In light of the Gulf of Mexico now being called the Gulf of America by the federal government, a state senator from Sarasota proposed ( and then quickly dropped ) a bill that would have changed the name of an iconic stretch of Florida highway to “Gulf of America Trail.”

The road in question is called Tamiami Trail. It’s the southernmost stretch of U.S. Highway 41 that, as its name suggests, cuts through the Florida Everglades to connect Tampa and Miami.

Here’s where the Tamiami Trail is, what to know about its history, which cities it stretches through and why the Florida senator that proposed its name change dropped the bill.

Where does the Tamiami Trail begin and end in Florida?

The Tamiami Trail is a 284-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 41 (U.S. 41) that begins in Tampa, stretches down Florida's southwest coast, cuts through the Everglades and ends in Miami.

Why is it called the Tamiami Trail?

This Tamiami Trail is the southernmost portion of U.S. 41. Its name comes from the two major cities it connects: Tampa and Miami.

“Today, Tamiami Trail has been outpaced by faster routes like Alligator Alley (a portion of I-75). But in its heyday, the Trail was considered a feat of civil engineering,” Florida Seminole Tourism’s article on the history of the trail says.

“Connecting Tampa and Miami across the Everglades was a dream just out of reach at the beginning of the 20th century… Conversations between movers and shakers in Miami, Tampa, and Fort Myers began to envision a connecting highway that would cut through the swamp.”

The construction for the trail was a long, expensive process that started in 1915 and took 13 years, more than 2,000 workers, $8 million (around $147 million in 2025) and more than 2.6 million sticks of dynamite to complete, according to Florida Seminole Tourism .

What cities are on the Tamiami Trail in Florida?

The Tamiami Trail cuts through the cities of Palmetto, Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice and North Port, according to Visit Florida .

Is the Tamiami Trail name changing?

No, the Tamiami Trail’s name is not changing, although Sarasota Republican State Sen. Joe Gruters did propose a bill in February 2025 that would have renamed the 284-mile stretch of U.S. 41 the “Gulf of America Trail.” But he dropped the bill in March 2025.

“Gruters proposed the name change as part of statewide efforts to adopt the name Gulf of America on official state records in compliance with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump during his first day in office,” The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported last week . “But he quickly dropped it after negative public reaction following news reports of the proposal.”

“I don't want the renaming of Tamiami Trail to be a distraction from a lot of the other good bills that we have moving forward,” Gruters told the Herald-Tribune , a USA TODAY Network newspaper.

Is the Gulf of Mexico officially the Gulf of America?

Yes – at least, according to the U.S. federal government and Google Maps. Other countries are still referring to the body of water as the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a scientific bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior, they’ve “updated the Gulf’s name to coincide with the President’s Proclamation to recognize February 9, 2025, as the first ever Gulf of America Day.”

“Federal agencies are currently in the process of updating their maps, products, and services to reflect the Gulf of America name change,” the USGS website says .

Apple Maps and Google Maps have also updated their maps to say “Gulf of America.”