This Iconic Florida Bridge Is Somehow Even More Terrifying Than It Is Beautiful

The United States has an abundance of engineering marvels. Over the centuries, visionaries have reversed the flow of rivers, blasted the faces of presidents into mountains with dynamite, transformed the skyline of cities with towering steel buildings, connected vast bodies of water with canals, and worked out the hair-raising logistics of putting humans on the surface of the moon. Projects like these require a ton of money, a huge labor force, and an unerring desire to bend history to your will. 82-year-old magnate Henry Flagler had employed all three when he stepped off his private carriage at Key West in 1912 to celebrate his "eighth wonder of the world," a 156-mile stretch of railway connecting the Florida Keys with Miami. The showpiece was, and still is, the Seven Mile Bridge, a route of incredible scenic beauty matched by a reputation as one of the most terrifying bridges in the world.

A motorist approaching the bridge is faced with a daunting prospect. Leaving dry land at Knights Key in Marathon, the roadway soars across open water on 265 piers until it touches down again at Little Duck Key. For almost 7 miles (6.79 Mile Bridge doesn't have the same ring), you are stuck in one narrow lane with nowhere to go in an emergency other than the sparkling turquoise sea below. Not only that, the parallel Old Seven Mile Bridge serves as a reminder of the hundreds who died in a devastating disaster almost a century ago.

Opened in 1982, the new Seven Mile Bridge strikes out with no land on either side, creating an illusion of jeopardy that concerns some motorists who fret that there is no room for error if a crisis occurs. There are also some contentious articles online claiming that hundreds of people have lost their lives and that it is one of the most lethal bridges in the country. There is little evidence to support this, and Seven Mile Bridge regularly fails to make the roster in articles about the most dangerous bridges in America.

Like any stretch of highway, however, fatal accidents have taken place on Seven Mile Bridge. In July 2022, an 85-year-old woman died after a collision with a drunk driver. In the previous year, a man was charged after he stole a pickup truck and caused a head-on crash with an ambulance. Thankfully, nobody lost their lives that day. 

A more unusual fatal accident occurred in 2022 when a boat captain cut his parasailing customers loose in stormy weather, causing them to strike the Old Seven Mile Bridge. A woman died, and her son and nephew were seriously injured in the incident. The captain was later charged with manslaughter. These are all tragic examples, but you shouldn't fear Seven Mile Bridge. Just buckle up, drive safely, and enjoy the magnificent sea views from one of the most amazing bridges around the world.

Henry Flagler died a happy man a year after seeing his vision completed, bringing the world to the far-flung islets of the Florida Keys. There is a statue of him sitting on a bench outside the Sails to Rails Museum in Key West, reclining with the air of a man who knows he has cemented his place in history. Yet, while the railway line and bridge was an extraordinary achievement, it wasn't quite as successful as its creator had hoped. 

His detractors nicknamed it "Flagler's Folly," and it became associated with death and destruction during the darkest chapter of the bridge's history. In 1935, a mammoth 200-mph Category 5 hurricane hit the Keys, killing around 600 laborers working on the rails, toppling a rescue train, and stripping the tracks from the bridge. The railway sold the bridge in the wake of the disaster, and it was converted in 1938 to carry automobiles instead. 

Today, the new Seven Mile Bridge is a real showstopper that makes for an unforgettable Florida road trip, and Flagler's original is open to the public for walking, cycling, and fishing. Both bridges have an undoubted cinematic quality, making them a spectacular location for movies like "License to Kill," "Mission Impossible III," and "2 Fast 2 Furious." Perhaps their most famous screen appearance came in James Cameron's "True Lies," with hair-raising stunts and a runaway limo scene that evoked the fears of nervous drivers who venture out across the water.