{{short description|State highway in Florida, United States}} {{Use American English|date=March 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox road |state=FL |type=SR |route=786 |alternate_name=PGA Boulevard |map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|type=line|from=Florida State Road 786.map}} |map_custom=yes |maint=FDOT |length_mi=8.647 |length_round=3 |length_ref=<ref name=sld/> |established= |direction_a=West |terminus_a={{Jct|state=FL|SR|710}} in Palm Beach Gardens |junction={{jct|state=FL|FLTP|}} in Palm Beach Gardens<br>{{jct|state=FL|I|95}} in Palm Beach Gardens |direction_b=East |terminus_b={{Jct|state=FL|US|1|SR|A1A}} in Palm Beach Gardens |counties=Palm Beach |previous_type=SR |previous_route=780 |next_type=SR |next_route=789 }} '''State Road 786''' ('''SR 786'''), locally known as '''PGA Boulevard''', is an {{convert|8.6|mi|2|adj=mid|-long}} east–west highway located completely within the city limits of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Serving as the major east-west route in the city, it spans from the Bee Line Highway (SR 710) to Federal Highway (U.S. Route 1 or US 1) and SR A1A.
==Route description== The western terminus is an intersection with Bee Line Highway (SR 710) near North Palm Beach County General Aviation Airport at the Palm Beach Gardens city limits. It begins as a two lane road through undeveloped sections of Palm Beach Gardens, with the first development on the road occurring after a canal crossing two miles from the western terminus and becomes a four lane road. The road then creates the border between two major golf country clubs, with the Country Club at Mirasol to the north and the Professional Golfers' Association of America's National Golf Club, where PGA Boulevard receives its name, to the south. Following the Avenue of Champions/Jog Road intersection, SR 786 reaches the intersection with Florida's Turnpike (SR 91), with an overpass with the toll road just east of it. To the east of the Turnpike, PGA Boulevard borders the BallenIsles Country Club to the south, and other residential communities to the north, and quickly transitions to a commercial road, with a shopping center on both sides of the road heading closer to Military Trail.<ref name="PGA map" /><ref name="palm beach map" />
After this interchange, PGA Boulevard moves to the northeast and quickly approaches the interchange with Interstate (I-95 or SR 9), an overpass with SR 811 and access via a side road. This overpass also crosses the Florida East Coast Railway, where Tri-Rail has proposed adding a station. Afterwards, the road heads straight east and forms the southern boundary of The Gardens Mall, with other shopping centers on the southern side of the road. At the southeast end of the mall, the southern side of PGA Blvd. forms the northern border of the Palm Beach State College Palm Beach Gardens campus until an intersection with Prosperity Farms Road. Afterwards, the road passes through a drawbridge over a canal before reaching the eastern terminus at the intersection with Federal Highway (US 1-SR 5) and SR A1A. East of US 1, PGA Boulevard becomes Ocean Boulevard and SR A1A, which continue along a barrier island of the Atlantic Ocean and pass through John D. MacArthur Beach State Park.<ref name="PGA map">{{Cite map | title = Map of State Road 786 | year = 2009 |publisher=MapQuest, Inc. | url = http://www.mapquest.com/mq/8-750* | accessdate =2010-06-23 }}</ref><ref name="palm beach map">{{cite map |publisher = Palm Beach County, Florida |title = Municipalities of Palm Beach County, Florida |url = http://www.pbcgov.com/PZB/Maps/pdfs/Municipalities36x60.pdf |year = 2010 |cartography = Palm Beach County GIS |accessdate = 23 June 2010 |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20160125230133/http://www.pbcgov.com/pzb/maps/pdfs/Municipalities36x60.pdf |archivedate = 25 January 2016 }}</ref>
==History== Most of the original alignment of the highway was known as "Monet Road" (named for a settlement located near the modern day intersection of RCA Boulevard and SR 811 in Palm Beach Gardens)<ref name=Topo>{{cite topoquest|quad=Riviera Beach|lat=26.83792|lon=80.093588|zoom=4|accessdate=January 23, 2020}}</ref> and was a gravel road. The highway had received the "PGA Boulevard" name in 1965 six years after the incorporation of Palm Beach Gardens at the request of the city's founder John D. MacArthur.<ref name=PBPost>{{cite news |url=https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/local/new-how-the-pga-america-helped-palm-beach-gardens-grow/dO7P2iwuCnVlGlCXavSRAI/ |title=NEW: How the PGA of America helped Palm Beach Gardens grow up |first=Sarah |last=Peters |date=March 8, 2018 |newspaper=Palm Beach Post |accessdate=January 23, 2020}}</ref> Following a realignment of SR 786 east of I-95, a portion of the old road was renamed "RCA Boulevard" due to the road serving a new RCA factory there.<ref name=PBPost_1997>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/133268269/ |title=Transformation of PGA Boulevard |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=limited |date=September 2, 1997 |first=Joe |last=Capozzi |newspaper=Palm Beach Post |accessdate=January 23, 2020}}</ref>
From 1973 until 1987, SR 786 served as the temporary northern terminus of I-95 in southeastern Florida, when a previously approved alignment in which I-95 would be cosigned with Florida's Turnpike for a {{convert|41|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch from PGA Boulevard northbound to SR 70 in Fort Pierce was rescinded in favor of a separate alignment for I-95<ref>"Squabbles unnecessary". Boca Raton News 10 May 1973: 4A</ref><ref>"Free Roads Vs. Toll: A Secret Stall?" St. Petersburg Times 21 Apr 1963: 1D</ref><ref>"Toll-Free I-95 In State Still A Long Way Off". St. Petersburg Times 11 Nov 1967: 3B. Retrieved 11 Aug 2009.</ref><ref>"I-95 'Missing Link' Okayed". Lakeland Ledger 19 Apr 1973: 4A</ref> The portion of I-95 north of PGA Boulevard was completed in 1987.<ref>"Gap In I-95 To Close Saturday". Miami Herald 13 Dec 1987: 1A</ref> Since then, PGA Boulevard has become an important commercial and commuter route due to the rapid population growth in northeastern Palm Beach County.<ref name=PBPost_1997/>
==Major intersections== {{jcttop|state=FL|county=Palm Beach|location=Palm Beach Gardens|length_ref=<ref name=sld>{{FDOT cite |id=104218 |date=October 19, 2018 |accessdate=January 7, 2020}}</ref>}} {{FLint |mile=0.000 |road={{jct|state=FL|SR|710|name1=Bee-Line Highway|city1=Indiantown|city2=Okeechobee}} }} {{FLint |mile=4.129 |type=toll |road={{jct|state=FL|FLTP||city1=Orlando|city2=Miami}} |notes=Exit 109 on Turnpike }} {{FLint |mile=5.778 |road={{jct|state=FL|SR|809|dir1=south|CR|809|county2=Palm Beach|dir2=north|name2=Military Trail}} |notes=Northern terminus of SR 809; southern terminus of CR 809 }} {{FLint |mile=6.02 |road={{jct|state=FL|I|95|city1=Daytona Beach|city2=West Palm Beach}} |notes=Exit 79 on I-95 }} {{FLint |mile=6.5 |road={{jct|state=FL|SR|811|name1=Alternate A1A}} |notes=Grade-separated interchange; former routing of Dixie Highway and SR A1A }} {{jctbridge |mile=8.273 |mile2=8.345 |bridge=PGA Boulevard Bridge over Lake Worth Creek<!--sign says Lake Worth Lagoon but that seems bogus--> }} {{FLint |mile=8.647 |road={{jct|state=FL|US|1|name1=Federal Highway|SR|A1A|dir2=south|name2=Jack Nicklaus Drive}} }} {{jctbtm|keys=toll}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Attached KML}} *[https://historicpalmbeach.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2012/06/14/when-pga-boulevard-was-a-two-lane-gravel-path/ When PGA Boulevard was a two-lane gravel path] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108222538/http://historicpalmbeach.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2012/06/14/when-pga-boulevard-was-a-two-lane-gravel-path/ |date=January 8, 2020 }} - Sarah E. Skinner, Historic Palm Beach Blog, June 14, 2012
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