Bird Road, co-signed State Road 976 (SR 976) from the

Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike The Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (HEFT), designated as unsigned State Road 821 (SR 821), is the southern extension of Florida's Turnpike, a toll road in the U.S. state of Florida maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise ( ...

(SR 821) in Westwood Lakes,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

to U.S. Route 1 ( SR 5) in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, is a main east–west road running south of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

Miami-Dade County, Florida Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

Route description

FL976wSignRoad-ByFL9-May2013 (28640183501)

State Road 976 begins on Bird Road at the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike in Westwood Lakes, heading east as a primarily commercial six lane divided highway, including many

strip malls A strip mall, strip center or strip plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. ...

on its route. It crosses State Road 985 before leaving Westwood Lakes and entering Westchester. Between SW 94th Avenue and SW 92nd Avenue, Bird Road passes by Bird Bowl, one of the few remaining

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

establishments in

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

. Bird Road then crosses State Road 973 ( Galloway Road), and borders the northern end of

Tropical Park Tropical Park is a urban park in metropolitan Miami, Florida. The park is located just southwest of the intersection of the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) and Bird Road, just west of South Miami. History The land opened as a county public pa ...

, the former site of a

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

that had its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, and now a Miami-Dade County park. At the northeastern border of Tropical Park, SR 976 has an interchange with the Palmetto Expressway. At the southeast corner of its intersection of Ludlam Road, a block of vintage stores lines the road. At State Road 959, the road enters Coral Gables, with the median of the road containing spreading

banyan A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

trees, similar to the nearby

Coral Way Coral Way is a neighborhood within Miami, Florida that is defined by Coral Way, a road established by Coral Gables founder George E. Merrick during the 1920s. It is located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The Coral Way neighborhood is served by ...

. Between State Road 959 (

Red Road Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a second ...

) and State Road 953 ( LeJeune Road), the road is primarily residential, crossing a couple of golf courses. East of SR 953 and

Coral Gables Senior High School Coral Gables Senior High School is a secondary school located at 450 Bird Road in Coral Gables, Florida. Coral Gables SHS opened its doors in 1950; its architectural design reflects a Spanish influence, with open courtyards adorned with water f ...

, it resumes commercial businesses, and has intersections with Ponce De Leon Boulevard, where the median disappears, and quickly heads towards its eastern terminus of US 1. East of State Road 976's eastern terminus, Bird Road becomes SE 40th Street/Bird Avenue as it traverses the

Coconut Grove Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...

neighborhood of

, intersecting SW 27th Avenue and ending at Aviation Avenue one block further east. West of State Road 976's western terminus, the road jogs slightly to the south to become SW 42nd Street, and known as Bird Road or Bird Drive, as it goes through a primarily residential area, with several businesses and strip malls scattered through. Bird Drive currently ends at SW 162nd Avenue, but more development continues to be built in this area and the road may be extended further west in the future.

History

SR 976

When FDOT added Bird Road to its list of state roads in 1980, it was originally designated State Road 930. Three years later the SR 930 signs were removed from the street and replaced with signs with the SR 976 designation. Bird Road was named after Reverend C.S. and Molly Piercy Bird, who had homesteaded 160 acres that includes the current Biltmore Golf Course. Bird Road evolved from the trail C.S. Bird had blazed from Miami to his homestead.

Major intersections

References

{{Greater Miami Roads in Miami-Dade County, Florida