By Bob Davidsson
Highway U.S. 27, the westernmost federal north-south route in Palm Beach County, is a roadway with many acquired names, leading its drivers on journey through the unique transportation history of Florida.
During its 84-year history, U.S. 27 (also designated SR 25) earned the nicknames of the "Backbone of Florida," the "Sugarland Highway," "Bloody 27" and the "Claude Pepper Memorial Highway."
For two generations, until the completion of Florida's interstate highway grid and the opening of the Florida Turnpike as the Sunshine State Parkway, U.S. 27 was the main 1,373-mile gateway for trucking and the tourism industry connecting the Midwest to destinations within the Sunshine State.
U.S. 27 begins in Fort Wayne, Ind., and meanders south through Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia. The highway first entered Florida in 1934 at the sleepy village of Havana in Gadsden County, located a few miles northwest of Tallahassee.
By 1947, U.S. 27 was extended 481 miles to its final destination in Miami, where it links with highway U.S. 1 at North 36th Street, just south of "Little Havana". As a result of the common names at its Florida entry point and terminus, U.S. 27 acquired yet another moniker - the "Havana to Little Havana Highway."
Due to the importance of the highway for tourism in the mid-20th century, and its use as the backbone of the state's transportation system, promoters began referring to U.S. 27 as the "Backbone of Florida." The name is an appropriate geographic description since it crosses the heartland of state in central Florida.
U.S. 27 passes along the western shore of Lake Okeechobee in Glades and Hendry counties, where it briefly merges with SR 80 as it enters Palm Beach County near the City of South Bay. The federal highway parts company with SR 80 east of South Bay and heads due south through miles of sugarcane fields.
A sugarcane crop valued at about $1.5 billion annually is transported on U.S. 27 in Palm Beach and Hendry counties. Many growers in the agricultural industry began calling it the "Sugarland Highway" due to its economic importance to the region.
After entering the sugar harvesting center of Okeelanta in central Palm Beach County, U.S. 27 veers southeast toward Broward County. When it crosses the county line, the highway enters the Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area wetlands.
As it departs the conservation area, the U.S. 27 skirts the western edge of endless miles of generic urban sprawl in southern Broward and Miami-Dade counties before turning east near Miami's international airport to its intersection with U.S. 1.
Shortly after the death of former U.S. Senator and Congressman Claude Pepper, the Florida Legislature voted to honor the veteran Miami lawmaker by designating U.S. 27 as the "Claude Pepper Memorial Highway" on May 12, 1999.
The session law (CS/HB 75) states, "U.S. Highway 27 in the State of Florida is hereby designated 'Claude Pepper Memorial Highway'. The Department (of Transportation) is authorized to determine appropriate intervals along U.S. 27 for the location of markers so as to inform the public of the designation."
The Legislature also designated the entire length of U.S. 27 as the "Purple Heart Highway," with an effective date of July 1, 2010.
Because U.S. 27 was the first roadway to be four-laned along most of its route in Florida, it also earned the unofficial title of "Florida's First Superhighway". However, over the decades one section of the so-called "Superhighway" earned a more deadly reputation in Palm Beach County as "Bloody 27".
The Deadly Legacy of 'Bloody 27"
At 5:55 a.m. March 17, 2015, Carolina Ortiz was driving her three teenage children to their school in Miami-Dade County. Six miles south of the City of South Bay, she encountered a detached truck trailer which had separated after departing from an Okeelanta sugar mill. It loomed out of the early morning darkness and fog in her lane of traffic.
While attempting to avoid the obstacle, her Ford Focus was hit by a pickup truck and oncoming tracker-trailer. Mrs. Ortiz and her three children were killed.
This sad narrative, and hundreds like it, have earned highway U.S. 27 the notorious nickname of "Bloody 27".
Nature, agriculture and a heavily used trucking route have conspired to make this 22-mile stretch of highway in western Palm Beach County one of the most dangerous roads in America. Early morning fog, mixed with haze from burning sugarcane fields, and numerous access roads for farm vehicles have proven a deadly combination for motorists.
The speed limits on U.S. 27 vary from 30 to 65 miles per hour. Recent studies conclude most accidents occurring on U.S. 27 are caused by drivers who are careless and inattentive when entering the highway. Statistics reveal right-of-way violations account for the vast majority of serious or fatal wrecks.
Adding to this bad news was a 2017 Geotab study, released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), ranking U.S. 27 in Florida as the third deadliest highway in America. The findings recorded 529 fatal crashes with 614 deaths, or a fatality rate of 2.16 deaths per million vehicles.
In April 2017 newspapers across the state and nation trumpeted the grim statistics in their headlines. Forbes magazine, for example, published an article featured U.S. 27 entitled "Death Tolling: The Most Dangerous Highways in America."
The NHTSA study concluded that an estimated 10 percent of fatal accidents and 17 percent of all crashes were caused by "distracted driving".
U.S. 27: A New Highway of Hope
The main line of the Florida Turnpike was completed in stages from Wildwood to Miami in July 1964. The turnpike merged with I-75 north of Wildwood in central Florida, with I-4, I-10 and I-95 added to the interstate network about a decade later.
The completion of the interstate network ended the reign of U.S. 27 as the state's main tourism access highway. U.S. 27 primarily became a road for local and regional transit, trucking and business. Trucks make up 42 percent of the vehicles using U.S. 27 in Palm Beach County.
In a May 2015 report to the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Trucking Association stated, "As a connection to many regions of the state, and as an alternative to the heavily used interstate system, U.S. 27 is vital to Florida's trucking industry."
The trucking industry in Florida provided 333,680 jobs in 2016, or one out of every 22 in the state. Industry wages paid in Florida exceeded $15.3 billion. There were 37,270 trucking companies located in Florida during 2017, most of them locally operated. Four trucking lines are currently serving South Bay. (Source: ATRI)
The Glades communities of South Bay, Belle Glade and Pahokee in Palm Beach County have long sought an economic boost to supplement agriculture, sports fishing and Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail (LOST) tourism. An enhanced and expanded U.S. 27 may provide the answer.
A "U.S. 27 Highway Corridor Project" outline was introduced April 21, 2017 by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC). Among its objectives, the plan calls for upgrading and widening U.S. 27 to six lanes for the 72-mile section between South Bay and Miami.
A corresponding "rail bypass line" would be built to handle 15 to 22 freight trains daily, providing an alternative for haulers from the Florida East Coast railway which is committed to increasing passenger service with Brightline.
While unveiling of the project before the Port of Palm Beach Commission, TCRPC Executive Director Michael Busha said, "I believe it unlocks the potential the Glades have been looking for..."
In essence, the $1.25 billion plan would transform the Glades communities into an intermodal transit hub for business and agriculture between Miami and the Palm Beaches. However, as with many visionary projects, the main barrier is funding.
Whatever the future holds for U.S. 27, the highway with many names will continue to be the backbone of the state's transportation history.
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(c.) Davidsson. 2018.
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