U.S. Route 19 Alternate (Florida)

U.S. Highway 19 Alternate (US 19 Alt.) is a 37.114-mile (59.729 km) former section of US 19 from St. Petersburg to Holiday, Florida.

Alt plate.svg

U.S. Highway 19 Alternate marker

U.S. Highway 19 Alternate

US 19 Alternate highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 19
Maintained by FDOT
Length37.114 mi[1] (59.729 km)
Existed1951–present
Major junctions
South end US 92 / SR 687 in St. Petersburg
Major intersections
North end US 19 in Holiday
Location
CountryUnited States
StateFlorida
CountiesPinellas, Pasco
Highway system
I-595SR 595 SR 597

Beginning at the intersection of 4th Street North (US 92 and State Road 687 (SR 687) and 5th Avenue North in St. Petersburg, it runs west of US 19 near the Gulf coast passing through the cities of Seminole, Clearwater, Dunedin, and Tarpon Springs before ending at US 19 in Holiday, Pasco County. It is also the unsigned State Road 595 (SR 595) throughout the entire route. It also runs along much of the Pinellas Trail.

Route description

History

SR 686 and former SR 651 end at US 19 Alt. in Largo, May 8, 2003

US 19 Alt. was established in 1951 when US 19 was realigned from St. Petersburg through Holiday. It hugs the Gulf coast, servicing Seminole, Clearwater, Dunedin, and Tarpon Springs before ending at US 19 in Holiday. Originally, the southern terminus of US 19 Alt. was at US 92/SR 687 in downtown St. Petersburg but was truncated to US 19 in St. Petersburg.

As of September 2007, however, signage indicates that US 19 Alt. once again follows US 19's old route all the way to US 92; this original route was numbered and signed as the hidden SR 595 designation of the main route, but the signs are slowly being phased out in favor of US 19 Alt. shields. Both shields are in current use, however, for the time being, with the US 19 Alt. signage on the highway itself, and the SR 595 directional signage at the intersections, including Interstate 275 (I-275) exit 23.

Realignment in Clearwater–Largo

Red US 19 Alt. shield on the southwest corner of Cleveland Street and Osceola Avenue in Clearwater, December 2003

Prior to February 2007, US 19 Alt. originally went south through downtown Clearwater on Fort Harrison Avenue, which becomes Clearwater–Largo Road upon entering Largo. It then turned east along West Bay Drive to the intersection of Seminole Boulevard, then turned south. This intersection is also the western terminus of SR 686 and, until the reconfiguration, the southern terminus of SR 651.

As of February 2007, US 19 Alt. was realigned along Missouri Avenue, directly north to SR 60 (Court/Chestnut streets) in Clearwater, west to Myrtle Avenue, then north, before joining Fort Harrison Avenue south of Sunset Point Road. The new alignment now effectively bypasses the downtowns of Largo and Clearwater. The original alignment has since been decommissioned by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and transferred to the cities of Largo and Clearwater. SR 651 is used in FDOT's road inventory lists concurrent with the US 19 Alt. alignment.

When this plan was first announced in 2001, it was viewed as good news for commuters and businesses championing the project as a way to turn Clearwater into a walkable community.[2]

Proposed expressways

West end of SR 582 at US 19 Alt. in Tarpon Springs, July 2003

The planned St. Petersburg–Clearwater Expressway, or Pinellas Beltway, proposed in 1974, would have followed the current alignment of US 19 Alt. from I-275 to Clearwater. A freeway revolt canceled the beltway by 1980. The intersection of Seminole and Bay Pines boulevards at SR 666 is a remnant of this proposed road.[3]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
PinellasSt. Petersburg0.0000.000
US 92 east / SR 687 (4th Street North)
Southern terminus of US 19 Alt./SR 595, western terminus of US 92
0.2510.404

I-375 west (North Bay Drive / SR 592) to I-275
0.5000.805

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street North (CR 803) west (North Bay Drive / SR 592) to I-375 / I-275 Tampa, Bradenton, Tropicana Field
1.32.1
I-275 north (SR 93) / 20th Street North Tampa
I-275 exit 23B
2.5104.039 US 19 (34th Street North / SR 55) Bradenton, Pinellas Park
3.7656.05949th Street North (CR 611).
4.5227.27758th Street North (CR 581)
6.0689.765 SR 693 (66th Street North)
St. PetersburgSeminole line8.02012.907 CR 1 (Park Street)
SeminoleBay Pines line9.58815.430100th Way (CR 361 north) - VA Medical Center
Seminole10.016.1
SR 666 west Madeira Beach, Redington Beach
interchange
11.75218.913
CR 694 (Park Boulevard) to I-275 Pinellas Park, Gulf Beaches
12.51020.13386th Avenue North (CR 264 west)
13.51821.755
To I-275 / 102nd Avenue North (CR 296)
Largo15.54425.016 SR 688 (Ulmerton Road) Tampa, Gulf Beaches
16.55926.6498th Avenue Southeast (CR 400)
17.06627.465
SR 686 east (East Bay Drive) / West Bay Drive (CR 416 west) – Beaches, Tampa
south end of SR 651 overlap
Clearwater19.34931.139Lakeview Road (CR 488)
20.10732.359
SR 60 east (Court Street / SR 651 north)
north end of SR 651 overlap; south end of SR 60 overlap
20.63733.212
SR 60 west (Court Street) – Beaches
north end of SR 60 overlap
21.06233.896
SR 590 east (Drew Street)
22.59236.358
CR 576 east (Sunset Point Road)
ClearwaterDunedin line23.09037.160Union Street (CR 600 east)
Dunedin24.49239.416
SR 580 east (Skinner Boulevard) Oldsmar
26.93943.354

SR 586 east (Curlew Road) / CR 586 west (Causeway Boulevard / Dunedin Causeway) Dunedin Beach, Oldsmar, Honeymoon Island State Park
27.42744.139Orange Street (CR 377 north)
Palm Harbor28.42045.738 CR 752 (Tampa Road) Ozona, Oldsmar
28.67646.150Virginia Avenue (CR 377)
29.17746.956
CR 776 east (Nebraska Avenue)
30.16748.549Crystal Beach Avenue (CR 808 west)
30.33948.826
CR 816 east (Alderman Road)
30.61549.270
CR 824 west (Ulelah Avenue)
Palm HarborTarpon Springs line32.58652.442Klosterman Road (CR 880) - St. Petersburg College, Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art
Tarpon Springs33.64554.146Meres Boulevard (CR 399 north)
34.23755.099
To Tarpon Avenue / US 19 Lutz
former SR 582 east
35.18956.631Anclote Road (CR 992 west)
36.21258.278Anclote Boulevard (CR 994 west)
PascoHoliday37.11459.729 US 19 (SR 55) New Port Richey, Clearwater, St. Petersburg
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

State Road 595 and County Road 595

State Road 595 and County Road 595 marker State Road 595 and County Road 595 marker

State Road 595 and County Road 595

LocationHernando CountyPasco County

Two extensions of hidden SR 595 exist beyond US 19 Alt. The first one is between US 19 and US 92 in downtown St. Petersburg, though this is being phased out, as signage indicates that US 19 Alt. now ends at US 92 instead of US 19. The other is a brief multiplex with US 19 in Holiday which terminates a block north of the northern terminus of US 19 Alt. in Holiday at Mile Stretch Road. County Road 595 (CR 595) consists of Mile Stretch Road, then takes a sharp left onto Grand Boulevard. Within Holiday and Elfers, the road runs along the right-of-way of a former railroad line before heading to Main Street in New Port Richey, where it secretly makes another left turn before terminating at US 19. CR 595 can be found again between Hudson and Aripeka, where it crosses the Pasco–Hernando county line along the Gulf of Mexico on its way toward Hernando Beach, only to bypass downtown Hernando Beach and terminate once again with US 19, but this time also with the western terminus of CR 574/Spring Hill Drive.

References

  1. "Straight Line Diagram of Road Inventory for US 19/SR 595 in Pinellas County". Florida Department of Transportation. February 21, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  2. Boatwright, Josh (April 13, 2014). "Pedestrian-friendly U.S. 19 coming to Clearwater". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  3. "U.S. 19 Alternate". AARoads. April 15, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
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