There’s another way in and out of the Keys. Here’s what to expect on Card Sound Road
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The Overseas Highway
The legendary road in and out of the Florida Keys faces more and more pressure.
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Most people who drive in and out of the Florida Keys use the 18 Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 that connects Florida City on the mainland to Key Largo.
The Stretch, as locals call it, and the rest of U.S. 1 linking to Key West make up the Overseas Highway.
But there’s another way to and from the island chain.
Card Sound Road’s 20-plus-mile trip will take you longer to get to the Keys than the Stretch, but the scenery is worth it if you’re looking for a more rustic journey. There’s also a breathtaking view as you drive over the 65-foot high, 2,800-foot long bridge that goes over Card Sound.
Unlike the Stretch, there’s no concrete barrier running down the middle of the two-lane highway, so drivers need to be cautious about oncoming traffic.
Also, unlike the 18 Mile Stretch, Card Sound Road has a $1.50 toll, taken electronically, at the northern end of the bridge.
On the weekends, it’s not unusual to see people pulled over on the side of the road swimming and picnicking or fishing off one of the several smaller bridges. Card Sound Road is also where you’ll find Alabama Jack’s, a landmark bar known for its conch fritters, and frequented by bikers, locals and tourists.
Getting into the Keys using Card Sound Road, or County Road 905A, drivers take the highway southeast, over the bridge to a three-way stop sign. If you make a left, you’ll head to the ultra-exclusive gated community of Ocean Reef. Turn right on County Road 905 (without the “A”) and you’re on your way to Key Largo.
Although it’s now considered the alternate route to the Keys, Card Sound Road was originally the main way in and out by car, according to Keys historian Jerry Wilkinson.
With the growing Florida land boom in the early 1900s, the Keys were only accessible by Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway’s Over-the-Sea extension to Key West, which was completed in January 1912. By 1919, business interests and a group called the Miami Motor Club wanted a road into the Keys, Wilkinson said on the Historical Preservation Society of the Upper Keys website.
The motor club wanted to give its winter tourists a “suburban fishing ground” along what is now the Card Sound Road route, Wilkinson wrote. “The real estate interests wanted vehicular access to the thousands of undeveloped acres in the Upper Keys.”
Officials in both Miami-Dade and Monroe counties agreed there should be a road connecting the Keys to the mainland, but, according to Wilkinson, they wanted it to follow the railroad. Proponents of the Card Sound route, however, ended up winning the debate.
In 1922, Monroe County officials allocated $300,000 to build a road from the Angler’s Club, a predecessor to Ocean Reef, to Key Largo at what is now around mile marker 106 on the Overseas Highway, according to Brad Bertelli, another Keys historian.
From Key Largo, the roadway ran parallel to Flagler’s railroad tracks south to Upper Matecumbe Key, Bertelli said.
In 1926, Monroe County issued a $2.5 million bond to build a wooden bridge connecting Little Card Point on the mainland to North Key Largo, according to Bertelli. Miami-Dade commissioners agreed to pay for the 11 miles of roadway that links Florida City to Little Card Point.
The bridge ended up having to be rebuilt and raised several feet after the original span was damaged by the 1926 hurricane, both historians said.
“By 1928, the rebuilt and higher off the water 2,800-foot wooden drawbridge across Card Sound was completed,” Wilkinson wrote. “The additional road and bridges were completed to Lower Matecumbe Key. The Upper Keys were connected to the Florida mainland. In the meanwhile, Key West had built a road as far as No Name Key.”
In July 1944, the current version of the Overseas Highway officially opened, and this contained the 18 Mile Stretch, according to Wilkinson. The old Card Sound Bridge was not maintained and a section was removed to prevent people from driving over the span.
“After the 1947 hurricane, its condition further deteriorated helped along by a few fires, and the bridge was removed entirely,” Wilkinson wrote. “North Key Largo was left without its direct road service to the mainland.”
In 1969, a new bridge, the 65-foot high span that exists now, was constructed over Card Sound for $1.95 million, according to Wilkinson. A staffed toll booth was set up to collect money to pay for the project.
The two-person booth remained in operation until September 2017, when it was torn down to make way for an automatic electronic system now that collects $1.50 from SunPass transponders or an additional $2.50 through toll-by-plate for those without SunPass.
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