The Rickenbacker Causeway is a causeway that connects Miami, Florida to the barrier islands of Virginia Key and Key Biscayne across Biscayne Bay. Background The Causeway is a toll road, owned and operated by Miami-Dade County. Automobiles traveling southbound from Miami pay a toll of US$2.25 as of 2018; northbound traffic is not charged any toll. Tolls are collected via Sunpass; C-Pass transponders or cash are no longer accepted. In July 2021, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava proposed a renovation of major parts of the causeway including replacement of the Bear Cut Bridge and improvements to cyclist safety, recreation, and sustainability as part of a public private partnership. The Village of Key Biscayne, for which the causeway is the only ingress and egress to Miami, is participating in the process. Also known as (unsigned) State Road 913 west of the toll plaza, the causeway's northbound continuation is a flyover ramp with forks to northbound Interstate 95 (unsigned SR 9A) and southbound South Dixie Highway (US 1/unsigned SR 5); the southbound continuation is Crandon Boulevard, which extends roughly five miles through the center of Key Biscayne, terminating near the Cape Florida Lighthouse in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Named after Eddie Rickenbacker, the American World War I flying ace and founder and president of Miami-based Eastern Air Lines, the causeway provides access to the Miami Seaquarium, the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, MAST Academy, Virginia Key Park, and Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key, and to Crandon Park, the Village of Key Biscayne, and Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on the island of Key Biscayne. History Talk of a bridge to Key Biscayne, inspired by the bridges connecting Miami to Miami Beach, started in 1926. The northern two-thirds of Key Biscayne was owned by William John “W.J.” Matheson, who had established a coconut plantation on the island. In February 1926 Matheson entered into an agreement with land developer D. P. Davis to develop and re-sell the northern half of Key Biscayne, including all of what is now Crandon Park and about half of the present Village of Key Biscayne. Later in 1926 the City of Coral Gables incorporated with Key Biscayne included in its boundaries. There were dreams of a bridge to the island, making Key Biscayne the seaside resort for Coral Gables that Miami Beach had become for Miami. Obstacles to the project soon