Florida State Road 836

State Road 836, locally known as the Dolphin Expressway, is a 19-mile-long six-lane divided expressway, with the westernmost 14 miles being a tollway, currently extending from just north of the intersection of Southwest 137th Avenue and U.S. Route 41 (SR 90) in Tamiami, eastward past the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (SR 821) and Miami International Airport, before intersecting I-95 and ceasing to be a toll road. A 1.29 mile section of SR 836 between I-95 and US 1 is signed Interstate 395, with SR 836 continuing unsigned, passing through US 1 (SR 5) before ending at SR A1A in Miami Beach.^[1] It is maintained and operated by the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority.

Route description

The highway begins just north of the intersection of Southwest 137th Avenue and U.S. Route 41 (SR 90) in Tamiami, as a SunPass only section of the expressway, built in 2007 and accessible only to motorists with SunPass transponders. The expressway heads east towards the Homestead Extension of the Turnpike, and then passes through the first of two toll barriers. It then intersects with the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826), and passes through the southern end of the Miami International Airport. 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 the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) and LeJeune Road (SR 953). East of the interchange with the airport at LeJeune Road, eastbound lanes pass through a second toll barrier just west of downtown. The highway has two more interchanges in the fringes of downtown before intersecting with I-95 and becoming a free road and unsigned as I-395 goes into downtown Miami. East of US 1, SR 836 continues unsigned, crossing the MacArthur Causeway to its end at SR A1A in Miami Beach.^[2]

Until July 1, 2007, the toll for eastbound automobiles was $1.25 ($1.00 for motorists with SunPass), paid at a toll booth between Northwest 22nd and Northwest 17th Avenues (toll is not collected from westbound traffic). In conjunction with the completion of the new three-mile-long extension 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 Road). Although the new toll was originally stated to be only for the extension, motorists going to the Florida Turnpike or Northwest 107th Avenue also have to pay.^[3] Thus, the total toll for eastbound traffic traveling along the expressway from the Turnpike to Interstate 95 is now $2.25 (or $1.75 for motorists with SunPass). Traffic traveling the new SunPass-only extension to/from Northwest 137th Avenue pays an additional 25 cents.

History

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 Florida's Turnpike commenced, and was 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.

Construction of a second westward extension of SR 836 started in 2004.^[4] This extension, westward to Northwest 137th Avenue near Northwest 12th Street, opened June 22, 2007, accessible only to motorists with SunPass electronic toll-paying capability; there is no capacity for the collection of cash.

Future

Short range plans include the construction of additional lanes and a redesign of a heavily-used interchange with SR 826.^[5] A planned third extension (southward to Southwest 136th Street) is currently being considered.

The Dolphin Expressway is planned to be converted to open road tolling in the next few years, along with the other expressways on MDX.^[6]

On May 24, 2010, construction began on the Miami Port Tunnel, a $1 billion project that will connect the port to other major highway arteries, including I-395, with the tunnel expected to be completed in 2014.^[7]

Exit list

The entire route is in Miami-Dade County.

References

External links

• Florida @ SouthEastRoads - Interstate 395 and Florida 836