Monday, May 30, 2016

Old Bahia Honda Bridge in the Florida Keys











The Florida Keys are connected to the mainland by a series of bridges, and the original bridges were part of Flagler's railway project in the early 1900's. You can find references to the old railway all over the Keys, especially when driving on Flagler in Key West, or anytime you see one of the Conch tour trains roll by in old town.

Old Bahia Honda bridge still stands today, and you might notice it's the old Bahia Honda bridge in the masthead photo at the top of our blog. The current modern bridge was built around 1980, but the old bridge was put up 100 years ago when Henry Flagler brought rails down the Keys from Miami. Old Bahia Honda is probably one of the most iconic pieces of the overseas highway, so you'll see it in lots of photographs. You can walk out on a short section of the bridge if you visit Bahia Honda State Park on the north end of the bridge, or you an get a look at the disconnected span from the south end where there is a pathway and sidewalk that takes you down to the base of the modern bridge.

We often stop at the south end of the Bahia Honda bridge where Joe likes to hunt for shells and other things that wash up on the shore, but if you don't stop and walk down to the shoreline you might never see the old restroom building and exposed water pipes from the days of old route 1 before the modern bridges. If the old bridges peak your curiosity we suggest stopping at Old Seven and at Old Bahia Honda, where you'll see a few things in common from the old overseas highway. And be sure to wave if you happen to see Josh and Joe Travels!