Red Road, also known as West 57th Avenue, is a main north-south street running west 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 distric ...
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 th ...
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 ...
,
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, a ...
and into
Broward County
Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 ...
. Red Road is signed as
State Road 959 from
U.S. 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, ...
to the south end of the Miami International Airport, and
State Road 823 from
U.S. 27
U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I-69) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. ...
to the Broward County line.
Route description
Southern section
The southern terminus is at South 136th Street (Howard Drive) in Gables by the Sea, with the incorporated village of
Pinecrest to the northwest corner and the city of
Coral Gables
Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248.
Coral Gables is known globally as home to the U ...
to the east and south. Red Road goes north through a residential area until it dead ends at Campamento Avenue in
Coral Gables
Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248.
Coral Gables is known globally as home to the U ...
. It resumes just south of
Old Cutler Road at the Gulliver Academy campus' west end. Red Road and Old Cutler Road are cosigned as they head north for a short distance until Old Cutler Road veers east.
Red Road continues north, skirting the east side of Pinecrest as West 57th Avenue, roughly dividing it from Coral Gables until it crosses
Kendall Drive (South 88th Street/SR 94) where it divides the city of
South Miami to the west from a plot of unincorporated
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 ...
to the east.
North of
Sunset Drive
Sunset Drive, also known as Southwest 72nd Street is a east–west arterial road traversing the southwestern suburbs of Miami, Florida, from the northwestern portions of the Kendall area to Coral Gables. A central portion of Sunset Drive is mai ...
(South 72nd Street/SR 986) it divides the city of
South Miami from Coral Gables.
State Road 959 begins at the intersection with Red Road and
US 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...
(South Dixie Highway), with SR 959 heading north, going through the southwestern end of the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, ...
campus, and then through residential areas, as it acts as the dividing line between Coral Gables to its east and
South Miami and patches of unincorporated Miami-Dade County to the west between US 1 and
SR 976 (Bird Road). North of Bird Road, Red Road continues through the residential sections of Coral Gables, and enters the residential areas of West Miami, crossing
US 41
U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...
(
Tamiami Trail
The Tamiami Trail () is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90).
The north– ...
). SR 959 then enters Miami, intersecting
SR 968 (Flagler Street). North of NW 5th Street, Red Road becomes more commercial as it approaches the airport area, with a major shopping center and hotel at the intersection with NW 7th Street. SR 959 then crosses a canal and has an interchange with the
Dolphin Expressway (SR 836), with the road terminating just north of the interchange at a dead end intersection with North 12th Street/Perimeter Road, just south of the
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most co ...
runway. This is also the end of the southern segment of Red Road.
Northern section
The road continues on the north side of Miami International Airport at North 36th Street and runs through the city of
Miami Springs as Curtiss Parkway, their main north-south road, until it ends at Hunting Lodge Drive where Curtiss Parkway curves northeast.
At the northside of the
Miami Canal at
Okeechobee Road (
US 27), Red Road resumes and runs through the city of
Hialeah
Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area, whi ...
as their West 4th Avenue and signed as SR 823. It exits Hialeah when it crosses West 84th Street (Hialeah grid) or North 135th Street (Miami-Dade County grid) and again becomes Northwest 57th Avenue.
It continues north dividing the incorporated town of
Miami Lakes to the west from
Opa-locka Airport and the city of
Miami Gardens to the east until it crosses the
Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) where it continues to run north through unincorporated Miami-Dade County.
North of North 202nd Street (Honey Hill Drive) it divides Broward County and the city of
Miramar Miramar is a place name of Spanish and Portuguese origin. It means "sea-view" or "sea sight" from ''mirar'' ("to look at, to watch") and ''mar'' ("sea"). It may refer to:
Places Africa
* Miramar, Port Elizabeth, see St Dominic's Priory School
...
to the west with unincorporated Miami-Dade County to the east, until it fully enters Broward County and Miramar just south of the
Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (State Road 821).
It continues north into Broward County and Miramar for a short distance, curving northwest starting at the intersection with Miramar Parkway, and merges onto Flamingo Road.
History
When
George Merrick made plans for the layout of Coral Gables in the 1920s he intended Red Road to be the western boundary of his
planned city
A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
. The east–west
Coral Way (SR 972), the northeast-southwest South Dixie Highway (soon to be designated
US 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...
), and the north–south Ponce de Leon Boulevard were intended to be main throughways, and the
Tamiami Trail
The Tamiami Trail () is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90).
The north– ...
(soon to be part of
US 94, which would in turn be folded into
US 41
U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...
in 1949) was planned to be the northern boundary.
Red Road gets its name from the color of the mark Merrick made when he drew the road on his planning map; similarly, an east–west street was drawn in with a blue pencil and was named Blue Road.
The section of Red Road between Killian Drive and the Miami International Airport received its
FDOT
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of t ...
of SR 959 designation in 1980. Its original configuration was longer as it stretched southward to the intersection of Red Road and Southwest 111th Street (Killian Drive), where it met the eastern end of
SR 990 just outside the parking lot of the original
Parrot Jungle
Jungle Island, formerly Parrot Jungle, is a relaunched eco-adventure park on Watson Island, Miami, Florida, United States. The park is re-opened following a series of major renovations after the park incurred damage from Hurricane Irma. The park ...
, a major tourist attraction. Between 1995 and 2001, FDOT truncated several State Roads 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 ...
, and both SR 959 and SR 990 were cut back to terminate at US 1.
Major intersections
References
{{Greater Miami
Roads in Miami
Roads in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami Gardens, Florida
Coral Gables, Florida
Transportation in Hialeah, Florida