<P> The current road bridge was constructed from 1978 to 1982 . </P> <P> The vast majority of the original bridge still exists, although the swing span has been removed . The 2.2 - mile section to Pigeon Key, used as a fishing pier and long open to motorized vehicles to give access to the key, was closed to motorized traffic in 2008 after the unsupported sections began to sag . As of 2015, the section remains open to pedestrians and bicyclists . In 2014, Florida Department of Transportation approved a $77 million plan to restore the old bridge . </P> <P> The new bridge is a box - girder structure built from precast, prestressed concrete sections, comprising 440 spans . Near the center, the bridge rises in an arc to provide 65 - foot (20 m) - high clearance for boat passage . The remainder of the bridge is considerably closer to the water surface . The new bridge does not cross Pigeon Key . </P> <P> The total length of the new bridge is actually 35,862 ft (10,931 m) or 6.79 miles (10.93 km), and is shorter than the original . Each April the bridge is closed for approximately 2.5 hours on a Saturday and a "fun run," known as the Seven Mile Bridge Run, of 1,500 runners is held commemorating the Florida Keys bridge rebuilding project . The event began in 1982 to commemorate the completion of a federally funded bridge building program that replaced spans that oil tycoon Henry Flagler constructed in the early 1900s to serve as a foundation for his Overseas Railroad . </P>

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