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Interstate 75 North - Manatee County
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As Interstate 75 north crosses over University Parkway (Exit 213) it enters Manatee County. Founded in 1855, the county is named after the state's official marine mammal, the manatee (sea cow as it is commonly called). Photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Interstate 75 now draws to within 50 miles of the city of Tampa. Florida 70 is the next interchange at Exit 217AB. Palmetto is situated along the north shores of the Manatee River directly across from Bradenton along the U.S. 41 and U.S. 301 corridor. Photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Florida 70 (Exit 217AB) is the first interchange Interstate 75 encounters within Manatee County. A transpeninsular route, Florida 70 stretches from U.S. 41 in the Bradenton area east across the state ending at U.S. 1 in Fort Pierce. North/South Florida 70 reassurance markers, however, exist along the north-south 15th Street East at the intersection with U.S. 301, thus indicating a former alignment. Photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Exit 217A will take motorists along Florida 70 east to Arcadia, which is the county seat of DeSoto County. Arcadia lies 41 miles to the east of Interstate 75, and is the next populous area along Florida 70 before heading due east toward Okeechobee and Fort Pierce. Photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Interstate 75 reaches the ramp to carry mortorists to Florida 70 east at Exit 217A. Florida 70 west (Exit 217B) will take motorists to the south reaches of Bradenton, U.S. 301 and U.S. 41. Photo taken 07/10/2011. Photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Movement to Florida 70 (Exit 217B) west involves the use of a loop ramp. Florida 70 west is a six-lane urban arterial as it makes its way west toward Bradenton and Bradenton Beach. Bradenton Beach may be reached via U.S. 41 and Cortez Road (Florida 684). Photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Florida 64 and Exit 220AB is the second interchange serving Bradenton and is the next interchange along Interstate 75 north. U.S. 301 serves Ellenton which is located northeast of Bradenton along the north shores of the Manatee River. A sign replacement between 2006 and 2011 yielded the removal of mileage to U.S. 301 in favor of mileage to Ellenton. First photo taken 03/26/06. Second photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Interstate 75 approaches Florida 64 and Exit 220AB in one mile. Florida 64 extends east from Interstate 75 to the towns of Zolfo Springs and Wauchula, both of which lie along the U.S. 17 corridor. Zolfo Springs was named by Italian phosphate dredgers for the strong sulphur smell in the water. Wauchula is the county seat of Hardee County and was incorporated in 1902. Photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Florida 64 east (Exit 220A) takes motorists toward Lake Manatee State Recreational Area, which lies about 8 miles east of Interstate 75. The state highway is mostly a two-lane rural route for most of its trek east toward its terminus at U.S. 27 and U.S. 98 in Avon Park. Photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Exit 220B takes motorists onto Florida 64 west into downtown Bradenton. The carriageway diverges into one-way pairs east of downtown at 14th Street East. Westbound traffic follows Manatee Avenue while eastbound traffic uses 6th Avenue. The one-way pairs reconvene at 15th Street West where the state route shoots west through the western portions of Bradenton, ending at Gulf Drive on Anna Maria Island. Photo taken 07/10/11. |
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U.S. 301 at Exit 224 passes underneath Interstate 75 immediately north of the upcoming Manatee River. U.S. 301 has its beginning in Sarasota at U.S. 41 and traverses northward through Tampa and Ocala to exit the state northwest of Jacksonville along the U.S. 1 and U.S. 23 corridor. Measuring just shy of 1100 miles, U.S. 301 has a northern terminus at an intersection with U.S. 40 and Delaware 896 at Glasgow, Delaware. Some signage within Manatee County, including this one, has undergone replacing over the years, with minor adjustments occurring with each replacement. First photo taken 03/26/06. Second photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Passing the first guide sign for U.S. 301 and Exit 224, Interstate 75 north is now within two miles of the folded-diamond interchange. A tourist information center is located adjacent to the interchange. Photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Drawing within one mile of U.S. 301 and Exit 224, Interstate 75 prepares to cross over the Manatee River. The river measures 36 miles in length, beginning at the northeast corner of the county and flows westward to end at the Gulf of Mexico west of Bradenton. Photo taken 07/10/11. |
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A folded-diamond interchange facilitates movement between Interstate 75 and U.S. 301 (Exit 224). Both Ellenton and Palmetto lie to the west of the interchange. Ellenton is situated about a mile west and is home to Gamble Plantation Historic State Park, a one time site of an extensive sugar plantation and the only surviving plantation house in south Florida. Palmetto lies a few miles further west and is where U.S. 301 joins U.S. 41 for a brief multiplex south across the Manatee River into downtown Bradenton. East and north along U.S. 301 takes motorists towards the communities of Parrish and Sun City Center. Photo taken 07/10/11. |
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The high-speed interchange with Interstate 275 (Exit 228) lies just over two miles ahead. The 60-mile interstate route makes its way through the St. Petersburg-Tampa metropolitan area before reconnecting with Interstate 75 at mile marker 274 at the Hillsborough-Pasco county line. The sign replacement incorrectly gave mileage to Interstate 275 at 4 miles but has since been corrected with the proper mileage. First photo taken 03/26/06. Second photo taken 07/10/11. |
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A diagramatical sign indicates movement from Interstate 75 north to Interstate 275 north. Interstate 275 shares a multiplex with U.S. 19 across the famous Sunshine Skyway bridge over Tampa Bay. An important port along Tampa Bay, Port Manatee, may be reached via Interstate 275 and U.S. 41. The port is fast becoming an important transportation link for Florida's shipping industry, moving about 9 million tons of cargo annually, and is currently the closest deepwater seaport to the Panama Canal. A current study is also underway for a possible connector road between the port and Interstate 75, either at a modified or new interchange. First photo taken 03/26/06. Second photo taken 07/10/11. |
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The city of St. Petersburg lies 16 miles to the northwest along the route, and is home to the Rays baseball team and home to the Grand Prix, which closes down several downtown streets each year. Fort DeSoto County Park may be reached via the Sunshine Skyway and the Pinellas Bayway (Florida 682). Tampa is still about a 30 minute drive from the upcoming interchange. First photo taken 03/26/06. Second photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Motorists prepare to depart onto northbound Interstate 275. Historically, the current route of Interstate 275 through St. Petersburg and Tampa was slated to be Interstate 75, while the current routing of the interstate around the east side of Tampa Bay and bypassing Tampa was to be Interstate 75E. With the elimination of suffixed routes in the mid-1970's however, the routing changed to its current alignment. Because of this change in route designations, the two downtown serviced interstates, Interstate 175 and 375, exist detached from their parent route. Warning signs for the possible closure of the Sunshine Skyway are present along all approaches to the structure, and are usually activated during times of high winds (because of the high vertical clearance of the bridge), accident, or other event. First photo taken 03/26/06. Second photo taken 07/10/11. |
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Exit 229 (Moccasin Wallow Road) connects U.S. 41 to the west with the community of Parrish and U.S. 301 to the east. Only signed as Manatee County 6 along Interstate 75, the unsigned Moccasin Wallow Road indirectly connects motorists heading further east into the inland sections of Florida with Florida 62 via U.S. 301 south. Photo taken 11/24/07. |
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A reassurance marker north of Exit 229 (Moccasin Wallow Road). Nine miles remain until the interstate intersects Florida 674 near Ruskin at Exit 240, which lies within Hillsborough County. Photo taken 11/24/07. |
Photo Credits:
2006-03-26 by AARoads and Justin Cozart. 2007-11-24 by AARoads. 2011-07-10 by AARoads.
Page Updated 10-15-2011. |
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