U.S. Route 19 Alternate is a former section of

U.S. Route 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 ...

from

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

. Beginning at the intersection of 4th Street N (

US 92 U.S. Route 92 or U.S. Highway 92 (US 92) is a 181-mile (291 km.) U.S. Route entirely in the U.S. state of Florida. The western terminus is at US 19 Alt. and SR 687 in downtown St. Petersburg. The eastern terminus is at SR A1A in Daytona B ...

and SR 687 and 5th Avenue N in

, 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

Pasco County, Florida 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 Pasco ...

. It is also the unsigned State Road 595 throughout the entire route. It also runs along much of the Pinellas Trail.

Route description

History

Alternate US 19 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 Alt 19 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 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 hidden 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 Interstate 275 (I-275) may refer to: *Interstate 275 (Florida), a loop through Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Bradenton in Florida *Interstate 275 (Michigan), a western bypass of Detroit, Michigan *Interstate 275 (Ohio–Indiana–Kentucky), a full belt ...

exit 23.

Realignment in Clearwater / Largo

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 transferred 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.

Proposed expressways

The planned St. Petersburg-Clearwater Expressway, or Pinellas Beltway, proposed in 1974, would have followed the current alignment of US Alt 19 from

Clearwater Clearwater or Clear Water may refer to: Places Canada * Clear Water Academy, a private Catholic school located in Calgary, Alberta * Clearwater (provincial electoral district), a former provincial electoral district in Alberta * Clearwater, Briti ...

. A

freeway revolt Highway revolts (also freeway revolts, expressway revolts, or road protests) are organized protests against the planning or construction of highways, freeways, expressways, and other civil engineering projects that favor vehicles. Many freeway re ...

cancelled the beltway by 1980. The intersection of Seminole Boulevard and Bay Pines Boulevard at State Road 666 is a remnant of this proposed road.Pinellas Beltway/St. Petersburg Clearwater Expressway
/ref>

Major intersections

State-County Roads 595

Two extensions of the "hidden State Road 595" exist beyond Alternate US 19. The first one is between US 19 and

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 Stretch Road. 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 New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was counted at 16,728 in the 2020 census. History B ...

, where it secretly makes another left turn before terminating at US 19. County Road 595 can be found again between

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...

and Aripeka, where it crosses the Pasco-Hernando County Line along the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

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 CR 574/Spring Hill Drive.

References

External links

Alternate US 19 (SouthEastRoads.com)
(AARoads.com). {{DEFAULTSORT:19 Alternate St. Petersburg Alternate, St. Petersburg 19 Alternate Florida St. Petersburg U.S. Highways in Florida Roads in St. Petersburg, Florida Roads in Pinellas County, Florida Roads in Pasco County, Florida 1951 establishments in Florida