Transportation in Brevard County, Florida

Regular, scheduled, commercial airline service is provided from Brevard County by the Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne. The airport serves about half a million people annually. It is served by Delta Airlines and several regional airlines. No tax money is used to fund operations. The airport owns, develops and rents lands adjacent to the airport, many for non-aviation related purposes.

Space Coast Area Transit is a government-subsized bus system serving the County area. Besides providing routine transportation, low cost service is available to disabled and disadvantaged citizens.

Barges can be an inexpensive form of transporting goods in Brevard. Important to NASA, since the barge canals connect the Michaud Works in Louisiana which works on the Shuttle's External Fuel Tanks and then transports them to the Space Center. Barges are usable the length of Brevard in the inland waterway. Among other uses, barges are employed for very heavy lifting where road transport would be impossible because of the total weight involved.

Major Highways

Extending all the way from the northern boundary with Volusia County to the southern boundary with Indian River County is the major expressway Interstate 95, which links all cities in Brevard County with each other, and with Daytona Beach to the north, and Vero Beach to the south. Extending westward from downtown Melbourne is the major highway US Rte-192, providing access to Osceola County.

Motorists drove convert|7720000|mi across the county in 1997-98. They drove convert|8200000|mi in 2007-08. During the same time, traffic on I-95 and SR 528 rose 55%: from convert|2940000|mi to convert|4560000|mi. [ [http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080912/NEWS01/809120323/1006/news01&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL] retrieved September 12, 2008]

Travelocity.com named route A1A which runs along the Brevard shore as the "Best Driving Route" in Florida.

See State Roads in Florida for explanation of numbering system.
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* ** - "New Haven Avenue" with a few blocks in old downtown Melbourne called "Strawbridge Avenue"
* SR A1A*
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* - Babcock Street
* - NASA Boulevard
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* *, access to Orange County

* Signifies that the road is almost always called by its number locally.

** Signifies that the road is often called by its number by locals.

Nearly all other routes are referenced locally by name, not its number

Bridges

Seven bridges cross the Indian River Lagoon providing clearances for boat traffic using the Intracoastal Waterway, and five bridges provide access to the Banana River Lagoon.

Five bridges connect the mainland to Merritt Island, Florida.
*A. Max Brewer Memorial Parkway (CR 402)
*NASA Causeway (West) (SR 405)
*Emory L. Bennett Causeway (SR 528/SR A1A)
*Hubert H. Humphrey Bridge (Merritt Island Causeway)) (SR 520)
*Pineda Bridge (Pineda Causeway) (SR 404)

Two bridges connect the mainland to the barrier island:
*Dr. W. J. Creel Bridge (Eau Gallie Causeway) (SR 518)
*Ernest Kouwen-Hoven Bridge (Melbourne Causeway) (US 192)/(SR 500)

Five bridges connect Merritt Island, Florida to the barrier island:
*NASA Parkway (East) (SR 405)
*Banana River Bridge (Emory L. Bennett Causeway) (SR 528/SR A1A)
*Willard Peebles Bridge (Merritt Island Causeway) (SR 520)
*Banana River Bridge (Pineda Causeway) (SR 404)
*Mathers Bridge

Rail Lines

The Florida East Coast Railway runs through the county. There are 146 railroad crossings. 41 of these were given a low safety rating by the Florida Department of Transportation. These low ratings may result in the allocation of public funds for upgrades. [cite book | author = Basu, Rebecca |title = Low ratings could generate funding for upgrades | publisher = Florida Today | year = April 29, 2008]

Footnotes