Florida bill would change the name of Tamiami Trail to ‘Gulf of America Trail’

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UPDATE: Republican Senator Joe Gruters dropped this proposal to rename Tamiami Trail. 

A bill filed in the legislature would change the name of an iconic road with a nearly 100-year history.

One historian says a name change might chip away a piece of Florida history. 

Republican Sarasota Senator Joe Gruters filed SB 1058 to change Tamiami Trail, which runs from Tampa to Miami, to Gulf of America Trail. 

But James M. Denham, a history professor at Florida Southern College, says a name change may lead to a loss of history.

“Wiping out almost 100 years of a name, which, of course, symbolizes some of the early history of Florida, is I think, something that ought to give leaders pause,” Denham told WMNF.

Tamiami Trail opened in 1928, and was the main way for people to get from Tampa to Miami and back until I-75 came years later. 

“It’s really one of the great engineering feats in American history. And I would say not just Florida history, but American history,” Dengam said, ““It’s an iconic engineering project, and the name I think immediately conjures up early Florida in the last frontier.  And I think it’s important for people to really know and understand how difficult it was to build such a road.”

This comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. 

The bill also would require schools and state agencies to update materials to reflect the name of “Gulf of America.” 

It comes amidst a larger name change movement. In Citrus County, Commissioners recently discussed renaming the Cross Florida Barge Canal to the American Freedom Canal.

The legislative session starts March 4th. 

Senator Gruters did not respond to WMNF’s request for comment.