The Best Highway
Highways are an important part of our daily lives. Whether we use them to commute to school or work or for occasional trips, highways are the paths that lead to the key locations in our lives. In the United States particularly, as automobiles are the primary means of transportation, highways are crucial to the lives of citizens.
What exactly makes a good highway, one might ask. Here are some primary criteria that can decide whether a highway is excellent or bad:
● Traffic. A clogged highway produces frequent delays for commuters.
● Accessibility. Is the highway close to crucial locations?
● Length. More highway allows more places one can go.
● Scenery. Beautiful natural scenes are obviously more appealing than city
smoke.
● Traffic lights. These nuisances often put countless delays into a drive.
However, they do make a road more accessible.
● Tolls. No one wants to pay to drive on a road, but sometimes toll roads can
be better.
With these in mind, we can compare Florida’s highway system.
I often take the Bee-Line Highway (SR 710) to school. It does not have many traffic lights, and it intersects with a lot of major roads, such as Northlake Boulevard. It has easy access to the Turnpike via Jog Road, and ends at Blue
Heron Boulevard (SR 708) which provides access to Interstate 95. Traffic is light, and the scenery is breathtaking. The highway is not tolled.
Other highways are similar to Bee-Line Highway. Military Trail and US 1 both intersect with major roads, are not tolled, and have easy access to large parts of cities. This type of highway is probably the most ideal. Smaller roads like A1A are easier to clog, and huge highways like Interstate 95 are often congested, especially the farther south one gets.
Other highways of this ideal type are Martin Highway (CR 714), US 441, and Pratt & Whitney Road (CR 711). So this narrows our field to 6 highways, probably the best in all Florida.
Pratt & Whitney Road is the shortest of our highways. It extends from Bee-Line Highway near Pratt & Whitney engines headquarters to Kanner Highway (SR 76) west of Stuart. This is about 25 miles of very pristine highway – it is bordered by several state and local parks, such as the Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area. Mostly, the road is used as a detour from Interstate 95 when it is too heavily trafficked or for Pratt & Whitney employees or trucks travelling to and from the plant. Despite its good features, Pratt & Whitney scores very low on accessibility, so it is not first place.
Martin Highway has similar strengths. It has a 12-mile portion, known as “The Grade” which was not paved until the 1990s and is shaded by a tunnel of native trees. The highway extends all the way from the eastern tip of Stuart to Bee-Line Highway near Okeechobee. Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike both
have exits for it. It is completely within Martin County. Many consider it the most beautiful road in South Florida. However, it likewise scores low on accessibility, though higher than Pratt & Whitney. Still, I recommend it for travelling to Okeechobee.
Military Trail is the definitive Florida road. It goes all the way from Miami to Indiantown Road in Jupiter. The trail was first carved by U.S. Army soldiers in the Second Seminole War. It goes through many important urban areas, especially in Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens. While it has many traffic lights, congestion is typical. The scenery is urban. While accessibility is extremely high, it does not go very far north and bland scenery does not help. Still, stop by Battlefield Park off Indiantown Road to learn more about the Seminole Wars.
US 441 is one of the three roads in strongest contention for the crown. It is the quintessential road of the American West. It begins in Pequena Habana in Miami and goes all the way to Tennessee. In Florida, it passes through all the wild areas. After shadowing the Turnpike from Miami to West Palm Beach, it intersects with US 98 (not included in our contest as it is an east-west road), and heads west. It goes to the shore of Lake Okeechobee, heads north through the town of Okeechobee, and meets SR 60 in Yeehaw Junction, continuing north through Orlando and north through Georgia and Tennessee where it meets the famed Blue Ridge Parkway. It is scenic, accessible (especially in the south), travels a long distance, and is not tolled. While nearly perfect, there are other comparable roads.
Everyone knows the Bee-Line Highway. Known for being perfectly straight from the end of Blue Heron Boulevard all the way to Okeechobee (except for one minor bend near the entrance to Pratt & Whitney), it is considered one of the best highways in Florida by many. It has access to almost everything: Interstate 95, the Turnpike, airports, Northlake Boulevard, Jog Road, Indiantown Road, Pratt & Whitney headquarters, and the farms of Okeechobee. While not going out of state, it is long enough to offer access to dozens of locations. Along with Pratt & Whitney, it is a helpful auxiliary if Interstate 95 or the Turnpike is clogged around Indiantown Road or PGA Boulevard. Obviously, it is a crucial road for those who live along its route or in Okeechobee. While even more perfect than US 441, there is one road than crowns all.
US 1, the Federal Highway, is the definition of the ultimate highway. It goes from Canada to Key West; goes through every city centre of the Florida East Coast; is a haven for cyclists and pedestrians, as there are many crosswalks and speeds are relatively slow; and even scenery is good. In Palm Beach County, there are many important locations people need to access, and many of them are along US 1. In Martin County, this is even more true, as development is almost completely limited to the highway and a few other roads. The scenery is also good, with views of the Intercoastal Waterway and even barrier islands in some places. Further south, US 1 becomes the famed Overseas Highway, following the route of Flagler’s Overseas Railroad (now defunct) along the Keys from Key Largo
to Key West. The famed Seven Mile Bridge is a part of the Overseas Highway. It is difficult to think of a superior highway anywhere in the world.
In the end, the winner is the obvious. US 1 is a road like no other. It is definitively the greatest road in the world, or at least Florida. Still, US 441 and the Bee-Line Highway are still some of the greatest.
Thank you for reading to the end, and enjoy your journey along Florida’s
