[News] Overseas Highway: The floating engineering marvel spanning 44 islands (and forever changing the state of Florida)

[#Steeven.™]

Seagulls screeched as I glided through miles of sparkling waters somewhere between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

The sky melted into the blue-green sea, which turned turquoise as it plunged into channels between the coral and limestone islands.

As I adjusted my sunglasses, I caught a glimpse of motion blur out of the corner of my eye. A bottlenose dolphin! More soon emerged, and the herd leapt in graceful arcs, before plunging back into the waves. Fishing boats bobbed lazily, as I drove down the road.

Traveling from Miami to the island of Key West, in the state of Florida, was not always such a pleasant journey. In the early 20th century, the only way to reach the southernmost point of the United States was a day trip by boat and it depended on weather and tides.

However, an impressive engineering marvel known as the Overseas Highway, which stretches 182 kilometers from the southern tip of the continent through 44 tropical islands with 42 bridges, allows you to float over a chain of mangrove forests and cays and arrive at a place where North America meets the Caribbean.

Flagler's vision
This road was born as an overseas railway. It was the brainchild of visionary developer Henry Morrison Flagler, known as "the father of modern Florida."

Along with business magnate John D. Rockefeller, in 1870 Flagler co-founded the Standard Oil Company, which became one of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world at the turn of the 20th century.

After visiting Florida and recognizing its tourism potential, Flagler poured much of his wealth into building luxury resorts that transformed one of America's poorest states into a winter paradise for travelers from the Northeast.

However, there was no way for guests to reach Flagler's opulent but remote resorts.

In 1885, the businessman connected a series of railroads along Florida's Atlantic coast from Jacksonville, in the far north of Florida, to Miami, near the southern tip of the state.

Miami was supposed to be the end of the line, but when the United States began construction of the Panama Canal in 1904, Flagler saw tremendous potential for Key West, the country's southeasternmost port and closest to the canal.

Key West was Florida's largest city until 1900, and its bustling downtown was flourishing thanks to the cigar, sponge, and fishing industries. However, the island's remote location made it difficult and expensive to transport goods.

Flagler decided to extend the railroad tracks to Key West, primarily over open ocean.

Many of his contemporaries considered such an extension impossible and his critics labeled the project "Flagler's folly".

Between 1905 and 1912, three hurricanes struck the building, killing more than 100 workers. Undeterred, Flagler pressed on. The work took seven years, $50 million (equivalent to $1.56 billion today) and 4,000 African-American, Bahamian and European workers to complete, who had to deal with alligators, scorpions and snakes while working in harsh conditions.

When the railway was finally completed in 1912, it was dubbed "the eighth wonder of the world."

On the train's maiden voyage, a wood-burning locomotive arrived in Key West from Miami carrying Flagler, then 82, in a luxury private carriage on display at the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach.

It is said that he allegedly whispered to a friend: "Now I can die happy. My dream has come true."

A "remarkable" achievement
"The fact that Flagler financed it (more than US$30 million) out of his own pocket was very remarkable," said Florida historian Brad Bertelli. "Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates might be able to do it today. Elon Musk with his SpaceX might be the best modern comparison."

The railway operated until 1935, when the deadliest hurricane in a century washed away miles of track. Rather than be rebuilt, Flagler's masterpiece was reimagined to further American's love of automobiles.

In 1938, the US government set out to build one of the world's longest highways over water, based on the seemingly indestructible Flagler Bridges, which could withstand winds of more than 200 miles per hour.

Rails were paved to accommodate automobiles, and the newly opened Overseas Highway forever transformed the far flung Florida Keys into the thriving tourist destination they are today.

 

Stops for fun
More than a century after the railroad's construction was completed, 20 of the original bridges still carry travelers from Miami to Key West. The trip can be done in less than four hours, but taking detours along the way is part of the fun.

A series of fascinating hidden stops help travelers better appreciate how this work came to be and its impact on Florida.

Key Largo, 70 miles south of Miami, is the northernmost of the Florida Keys and a great first stop. Alligators, snakes and other aquatic creatures may have terrified Flagler's workers, but now travelers flock to this key, dubbed the "diving capital of the world," to marvel at its abundant marine life.

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, along with John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, attract divers eager to dive North America's only living barrier reef.

Seagrass beds provide critical habitat for fish, manatees, and sea turtles. However, the main attraction is swimming towards the Christ of the Abyss, a bronze statue of Jesus with outstretched arms, which is almost three meters high and has been submerged since 1965.

The next stop is Islamorada, a community halfway between Miami and Key West that once housed one of the Overseas Railroad stations. The History Museum screens a 35-minute documentary highlighting the construction of the railway and the many obstacles it faced.

The museum also features artifacts from the train's golden age, including dining car dishes, as well as an original menu showing that a sirloin steak cost $1.60.

 

A daunting task
In 1909, civil engineer William J. Krome was charged with the daunting task of building nearly 110 kilometers of track over open water.

Construction crews worked around the clock, driving more than 700 support piles into the middle of the ocean, sometimes almost thirty feet below sea level, to build the longest bridge on the route.

They were assisted by divers who helped create concrete pedestals underwater to support the weight of the train tracks.

From 1908 to 1912, some 400 workers lived in a camp on Pigeon Cay, a small coral island located 56 kilometers south of Islamorada, while they built the most challenging part of the railway: the famous Seven Mile Bridge, which connects the medium keys with the low ones.

The remains of the old construction camp can be accessed by taking a tram across the bridge from the city of Marathon to Cayo Paloma. A 35.4-kilometre section, the only accessible part, reopened in January 2022 after a five-year renovation that cost US$44 million.

Closed to non-traffic traffic, the bridge is now a safe area for those who want to bike or skate 20 meters on the crystal clear water or observe marine life such as turtles and sharks.

Only four people live permanently on Cayo Paloma. The two-hectare island is now a National Historic Landmark and runs primarily on solar power. It is also home to a museum that offers guided tours of various buildings that once housed workers and chronicles what daily life was like for the crew as they built the Seven Mile Bridge.

 

The influence of the railway
Those who drive along the Overseas Highway today know that the journey culminates at the black and white buoy that marks the southernmost point of the United States, closer to Cuba (145 kilometers south) than to Miami (212.4 kilometers north).

Many visitors head to the city's main thoroughfare, Duval Street, or to the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum. However, it is worth visiting the small and informative Museo de la Vela al Ferrocarril.

The museum traces 500 years of Key West's history, showing how this tropical island evolved from a haven for pirates, to a shopping mall, and to a tourist destination known for its laid-back atmosphere.

Railroad-era artifacts include the paymaster's wagon that served as a sort of mobile bank to deliver wages to railroad employees. The "8th Wonder of the Modern World" exhibit highlights the evolution of the railway and explains how each hurdle was eventually overcome as it pushed the limits of early 20th century technology.

"If I had to single out the most influential event in the history of the Florida Keys, it would undoubtedly be the completion of the Flagler Overseas Railroad," said Cori Convertito, historian. "Through his vision, dedication, enterprise and foresight, the keys were connected, for the first time, with the American continent."

"The business and travel advantages for residents and visitors to the island chain cannot be underestimated," added Convertito. She forever influenced the economy of the keys and opened the door to the tourism industry we have today."

 

https://www.bbc.com/mundo/vert-tra-65749857