U.S. Route 19 Alternate (St. Petersburg, Florida)
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| U.S. Highway 19 Alternate |
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| Length: | 40.08 mi[1] (64.50 km) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Formed: | 1951 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| South end: |   US 92/SR 687 in St. Petersburg |
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| Major junctions: |
 I-375 in St. Petersburg I-275 in St. Petersburg US 19 in St. Petersburg SR 666 in Seminole SR 688 in Largo SR 686 in Largo SR 60 in Clearwater SR 590 in Clearwater SR 580 in Dunedin SR 586 in Palm Harbor SR 582 in Tarpon Springs |
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| North end: | US 19 in Holiday |
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Alternate U.S. Route 19 is the 40 mile former section of U.S. Route 19 from Holiday to St. Petersburg, Florida
Beginning at the intersection of US 19 in Holiday, Pasco County, Florida, it runs for 40.1 miles west of US 19 near the Gulf coast ending at the intersection of 4th Street N (US 92 and SR 687 and 5th Avenue N in St. Petersburg, Florida. It has a "Hidden" state number: SR 595.
In between, it serves the cities of Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, Clearwater, and Seminole. It also runs along much of the Pinellas Trail.
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[edit] History
Alternate US 19 was established in 1951 when US 19 was realigned from Holiday through St. Petersburg. It hugs the Gulf coast, servicing Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, Clearwater, Seminole, before originally ending at US 92/SR 687 in downtown St. Petersburg. Then, the ending was truncated to US 19 in St. Petersburg. As of September 2007, however, signage indicates that Alt US 19 once again follows US 19's old route all the way to US 92; this original route was numbered and signed as the secondary SR 595 designation of the main route, but the signs are slowly being phased out in favor of Alt US 19 shields. Both shields are in current use, however, for the time being, with the Alt US 19 signage on the highway itself, and the SR 595 directional signage at the intersections, including I-275 exit 23.
[edit] Realignment in Clearwater / Largo
.jpg/250px-US-Alt-19-FL-651-686(Overhead).jpg)
Prior to February 2007, Alt. US 19 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, Alt. US 19 was realigned along Missouri Ave., 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 FDOT and downloaded to the cities of Largo and Clearwater. SR 651 still exists in FDOT's road inventory lists, but as a "hidden" route number along the new Alt. US 19 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.
[edit] St. Petersburg-Clearwater Freeway
The planned St. Petersburg-Clearwater Expressway, or Pinellas Beltway, would have followed the current alignment of "Alt 19" from I-275 to Clearwater. The intersection of Seminole Boulevard and Bay Pines Boulevard is a remnant of this proposed road. The beltway was proposed in 1974, but dead by 1980.[2]
[edit] State-County Roads 595
Two extensions of the "hidden route 595" exist beyond Alternate US 19. The first one is between US 19 and US 92 in Downtown St. Petersburg, though this is being phased out, as signage indicates that Alt US 19 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 Alternate US 19 in Holiday at Mile Stetch Road. Pasco County Road 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. Pasco County Road 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 towards Hernando Beach, only to bypass downtown Hernando Beach and terminate once again with US 19, but this time also with the western terminus of Hernando CR 574/Spring Hill Drive.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Alternate US 19 (St. Petersburg) (Florida in Kodachrome)
- US 19 (AARoads.com) (Includes Alternate US 19).
