Merritt Island Causeway | |
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Coordinates | 28°21′26″N80°40′33″W / 28.3573°N 80.6758°W Coordinates: 28°21′26″N80°40′33″W / 28.3573°N 80.6758°W |
Locale | Merritt Island |
History | |
Opened | June 5, 1941 |
Replaces | Wooden bridge |
Location | |
The Merritt Island Causeway, mostly in Merritt Island, connects Cocoa, Merritt Island, Florida, and Cocoa Beach, Florida. The causeway transits the Willard Peebles bridge over the Banana River Lagoon. In the 1960s, SR A1A was routed over the eastern causeway from present day SR 520 and SR A1A, to the present day intersection of SR 520 and SR 3 on Merritt Island. The eastern section is known as the Cocoa Beach Causeway.
On May 1, 1917, the first, wooden, bridge opened between Cocoa, Florida, and Merritt Island, Florida, across the Indian River. Soon after this bridge was built, two ideas for a new bridge connecting Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach over the Banana River began circulating.
On September 27, 1919, the first route was approved. The bridge was completed April 19, 1922, after running into financial problems and costing an additional $200,000.
The present day alignment, from west to east, based upon this description
The narrow lane draw bridge crossed the Banana River near Old Causeway Road on Horti Point. The present day Minuteman Causeway Boulevard in Cocoa Beach, and Old Causeway Road in Angel City are the remaining ends of the Merritt Island Causeway. The bridge system composed of the Indian River Bridge and the Banana River Bridge lasted another 18 years, when growth caught up with the bridge system.
On June 5, 1941, the present day alignment of SR 520 opened with a single wider lane in each direction. Two draw bridges, one on each river, and a few relief bridges made up the causeway. The original wooden bridges were torn up shortly afterwards. Today, the name Banana River Bridge refers to the eastern causeway of the Emory L. Bennett Causeway, a part of SR 528.
Traffic problems were growing worse in the 1960s, and the county appealed to then Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey for relief. Vice President spoke to NASA and the U.S. Air Force and they agreed to help fund the widening. On August 16, 1962, the road widening was completed. Less than six years later the Hubert H. Humphrey Bridge was dedicated by Hubert H. Humphrey on March 1, 1968.
At nearly the same time there were proposals for additional bridges in the area. Cocoa Avenue (now Minuteman Causeway) was proposed to cross to Merritt Island over the Minuteman Causeway. Its route would have taken it along the old Banana River Bridge. The idea was formally denied on February 26, 1970, by the State of Florida.
Widening projects continue, and the eastern draw bridge has been removed from the causeway.
Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida. The population was 19,041 at the 2020 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,539 at the 2018 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Merritt Island is a census-designated place (CDP) in Brevard County, Florida, United States, located on the eastern Floridian coast, along the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 34,743 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name "Merritt Island" also refers to the extent of the peninsula, misnamed an "island".
The Space Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida around the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It is one of several "themed" coasts around Florida. All of NASA-launched crewed spaceflights have departed from either KSC or Cape Canaveral. The Air Force Station has also launched unmanned military and civilian rockets. Cities in the area include Port St. John, Titusville, Cocoa, Rockledge, Cape Canaveral, Merritt Island (unincorporated), Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, Satellite Beach, Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, Palm Bay, and Viera (unincorporated). Most of the area lies within Brevard County. It is bounded on the south by the Treasure Coast, on the west and north by Central Florida, and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean.
State Road 528 (SR 528), alternatively named the Martin Andersen Beachline Expressway, is a partially-tolled state road in the U.S. state of Florida; it is maintained by the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE), the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX), and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Spanning approximately 53 miles (85 km) along a west–east axis, it connects Interstate 4 (I-4) in Orlando with I-95, Titusville, and Cape Canaveral on the Space Coast. It passes close to the tourist areas of Orlando, including SeaWorld and Universal Orlando, and serves the north entrance to Orlando International Airport. Near its east end, it passes over the Intracoastal Waterway on the Emory L. Bennett Causeway, and ends at SR A1A and SR 401 near Port Canaveral.
State Road 3, known locally as North Courtenay Parkway, is a north–south road located entirely on Merritt Island, serving as the southern access for the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida. The shortest of the one-digit Florida State Roads, its southern terminus is an intersection with SR 520 on Merritt Island, east of Cocoa.
State Road 513, also known as South Patrick Drive, is a short north–south road located along the western side of the barrier island towns of Indian Harbour Beach, Satellite Beach and South Patrick Shores in Brevard County. The southern terminus is at an intersection with SR 518 near the eastern end of the Eau Gallie Causeway in Indian Harbour Beach. The northern terminus is at a partial interchange with the Pineda Causeway, just south of the southern entrance of Patrick Space Force Base.
The Melbourne Causeway is located entirely within Brevard County, Florida in the United States. It is composed of three bridges and connects the municipalities of Melbourne and Indialantic across the Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County. The causeway is part of U.S. 192, whose eastern terminus is located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the bridge, at SR A1A. East of the bridge, the road is known locally as Fifth Avenue. On the western side, the road continues through downtown Melbourne as Strawbridge Avenue. Each July 4 the bridge is closed for a fireworks show.
State Road 404 (SR 404), the Pineda Causeway, is an east–west divided highway currently running from Interstate 95 (I-95) to SR A1A at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, US. It was opened as a toll road in 1971 and classified as a state road two years later. The tolls were removed in 1990. It was named after Pineda, a former village east of Suntree on U.S. Route 1 (US 1). With interchanges at US 1 (SR 5), South Tropical Trail, and South Patrick Drive (SR 513), the Pineda Causeway is the primary access for Patrick Space Force Base and the southern end of Merritt Island. From US 1 to the eastern terminus, it is part of the Indian River Lagoon Scenic Highway system.
State Road 520 (SR 520) is a 34.5-mile (55.5 km) east–west state highway in central Florida, United States, connecting with SR 50 in the Orlando area with SR A1A in Cocoa Beach.
The Eau Gallie Causeway connects Eau Gallie, Florida, with SR A1A near Indian Harbour Beach, across the Indian River Lagoon. Located entirely within the Melbourne city limits, the causeway consists of a main bridge crossing over the Intracoastal Waterway and a relief bridge. The bridge is a key link in SR 518, Eau Gallie Boulevard, of which the causeway is a part.
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main Interstate Highway of Florida's Atlantic Coast. It begins at a partial interchange with U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) just south of downtown Miami, and heads north past Daytona Beach, through Jacksonville, and to the Georgia state line at the St. Marys River near Becker. The route also passes through the cities of Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Titusville.
NASA Parkway, also known as NASA Causeway, is an east-west expressway in Brevard County, Florida, containing two causeways. The first causeway connects the Florida mainland to Merritt Island and later, over the private second causeway, connects Merritt Island to Cape Canaveral. As such, the NASA Parkway is the main route connecting points of interest in Titusville, Florida to the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island.
The Indian River Lagoon Scenic Highway is a 130-mile-long (210 km) scenic byway located in Florida. Basically, the Highway is actually a collection of several roads, mostly running north and south along either side of the Indian River Lagoon, connected by other roads running over the Lagoon. The two main north–south roads are:
Lotus is a former village in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is the location of Honeymoon Hill, the highest point on Merritt Island. Only one road runs through the area, CR 3, accessible to the south by Pineda Causeway and from the north via Florida State Road 520.
Angel City is a populated place on the Horti Point peninsula of Merritt Island, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. Angel City had a post office between 1927 and 1931. It is believed that the community was named for an early settler, John Angel. Hattie Worley, wife of Oscar Worley, the bridge tender, named Angel City after the first homesteader, Captain Angel from Rhode Island.
Brevard County, Florida has transportation available in the usual modes for a coastal county - highways, shipping, and airlines.