Florida State Road 786
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGA Boulevard | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by FDOT | ||||
| Length: | 8.647 mi[1] (13.916 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: |
 SR 710 in Palm Beach Gardens | |||
| East end: |
  US 1 / SR A1A in Palm Beach Gardens | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Palm Beach | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
State Road 786 (SR 786), locally known as PGA Boulevard, is an 8.62-mile-long east–west highway which is completely within the city limits of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and serves as the major east-west route in the city. It spans from Bee Line Highway to U.S. Route 1/SR A1A.
Route description
The western terminus is an intersection with Bee Line Highway (SR 710) near North Palm Beach County General Aviation Airport at the Palm Beach Gardens city limits. It begins as a two lane road through undeveloped sections of Palm Beach Gardens, with the first development on the road occurring after a canal crossing two miles from the western terminus and becomes a four lane road. The road then creates the border between two major golf country clubs, with the Country Club at Mirasol to the north and the PGA National Golf Club, where PGA Blvd. receives its name, to the south. Following the Avenue of Champions/Jog Road intersection, SR 786 reaches the intersection with Florida's Turnpike, with an overpass with the toll road just east of it. To the east of the Turnpike, PGA Blvd. borders the Ballenisles Country Club to the south, and other residential communities to the north, and quickly transitions to a commercial road, with a shopping center on both sides of the road heading closer to Military Trail.[2][3]
After this interchange, PGA Blvd. moves to the northeast and quickly approaches the interchange with I-95, an overpass with State Road 811 and access via a side road. Afterwards, the road heads straight east and forms the southern boundary of The Gardens Mall, with other shopping centers on the southern side of the road. At the southeast end of the mall, the southern side of PGA Blvd. forms the northern border of the Palm Beach State College Palm Beach Gardens campus until an intersection with Prosperity Farms Road. Afterwards, the road passes through a drawbridge over a canal before reaching the eastern terminus at the intersection with Federal Highway (US 1-SR 5) and SR A1A. East of US 1, PGA Boulevard becomes Ocean Boulevard and SR A1A, which continue along a barrier island of the Atlantic Ocean and pass through John D. MacArthur Beach State Park.[2][3]
History
From 1973 until 1987, SR 786 served as the temporary northern terminus of Interstate 95 (SR 9) in southeastern Florida, when a previously approved alignment in which I-95 would be cosigned with Florida's Turnpike (SR 91) for a 41 mile stretch from PGA Blvd. northbound to SR 70 in Fort Pierce was rescinded in favor of a separate alignment for I-95[4][5][6][7] The portion of I-95 north of PGA Blvd. was completed in 1987.[8] Since then, PGA Boulevard has become an important commercial and commuter route due to the rapid population growth in northeastern Palm Beach County.[9]
Major intersections
The entire route is in Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach County.
| mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.000 | 0.000 | SR 710 (Beeline Highway) – Indiantown, Okeechobee | |||
| 4.129 | 6.645 |  Turnpike (SR 91) – Orlando, Miami | Turnpike exit 109 | ||
| 5.778 | 9.299 |   SR 809 south / CR 809 north (Military Trail) | |||
| 6.02 | 9.69 |   I-95 (SR 9) – Daytona Beach, West Palm Beach, Miami, Airport | I-95 exit 79 | ||
| 6.5 | 10.5 |  SR 811 (Alternate A1A) | interchange | ||
| 8.273– 8.345 | 13.314– 13.430 | PGA Boulevard Bridge over Lake Worth Creek (Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway) | |||
| 8.647 | 13.916 | US 1 (Federal Highway / SR 5) / SR A1A south (Jack Nicklaus Drive) | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
- 1 2 FDOT straight line diagrams, accessed March 2014
- 1 2 Map of State Road 786 (Map). MapQuest, Inc. 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
- 1 2 Municipalities of Palm Beach County, Florida (PDF) (Map). Cartography by Palm Beach County GIS. Palm Beach County, Florida. 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ↑ "Squabbles unnecessary". Boca Raton News 10 May 1973: 4A
- ↑ "Free Roads Vs. Toll: A Secret Stall?" St. Petersburg Times 21 Apr 1963: 1D
- ↑ "Toll-Free I-95 In State Still A Long Way Off". St. Petersburg Times 11 Nov 1967: 3B. Retrieved 11 Aug 2009.
- ↑ "I-95 'Missing Link' Okayed". Lakeland Ledger 19 Apr 1973: 4A
- ↑ "Gap In I-95 To Close Saturday". Miami Herald 13 Dec 1987: 1A
- ↑ Capozzi, Joe (2 September 1997). "Transformation of PGA Boulevard". The Palm Beach Post.