State Road 976, locally known as Bird Road, is a commercially important route extending westward from U.S. Route 1 (SR 5

State Road 5 (Florida)

State Road 5 is a mostly-unsigned state highway in the state of Florida. It is mainly signed as U.S. Route 1 from its south end in Key West, Florida to Jacksonville, Florida, and U.S. Route 17 from Jacksonville to the Georgia state line at the Saint Marys River. U.S...

) in Miami to the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike

Florida's Turnpike

Florida's Turnpike , designated as the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, and originally known as the Sunshine State Parkway is a north–south toll road that runs through 11 counties in the Florida peninsula, from U.S...

 (SR 821) in Westwood Lakes

Westwood Lakes, Florida

Westwood Lakes is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,838 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Westwood Lakes is located at ....

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. Its length is a subject for debate as there is no definitive indication as to the exact location of its western terminus and there is no SR 976 signage east of West 37th Avenue (Douglas Road) in Miami. According to the Florida Department of Transportation

Florida Department of Transportation

The Florida Department of Transportation is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of the Florida State Road Department...

, the length is approximately eight miles.

Route description

With small pockets of exceptions (and also excluding the section between Red Road

State Road 959 (Florida)

State Road 959, known locally as Red Road and NW/SW 57th Avenue, is a 5-mile-long, north–south street connecting U.S. Route 1 at the boundary between Coral Gables and South Miami, Florida, and the Dolphin Expressway just south of Miami International Airport...

 and LeJeune Road

State Road 953 (Florida)

State Road 953 - locally known as LeJeune Road , West 42nd Avenue, Southeast 8th Avenue, and East 8th Avenue - is a long north–south street in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and running a few miles west of central Miami. Its southern terminus is an intersection with U.S. Route 1 in Coral...

 in Coral Gables), State Road 976 is exclusively commercial, from the various strip malls, to a block of vintage stores, to Bird Bowl, one of the few remaining bowling

Bowling

Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...

 establishments in Miami-Dade County

Miami-Dade County, Florida

Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...

.

Tropical Park

Tropical Park

Tropical Park is a urban park in metropolitan Miami, Florida. The park is located just southwest of the intersection of the Palmetto Expressway and Bird Road , just east of South Miami.-History:...

, also along Bird Road, is the former site of a race track

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 that had its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s. It is now a Miami-Dade County park.

In Coral Gables, the median of SR 976/Bird Road contains spreading banyan

Banyan

A banyan is a fig that starts its life as an epiphyte when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree...

 trees, most notably near Coral Gables High School

Coral Gables High School

Coral Gables Senior High School is a secondary school located at 450 Bird Road in Coral Gables, Florida, USA.Coral Gables SHS opened its doors in 1950; its architectural design reflects a Spanish influence with its open courtyards adorned with water fountains...

 near SR 953. The nearby Coral Way

State Road 972 (Florida)

State Road 972, part of the historic road Coral Way, is a short east–west divided highway entirely within the city of Miami, Florida, USA. Its current western terminus is Douglas Road ; its eastern terminus is U.S. Route 1 in the Brickell area of Miami...

 in Miami (SR 972) has similarly decorated street median

Median

In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...

s that predate this.

Bird Road has several designations beyond that of the state highway. In the neighborhood of the city of Miami

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

 known as Coconut Grove, it is named Bird Avenue and is also known as South 30th Street. West of Coral Gables

Coral Gables, Florida

Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....

 it is also known as South 40th Street, which continues westward past the Turnpike until a gentle chicane

Chicane

A chicane is an artificial feature creating extra turns in a road, used in motor racing and on city streets to slow cars to lower speeds.- Motor Racing :...

, whereupon it becomes Bird Drive, also known as South 42nd Street. The section west of the Turnpike is primarily residential, although there are a few strip malls, other small stores, and fast food places. Bird Drive currently ends at West 157th Avenue, but more homes continue to be built in this area and the road may be extended further west in the future.

When FDOT added Bird Road to its list of state roads in 1980, it was originally designated State Road 930. Three years later the SR 930 signs were removed from the street and replaced with signs with the SR 976 designation.