State Road A19A (SR A19A) was a highway loop in the southern portion of

Pinellas County, Florida Pinellas County (, ) is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 959,107. The county is part of the Tampa– St. Petersburg– Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistic ...

. The southern terminus was at an intersection with 54th Avenue South, 34th Street South (

US 19 U.S. Route 19 (US 19) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the Eastern United States. Despite encroaching Interstate Highways, the route has remained a long-haul road, connecting the Gulf of Mexico with Lake Erie. The highway's southern ...

/ SR 55) and Interstate 275/ SR 93 in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, just north of the Sunshine Skyway. The northern terminus was an intersection with US 19 in Largo.

Route description

From St. Petersburg to

St. Pete Beach St. Pete Beach (formerly called St. Petersburg Beach) is a coastal city in Pinellas County, Florida, Pinellas County, Florida. Known as a tourist destination, St. Pete Beach was formed from the towns of Pass-a-Grille, Belle Vista, St. Petersburg B ...

, A19A comprised the entirety of SR 682 as part of the

Pinellas Bayway The Pinellas Bayway System is a series of bridges on two state roads in Pinellas County, Florida. It is a toll road complex maintained and operated by the Florida Department of Transportation. It also is compatible with the SunPass ETC system ...

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

. Within St. Pete Beach, A19A followed the portion of SR 699 from the Bayway to 75th Street. From St. Pete Beach, A19A followed and the entirety of SR 693 (75th Street (St. Pete Beach), South Pasadena Boulevard and 66th Street (St. Petersburg)), going northward until it reaches its terminus at US 19 in Largo, between SR 686 (East Bay Drive / Roosevelt Boulevard) and SR 688 (Ulmerton Road). Cities and communities served by A19A included (from north to south): St. Petersburg, St. Pete Beach, South Pasadena, Kenneth City,

Pinellas Park Pinellas Park is a city located in central Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 53,093 at the 2020 census. Originally home to northern transplants and vacationers, the hundred year old city has grown into the fourth largest ...

and Largo.

Comparisons with A1A

Despite the similar numbering, comparisons with SR A1A can lead to faulty conclusions. While the

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of Dune, dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything fro ...

s along the Atlantic coast of Florida have seven discontinuous segments of A1A traveling along them, there is no such “continuity” on the longer

Gulf coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

. The Gulf Coast barrier islands feature the following State Roads: • SR 951 (and County Road 92/former State Road 92) –

Marco Island Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish co ...

• SR 865 –

Estero Island Estero Island is an island located in Lee County, Florida, on the Gulf coast of Southwest Florida. It is bordered by San Carlos Island to the north and Big Carlos Pass to the south. The Matanzas Pass Bridge is on the northern end of the island ...

( Bonita Beach to

Fort Myers Beach Fort Myers Beach is a town located on the North end of Estero Island in Lee County, Florida, United States. The town is on the Gulf of Mexico and is accessed from the mainland by a bridge over Estero Bay. The population was 5,582 at the 2020 c ...

) • SR 767 (now County Road 767) – Pine Island ( Saint James City to Bokeelia) • SR 771 (now County Road 771) –

Gasparilla Island Gasparilla Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida, United States, straddling the border of Charlotte and Lee counties. Its largest town is Boca Grande, and it is the location of the Gasparilla Island State Park. The island has been an ...

( Boca Grande) • SR 758 –

Casey Key Casey Key is a barrier island off the coast of Southwest Florida, located south of Siesta Key. Casey Key is part of the North Port—Sarasota—Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Casey Key is erroneously named after Captain John C ...

and

Siesta Key A ''siesta'' (from Spanish, pronounced and meaning "nap") is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal. Such a period of sleep is a common tradition in some countries, particularly those in warm-weather zones. The ...

( Crescent Beach) • SR 789 –

Longboat Key A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boat ...

(

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

to Holmes Beach) • SR 679 (part of

) – Mullet Key and Cabbage Key ( Tierra Verde) • SR 699 –

Indian Rocks Beach Indian Rocks Beach, or IRB, is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,286 at the 2018 census. Indian Rocks Beach is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located on the ba ...

(the road continues northward as County Road 699 to

Clearwater Beach Clearwater Beach includes a resort area and a residential area on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County on the west-central coast of Florida. Located just west over the Intracoastal Waterway by way of the Clearwater Memorial Ca ...

) • SR 300 (originally SR G1A) – St. George Island • SR 30E (now County Road 30E) –

St. Joseph Peninsula State Park T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park is a Florida State Park on the St. Joseph Peninsula near Port St. Joe. It is located off U.S. 98. Recreational activities The park has such amenities as beaches, picnicking areas, cabins, ...

) • SR 30A (now County Road 30A)–

Santa Rosa Beach Santa Rosa Beach is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Walton County, Florida, Walton County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Santa R ...

to Inlet Beach • SR 399 (now County Road 399) –

Navarre Beach Navarre is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Santa Rosa County in the northwest Florida Panhandle. It is a major bedroom community for mostly U.S. military personnel, federal civil servants, local population, retirees ...

Pensacola Beach Pensacola Beach is an unincorporated community located on Santa Rosa Island, a barrier island, in Escambia County, Florida, United States. It is situated south of Pensacola (and Gulf Breeze connected via bridges spanning to the Fairpoint Pen ...

• SR 292 –

Perdido Key Perdido is a Spanish and Portuguese word for ‘lost’. It may refer to: * "Perdido" (song), jazz standard composed by Juan Tizol *"Perdido", song from WarCry's album '' ¿Dónde Está La Luz?'' * HMS ''Trouncer'' (D85), ship also known as USS ' ...

While SR A1A received its current designation after people were confusing the original “SR 1” with nearby

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...

(and US 1A/Alternate US 1 was also near the State Road), the SR A19A designation was the original numbering of the Pinellas Bayway. Since A19A branches off Alternate US 19 and connects with the parent route US 19, a likely explanation for the numbering is for the loop to represent “Alternate (U.S. Highway) 19 Alternate,” or “Alternate (U.S. Highway) 19A.”

History

For two decades after the opening of the Pinellas Bayway on December 23, 1962, “A19A” signs lined the entire route (the east–west Pinellas Bayway originally had only SR A19A signs, while the other two parts had the A19A signs alongside – or instead of – the other

State Road A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

designation). In the mid-1980s the Florida Department of Transportation removed the A19A designation, and gave the Pinellas Bayway its current designation, while restoring the designations of SR 699 and SR 693 along their routes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Florida State Road A19a A19A