Second Route
On June 5, 1941, the present day alignment of SR 520 opened with a single wider lane in each direction. Two draw bridges, one on each river, and a few relief bridges made up the causeway. The original wooden bridges were torn up shortly afterwards. Today, the name Banana River Bridge refers to the eastern causeway of the Emory L. Bennett Causeway, a part of SR 528.
Traffic problems were growing worse in the 1960s, and the county appealed to then Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey for relief. Vice President spoke to NASA and the U.S. Air Force and they agreed to help fund the widening. On August 16, 1962, the road widening was completed. Less than six years later the Hubert H. Humphrey Bridge was dedicated by Hubert H. Humphrey on March 1, 1968.
At nearly the same time there were proposals for additional bridges in the area. Cocoa Avenue (now Minuteman Causeway) was proposed to cross to Merritt Island over the Minuteman Causeway. Its route would have taken it along the old Banana River Bridge. The idea was formally denied on February 26, 1970 by the State of Florida.
Widening projects continue, and the eastern draw bridge has been removed from the causeway.
Read more about this topic: Merritt Island Causeway
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