The 7 Mile Bridge

After lunch we headed over the 7 mile bridge, which is "located at the very west end of the City of Marathon...  It is a famous bridge in the Florida Keys and connects the Middle Keys to the Lower Keys and is among the longest bridges in existence when it was built."  

"The Old Seven was originally constructed in early 1900 as part of Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway's Key West Extension, also known as the Overseas Railroad."    It was also called "Flagler's Folly" because everyone thought he was crazy!

It's a beautiful ride, with the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf on the other.  

The old, original bridge is still there, running alongside the new bridge.  

The missing section was a 253' swinging span that would swing open to allow boats to pass through.  You can read a good history of the bridge here and it's very interesting.

Different sections of the bridge were made differently, depending on the depth of the water.

There's a tree growing in the bridge

Part of the bridge was made with an element from Germany that actually compacts and grows stronger as it ages, which is why the bridge is still standing.  Unfortunately, the entire amount of this element was used and it no longer exists, which is why newer bridges just don't last as long.  Concrete deteriorates as it ages...

You can see that it was built to carry trains.  It was later transformed into a highway for cars.

It's the longest bridge connecting the Keys to one another and it's DARK at night!!!

Thanks for stopping by...

;o)