people (25 men and 4 women). The party consisted of members of Florida county boards, the road department, as well as several native guides, most likely Seminoles. When the expedition did not arrive on time, it was speculated they had become lost and likely died which drew national attention to the expedition. Planes were sent to try and find them and parties to rescue them would be dispatched from both coasts. The expedition did end up making it to Miami. The first 11 would come to Miami 19 days after it started and the rest would come a few days later, but the expedition did lose three of their vehicles. Construction started on the east–west stretch later that year, thanks to funding from Barron Collier. In 1926, both the north–south section and the east–west stretch were designated U.S. highways. Although the Trail was intended to be one road, the two sections received two different numbers: as each section was completed, the north–south portion received US 41 signs, and the east–west stretch was designated US 94 upon completion (to comply with the route-numbering guidelines of AASHTO). In addition, both sections south of Fort Myers received the State Road 27 designation. North of Fort Myers, it was designated State Road 5. While a 1927 Rand McNally map indicated the southern terminus at Fort Myers, US 41 signs had already been erected on the completed segment (south to Naples) in late 1926; US 94 signs made their appearances when the final section was completed in April 1928. The Tamiami Trail took 13 years, cost $8 million (equivalent to $ in ), and used 2.6 million sticks of dynamite in its construction. The Tamiami Trail officially opened on April 26, 1928. To celebrate, a convoy of over 500 cars would leave out of Tampa on the morning of April 25 and arrive in Miami during the late part of the next day. US 94 Upon the completion of the Tamiami Trail, U.S. Highway 94 (US 94) extended from the intersection of Ninth Street South and Fifth Avenue South in Naples (the southern terminus of US 41) to the intersection of South Eighth Street and Brickell Avenue (US 1) in Miami. At the time it was considered a major achievement of engineering that was the only route from Naples (and, by extension, from Tampa) to the southeastern coast of Florida. In 1945, a restructuring of