Florida State Road 953
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It has been suggested that LeJeune Road be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2010. |
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| LeJeune Road | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by FDOT | ||||
| Length: | 11.80 mi[1] (18.99 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1983 (as SR 953) – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end: |  US 1 in Coral Gables |
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  US 41 / SR 90 in Miami SR 836 in Miami SR 112 in Miami  US 27 / SR 25 in Miami SR 924 in Opa-Locka |
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| North end: |  SR 916 in Opa-Locka |
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| Highway system | ||||
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Florida State Roads
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→State Road 953 - locally known as LeJeune Road (pronounced "Luh-JOO-n" Road), West 42nd Avenue, Southeast 8th Avenue, and East 8th Avenue - is a 11.8 miles (19.0 km) long north–south street in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and running a few miles west of central Miami. Its southern terminus is an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (South Dixie Highway) in Coral Gables near the Village of Merrick Park lifestyle center. Its northern terminus is an intersection with Florida State Road 916 (North 135th Street), 0.6 miles (0.97 km) south of the northern end of LeJeune Road at the terminal of Opa-locka Airport.
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[edit] Route description
State Road 953 begins at the interchange between LeJeune Road/W 42nd Avenue and US 1 in Coral Gables as a four lane road. It heads north, through residential areas, the eastern end of Coral Gables High School and the western end of the Village of Merrick Park mall. SR 953 intersects Bird Road and leaves the campus of Coral Gables High School, entering a pure residential area and remains that way until reaching University Drive. At that point, the east side of the road becomes commercial and the west side is residential until close to the intersection with Coral Way (Florida State Road 972). A few blocks north of Coral Way, it resumes with residential housing on the west side of the road and commercial buildings to the east, still in Coral Gables. At Zamora Avenue, SR 953 divides Coral Gables to the west with unincorporated Miami-Dade County to the east, and enters unincorporated Miami-Dade County just one block north at Mendoza Avenue, becoming purely a residential street again. At Southwest 8th Street (US 41/Tamiami Trail), LeJeune Road enters the city of Miami, and becomes a divided road, with two lanes in each direction.[1][2]
SR 953 continues north through Miami, remaining a residential street for six blocks before becoming a commercial road. It continues north through Miami as a commercial street until an interchange with the Dolphin Expressway (SR 836), where the road becomes a divider between the International Links Miami-Melreese golf course to the east and a parking lot to the west. It reenters unincorporated Miami-Dade County after crossing the Tamiami Canal just south of the entrance to Miami International Airport and its interchange with the southern terminus of the Airport Expressway (SR 112). Between SR 953's entrance of the airport and the next major interchange north, Florida State Road 948, it creates the eastern boundary of the airport, with airport related business to the east of LeJeune Road.[1][2]
Just two blocks north of SR 948, SR 953 crosses canal C-6 and crosses Okeechobee Road, entering Hialeah as their Southeast 8th Avenue and no longer a divided road. It continues north as a residential street, crossing Florida State Road 944, becoming East 8th Avenue, the easternmost major street in Hialeah, with some commercial business at East 9th Street, Florida State Road 934, East 41st Street and Florida State Road 932. North of East 57th Street, it passes by a truck distribution center to the east, and a park to the west. SR 953 then splits off to the W 42nd/37th Avenue Connection, providing nearby access to Florida State Road 924, followed by an intersection with East 65th Street at the south end of Amelia Earhart Park, leaving Hialeah and entering Opa-locka where it is again West 42nd Avenue. North of SR 924, LeJeune Road is a purely commercial road, servicing truck distribution centers as SR 953 heads towards its northern terminus of Florida State Road 916.[1][2]
North of SR 916, LeJeune Road continues for 0.6 miles (0.97 km), towards a dead-end inside Opa-locka Airport.
South of US 1, LeJeune Road continues another 1.4 miles (2.3 km) as a heavily-wooded residential Coral Gables street, ending at Cartagena Plaza (Cartagena Circle) at the edge of the Coral Gables Waterway in the city of Coral Gables, connecting with Sunset Drive/South 72nd Street, Old Cutler Road, Cocoplum Road and Ingraham Highway.
[edit] History
According to Joaquin Roy, a highly regarded professor from the University of Miami in his 1989 book "The Streets of Coral Gables"; Le Jeune Road was named after Charles Le Jeune (b.1878 in Belgium) who came to Florida around 1900 and acquired 140 acres (0.57 km2) of coral rock land on which he used dynamite to create tillable soil, and then cultivated orange, grapefruit and lime groves. The road that was the boundary of his property became known as Le Jeune Road. In 1914, Charles Le Jeune sold his groves to (George) Merrick, developer of Coral Gables, Florida, for $1,700,000. It runs adjacent to the east side and crosses the original entrance/exit to Miami International Airport.
At one point during the 1960s, the entire route was to be upgraded to freeway status, but the plans were cancelled. Several attempts to upgrade LeJeune Road around Miami International Airport have been proposed, with all of them failing.
Prior to 1983, LeJeune Road was signed as State Road 913 south of North 103rd Street (SR 932); a designation now being applied to the Rickenbacker Causeway.
[edit] Future
Construction of a connector expressway between the Airport Expressway (SR 112) and the Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) is resulting in a shifting of LeJeune Road the equivalent of one block to the west to accommodate the requirements of building Miami Central Station and the Miami Intermodal Center.
[edit] Major junctions
The entire route is in Miami-Dade County.
| Location | Mile[1] | Destinations[2] | Notes |
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| Coral Gables | 0.00 |  US 1 / SR 5 (South Dixie Highway) |
Southern terminus |
| 0.58 |  SR 976 (Bird Road) |
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| 1.59 |  SR 972 (Coral Way) |
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| Miami | 2.63 | US 41 / SR 90 (Tamiami Trail) |
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| 3.14 |  SR 968 (West Flagler Street) |
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| 4.08 | SR 836 (Dolphin Expressway) |
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| 4.75 | SR 112 (Airport Expressway) |
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| 5.69 |  SR 948 (Doral Boulevard) |
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| 5.85 | US 27 / SR 25 (Okeechobee Road) |
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| Hialeah | 6.72 |  SR 944 (Hialeah Drive) |
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| 8.25 |  SR 934 (East 25th Street) |
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| 9.78 |  SR 932 (East 49th Street) |
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| Opa-Locka | 11.01 | SR 924 (Gratigny Parkway) |
Access via the NW 42nd/37th Avenue Connection |
| 11.80 | SR 916 (Opa-Locka Boulevard) |
Northern terminus |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e MapQuest, Inc. (2009). Map of Florida State Road 953 (Map). http://mapq.st/g9zYpM. Retrieved 2011-3-18.
- ^ a b c d Florida Department of Transportation (April 2007). General Highway Map Miami-Dade County, Florida (Map). http://www.dot.state.fl.us/surveyingandmapping/geomap/mida_c.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 25°46′18″N 80°15′49″W / 25.771547°N 80.263646°W
