Florida State Road 878

State Road 878 (SR 878), named the Snapper Creek Expressway or the Snapper Creek Tollway for its entire length, is a 2.7-mile-long (4.3 km) east–west electronic toll road south of Miami, Florida. The expressway is named for the nearby Snapper Creek which runs parallel to SR 878. It acts as a spur route of the Don Shula Expressway (SR 874), providing access to U.S. Route 1 (US 1) near South Miami and local access to the eastern Kendall area while bypassing the Dadeland district. The road is maintained and tolled by the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX).

State Road 878
Snapper Creek Expressway
Snapper Creek Tollway
SR 878 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDX
Length2.658 mi[1] (4.278 km)
Additional length of westbound lanes: 0.460 miles (0.740 km)[2]
Existed1980–present
Major junctions
West end SR 874 in Kendall
East end US 1 near South Miami
Location
CountiesMiami-Dade
Highway system
← SR 876→ SR 880

Route description
The MetroPath footbridge marks the entrance to SR 878 at its eastern terminus at US 1, near South Miami.

SR 878's western terminus is integrated into the Don Shula Expressway's interchange with Kendall Drive (SR 94) across the boundary of the Kendall and Sunset districts.[3] Motorists entering the Don Shula Expressway northbound from Kendall Drive are given the option of continuing onto SR 874 via a flyover, or else merging into the traffic leaving SR 874 for the Snapper Creek Expressway, which then heads under the Kendall Drive–Don Shula Expressway flyover. The westbound lanes of SR 878, however, pass over SR 874's mainline, and are then given an exclusive carriageway beside the southbound lanes for 0.46 miles (0.74 km), before merging into SR 874 just north of the Kendall Drive overpass. Southbound motorists from the Don Shula Expressway wishing to exit to Kendall Drive merge into this carriageway before leaving for SR 94 with those vehicles originating from the Snapper Creek Expressway.[2] There is no direct connection for southbound motorists on SR 874 to head east on SR 878; likewise, westbound motorists on SR 878 cannot head north along SR 874 directly.[4]

From here, SR 878 heads predominantly eastwards as a four-lane-wide expressway through residential neighborhoods for the remainder of its length, generally lying 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of Kendall Drive. After approximately 0.4 miles (0.64 km), the Snapper Creek Expressway passes through the 87th Avenue toll gantry.[4][5] It then meets Galloway Road (SR 973) shortly afterwards with a diamond interchange. The expressway then enters Glenvar Heights once it crosses SR 973 and remains in that district for the rest of its duration.[3][6] Just before passing over the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) without an interchange (approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Galloway Road), SR 878 meets its second and final toll gantry.[1][5]

About 0.3 miles (0.48 km) east of the Palmetto Expressway, SR 878 has a partial diamond interchange with Southwest 72nd Avenue, which only allows westbound entry to and eastbound exit from the Snapper Creek Expressway. Immediately afterwards, SR 878 turns to the southeast and prepares to meet its eastern terminus at the South Dixie Highway (US 1) at a surface intersection 0.6 miles (0.97 km) later, passing under the Metrorail line and associated MetroPath just before doing so. Traffic heading south along US 1 from eastbound SR 878 moves into a slip lane, while that wishing to head north along US 1 enters it at an oblique angle, aided by traffic signals. The only access onto SR 878 westbound from US 1 is for southbound traffic; motorists heading north along US 1 are guided to SR 878 by signage along Southwest 67th Avenue and Southwest 80th Street.[1][4][7]

Tolls

SR 878's tolls are entirely electronic: cash cannot be accepted along its length. Payment is done either via SunPass transponders or via toll-by-plate billing, the latter of which attracts a higher cost. Two toll gantries are located along the Snapper Creek Expressway, the first between the Don Shula Expressway and Galloway Road, and the second between Galloway Road and Southwest 72nd Avenue. The relationship between the tolling points and interchanges along SR 878 and SR 874 is that all motorists are charged at least one toll for using the road; there are no "free sections".[8] As of July 1, 2013, the cost for a two-axle vehicle to travel the entire length of the Snapper Creek Expressway is $0.50 with a SunPass transponder, or $1.00 via the toll-by-plate program. Each additional axle on a vehicle attracts an extra $0.25 via SunPass or $0.50 via toll-by-plate for each toll gantry passed.[5]

History

Planning by Dade County for a road named the "Snapper Creek Expressway" was underway as early as 1958, with a final completion date set as late as 1975.[9] Funding for SR 878's construction was made available in 1971 by the Florida Department of Transportation as part of plans to construct the Snapper Creek Expressway along with the South Dade Expressway (now known as the Don Shula Expressway) and the West Dade Expressway (now known as the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike), with an expected completion date of early 1973.[10] Construction was halted in 1974 due to money issued from county bonds for expressway building running out, and the road was left partially completed;[11] however, $8 million in federal emergency funds was directed to completing the expressway in late 1977.[12] The Snapper Creek Expressway, designated SR 878, finally opened in early 1980, with the Southwest 72nd Avenue interchange opening a few weeks later.[11]

No tolls were collected along SR 878, in line with the road's original plans,[13] until MDX's initial roll-out of open road tolling from late 2009 to mid-2010 on its road network.[14] Tolling along the Snapper Creek Expressway began on July 17, 2010. The move to toll the Snapper Creek Expressway angered local residents, but was tempered by MDX's move to investigate toll rebates.[15] Initially, tolls were $0.25 for SunPass users, with a $0.15 surcharge for motorists using the toll-by-plate system.[8] The toll-by-plate rate increased by ten cents on July 1, 2013, to $0.50 per toll gantry passed, while the SunPass rate was unaffected.[5]

Exit list

The entire route is in Miami-Dade County. [16]All exits are unnumbered.

Location[16]mi[1][2][4][17]kmDestinationsNotes
Kendall0.0000.000 SR 874 south to Florida's Turnpike Extension south
0.0000.000 SR 94 (Kendall Drive / Southwest 88th Street)Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; other movements from SR 874
Sunset0.30.48Toll gantry
Sunset–Glenvar Heights line0.6771.090 SR 973 (Southwest 87th Avenue / Galloway Road)
Glenvar Heights1.62.6Toll gantry
2.2183.570Southwest 72nd AvenueEastbound exit and westbound entrance
2.6584.278 US 1 (Pinecrest Parkway / Dixie Highway) – South MiamiNo left turn from US 1 north to SR 878 west
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also
  •  U.S. Roads portal
  •  Florida portal

References
  1. District 6 (August 4, 2010). "Straight Line Diagram of Road Inventory". Florida Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  2. District 6 (September 17, 2007). "Straight Line Diagram of Road Inventory". Florida Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  3. P.L. 94-171 County Block Map (2010 Census): Miami-Dade County, FL (PDF) (Map). Cartography by Geography Division. U.S. Census Bureau. January 7, 2011. Sheet 85. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  4. Google (September 20, 2013). "Map of State Road 878" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  5. "Toll Rate Schedule" (PDF). Miami-Dade Expressway Authority. July 1, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  6. P.L. 94-171 County Block Map (2010 Census): Miami-Dade County, FL (PDF) (Map). Cartography by Geography Division. U.S. Census Bureau. January 7, 2011. Sheet 86. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  7. General Highway Map Miami-Dade County, Florida (PDF) (Map) (May 2010 ed.). Cartography by Surveying and Mapping Office, State of Florida, Department of Transportation. Florida Department of Transportation. April 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  8. "Welcome to Open Road Tolling: SR 874 Don Shula Expressway & SR 878 Snapper Creek Expressway" (PDF). Miami-Dade Expressway Authority. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  9. Einstein, Paul (February 7, 1958). "Dade Maps 17-Year Road Program at Cost of 358 Million". The Miami News (Final Home ed.). p. 1A. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  10. Holland, Dick (June 30, 1971). "X-Ways top list for funds". The Miami News (Afternoon ed.). p. 5A. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  11. Williams, Verne (March 19, 1980). "Snapper Creek: U.S. 1-South Dade connection finally open". The Miami News (Metropolitan ed.). p. 5A. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  12. "Aqueduct won't suffer". The Miami News (Metropolitan ed.). November 10, 1977. p. 5A. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  13. Morton Lucoff (June 17, 1970). "State bonds, 2 tolls okayed as x-ways plans cemented". The Miami News (Final ed.). p. 5A. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  14. "Schedule 09/10 | Miami-Dade Expressway ORT". Miami-Dade Expressway Authority. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  15. Chardy, Alfonso (July 15, 2010). "Don Shula, Snapper Creek expressways to get electronic toll collection" (PDF). The Miami Herald. Miami-Dade Expressway Authority. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  16. P.L. 94-171 County Block Map (2010 Census): Miami-Dade County, FL (PDF) (Map). Cartography by U.S. Census Bureau Geography Division. U.S. Census Bureau. January 7, 2011. Index Sheet. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  17. Hatcher, Tina (November 24, 2008). "Florida Department of Transportation Interchange Report" (PDF). Florida Department of Transportation. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 8, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2009.

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  • SR 878 in Florida at SouthEastRoads
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