State Road 581 (SR 581), also known as Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, is a north–south road in

Pasco County Pasco County is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2020 census, the population was 561,691. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest city is Zephyrhills. The county is named after Samuel Pa ...

, extending from State Road 56, north to SR 54 in Wesley Chapel. SR 581, along with County Road 581 (CR 581), which extends to the south of SR 581's southern terminus, forms the major thoroughfare through

New Tampa New Tampa is a region in Florida that encompasses both a area within the corporate limits of the City of Tampa, as well as a larger land area that is in unincorporated Hillsborough, but retains a Tampa mailing address. The incorporated portion o ...

, a part of the city of

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

annexed during the 1980s, to Wesley Chapel. The portion of the road north of State Road 582 was renamed in 1984 from 30th Street by Hillsborough's Board of County Commissioners in honor of Bruce Barkley Downs, a deputy county administrator for

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

Route description

State Road 581 begins at the intersection between the northern terminus of County Road 581 and State Road 56. State Road 581 takes Bruce B. Downs Boulevard northbound through a rapidly developing area, which is sparsely populated, ending at State Road 54.

County Road 581

County Road 581 is a 12.6-mile long county road, extending from State Road 580 (Busch Boulevard) in

to State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel, where it becomes State Road 581. The road begins at the intersection with State Road 580, at the southwest corner of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, where County Road 581 heads south as 30th Street, with residential areas to the west and Busch Gardens to the east. North of Bougainvillea Avenue, the road passes by a

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brewing plant and a more commercial area, heading towards State Road 582 (Fowler Avenue), where the name changes to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and forms the western boundary of the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

. Just north of the shopping centers, CR 581 passes through medical centers on both sides of the road, intersecting CR 582A (Fletcher Avenue), then leaving the medical area to residential areas, where the road starts to curve to the northeast, and enters a more sparsely populated area with newer developments. It then has an interchange with

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

, continuing to the northeast and crossing into Pasco County, where it terminates at State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel.

Major intersections

References

External links

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