TALLAHASSEE, Fla — A Florida state senator has filed a bill to rename Tamiami Trail, part of U.S. Highway 41, to Gulf of America Trail.
The bill was filed by State Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, and would rename the portion of U.S. 41 between S.R. 60 and U.S. 1 in Miami-Dade, Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, and Hillsborough Counties to "Gulf of America Trail."
The Tamiami Trail gets it's name from the two cities it connects, Tampa and Miami, and in the early 20th century the idea to cut through the Everglades was quite a feat.
According to Florida Seminole Tourism,The Trail has a rich history, that started with the President of The Chamber of Commerce in Fort Myers and the President in Miami. They wanted to connect their cities.
"There were no roads bisecting the Everglades, and the sheet flow was a free moving body of water. Lake Okeechobee was almost twice the size it is today. In the wet season, water flowed down the peninsula from Lake Okeechobee in a slow moving river. Since Florida is almost entirely flat, the driest portions were hammocks dotted among swamp and sawgrass. Traversing Florida was difficult, dangerous, and not for the faint of heart. Conversations between movers and shakers in Miami, Tampa, and Fort Myers began to envision a connecting highway that would cut through the swamp."
In addition to the renaming of the trail, the bill would require state agencies to update geographic materials to reflect the Gulf of America. The action comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
Under the bill, district school boards and charter school governing boards will also have to adopt and acquire materials and collections that reflect the name change.
President Trump first mentioned the name change back in January during a press conference. Since then, multiple elected officials like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have backed the order. Google announced that it would comply with the order by updating Google Maps to show the Gulf of America.
