edit] Exit list

Mile Municipality # Destinations Notes
NW 137th Avenue to
Tamiami Trail
westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Florida's Turnpike - Fort Lauderdale; Orlando; Florida City; Key West (State Road 821) westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Doral
State Road 985 - Northwest 107th Avenue
former barrier toll
Doral State Road 973 - Northwest 12th Street; Northwest 87th Avenue; Galloway Road
State Road 826 - Palmetto Expressway Westbound exit signs: exit left to Coral Way; exit right to Tamiami Trail; exit right to Northwest 25th Street. Eastbound exit signs simply state SR 826 (both offramps exit right)
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(Douglas Road) - 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

[edit] References