How boutcha, @runkpanole
www.bbc.com
So in 1885, Flagler connected a series of disjointed railroads along Florida's Atlantic Coast from Jacksonville, at Florida's northern end, to Miami, near the state's southern tip. Miami should have been the end of the line, but when the US began construction on the Panama Canal in 1904, Flagler saw tremendous potential for Key West – the US' closest piece of land to the Canal and the deepest port in the Southeast US. The bustling hub was already flourishing thanks to the cigar, sponging and fishing industries (Key West was Florida's largest city until 1900), but the island's remote location made it difficult and expensive to move goods north.
Therefore, Flagler decided to extend his track 156 miles south to Key West, mostly over open sea. This so-called Key West Extension was considered impossible by many of his contemporaries, and his vision was labelled "Flagler's Folly" by his critics. Between 1905 and 1912, three hurricanes battered the construction site, killing more than 100 workers. Undeterred, Flagler pushed ahead. It took seven years; $50m ($1.56bn today); and 4,000 African American, Bahamian and European immigrants to build the railroad – all of whom had to contend with alligators, scorpions and snakes as they toiled in harsh conditions.
The Overseas Highway: The US' 'floating' highway
Stretching 113 miles into the open ocean, this engineering marvel linked the far-flung Florida Keys to the mainland and forever changed Florida.
www.bbc.com
So in 1885, Flagler connected a series of disjointed railroads along Florida's Atlantic Coast from Jacksonville, at Florida's northern end, to Miami, near the state's southern tip. Miami should have been the end of the line, but when the US began construction on the Panama Canal in 1904, Flagler saw tremendous potential for Key West – the US' closest piece of land to the Canal and the deepest port in the Southeast US. The bustling hub was already flourishing thanks to the cigar, sponging and fishing industries (Key West was Florida's largest city until 1900), but the island's remote location made it difficult and expensive to move goods north.
Therefore, Flagler decided to extend his track 156 miles south to Key West, mostly over open sea. This so-called Key West Extension was considered impossible by many of his contemporaries, and his vision was labelled "Flagler's Folly" by his critics. Between 1905 and 1912, three hurricanes battered the construction site, killing more than 100 workers. Undeterred, Flagler pushed ahead. It took seven years; $50m ($1.56bn today); and 4,000 African American, Bahamian and European immigrants to build the railroad – all of whom had to contend with alligators, scorpions and snakes as they toiled in harsh conditions.
