Interstate 75 South - Alachua to Gainesville

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Interstate 75 South
Reassurance marker for Interstate 75 south of Exit 423. 07/22/20
U.S. 41 and U.S. 441 overlap from Downtown Lake City to High Springs, where U.S. 441 splits southeast toward Alachua and Gainesvile. U.S. 41 picks up U.S. 27 and continues south through Alachua County toward Williston. 06/26/22
FDOT recorded 50,500 vehicles per day in 2019 on the rural stretch of Interstate 75 leading away from Lake City. 06/26/22
Traveling nearly the length of the Florida peninsula, both U.S. 41 and U.S. 441 have separate overlaps with U.S. 27, U.S. 92, U.S. 98 and U.S. 301 on their respective courses to Miami. 06/26/22
A rest area lies two miles south of Exit 414 near Olustee Creek. 06/26/22
Exit 414 leaves I-75 south to U.S. 41/441. Offering amenities such as camping, fishing and hiking, O'leno State Park and River Rise Preserve State Park lie six miles southward along U.S. 41/441 south. 06/26/22
A ten mile exit less stretch leads I-75 south to Alachua County Road 236. Gainesville is a half hour away. 07/22/20
The second rest area along Interstate 75 southbound in the Sunshine State. 07/22/20, 06/26/22
Crossing the Santa Fe River, I-75 enters Alachua County. The river stretches 75 miles eastward from the Suwannee River, and at one point disappears underground for approximately three miles. 07/22/20
Alachua County was created in 1824 with the city of Gainesville becoming the county seat in 1854, after the railroad from Fernandina to Cedar Key bypassed the former county seat of Newnansville. 07/22/20
CR 236 meets I-75 at Exit 404 in one mile. An 11.82 mile long route, CR 235 arcs southwest to High Springs and east to SR 121 at Santa Fe. 06/26/22
High Springs lies four miles to the southwest of the parclo B2 interchange at Exit 404. High Springs was known as Orion until 1888 when the local post office changed it to its current name. Incorporated in 1892, High Springs is located at the crossroads of U.S. 27, U.S. 41 and U.S. 441. 06/26/22
CR 236 west ends at U.S. 41/441 at the north end of High Springs. CR 236 east to either CR 239 north or SR 121 north connects with Lake Butler in Union County. 07/02/11
Interstate 75 continues south from Exit 404 another 4.5 miles to U.S. 441 at Exit 399. 07/22/20
U.S. 441 crosses paths with I-75 between High Springs and Alachua in four miles. Both routes continue south 20 miles to Gainesville. 07/22/20
Interstate 75 passes below County Road 235A adjacent to Spring Hill. 07/22/20
A folded diamond interchange connects I-75 with U.S. 441 at Exit 399. Downtown High Springs lies 5.3 miles to the northwest while Downtown Alachua is 1.8 miles to the southeast. 07/22/20
Commercial frontage lines U.S. 441 between Alachua and High Springs. U.S. 441 south provides an alternate route to Gainesville and the University of Florida (UF), which lies 16.8 miles from Exit 399. 06/26/22
Interstate 75 encircles central Alachua along the ensuing stretch southbound. 06/26/22
The wye split with I-275 to the city of Tampa is still over a two hour drive away. 07/22/20
The succeeding four exits join Interstate 75 with the city of Gainesville, home of the University of Florida. 07/22/20
Commercial trucks are restricted from traveling along SR 24 and SR 26 through Gainesville. Instead, drivers are directed onto I-75 between SR 222 (NW 39th Avenue) at Exit 390 and SR 121 (Williston Road) at Exit 382. 07/22/20
The upcoming diamond interchange (Exit 390) with SR 222 was modified in the early 2000's with the addition of a loop ramp from NW 39th Avenue west to a collector roadway along I-75 south. 06/26/22
State Road 222 connects with U.S. 441 (NW 13th Street) and SR 24 (Waldo Road) near Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV). 07/22/20
SR 222 (NW 39th Avenue) stretches 14.17 miles east from Exit 390 across northern reaches of Gainesville to SR 26. CR 222 extends 2.78 miles west from Interstate 75 to CR 241. 06/26/22
Separate ramps join SR 222 with I-75 south from NW 39th Avenue. 01/20/19
Continuing south from SR 222 and Gainesville, I-75 splits with Florida's Turnpike to Orlando in 62 miles and I-275 at Wesley Chapel in 115 miles. 01/20/19
Continuing south from SR 222 and Gainesville, I-75 splits with Florida's Turnpike to Orlando in 62 miles and I-275 at Wesley Chapel in 115 miles. 06/26/22
62 miles in length, SR 26 begins at U.S. 19 and Fanning Springs in Levy County, and ends in Putnam County at SR 100 in Putnam Hall. SR 26 passes through Trenton, Newberry and Gainesville along the way. 06/26/22
SR 26 (Newberry Road) is the first of two exits serving the University of Florida (UF) from Interstate 75. 06/26/22
Heading east into Gainesville, SR 26 follows University Avenue along the north side of the UF campus. It runs concurrent with SR 20 and SR 24 for 1.7 miles through Downtown Gainesville. East from the city, SR 24 angles northeast to Waldo while SR 20 heads southeast toward Hawthorne. SR 26 west continues toward the city of Newberry, a bedroom community for Gainesville. Due to traffic congestion, ramp modifications at Exit 387 were completed in 2012. 07/22/20
90,000 vehicles per day (vpd) traveled I-75 south between SR 26 and SR 24 at Gainesville in 2021 per FDOT traffic counts. 06/26/22
SR 24 heads northeast into Gainesville from forthcoming Exit 384 to UF and a short overlap with U.S. 441 (SW 13th Street). SR 24A, a 4.0 mile loop, coincides with all of SR 226 (SW 16th Avenue) and a portion of SR 331 (Williston Road). The branch route provides a truck bypass around UF and Downtown Gainesville. 07/22/20
Celebration Pointe Avenue spans I-75 by a truck parking sign for the Paynes Prairie Rest Area. Opened on November 6, 2016 after two years of construction, the overpass here serves the 125 acre Celebration Pointe mixed-use development.1 06/26/22
SR 24 runs 71.9 miles between Cedar Key along the Gulf of Mexico, and Waldo along the U.S. 301 corridor northeast of Gainesville. SR 24 angles 9.7 miles southwest from the diamond interchange at Exit 384 to the city of Archer. 06/26/22
State Road 24 (Archer Road) east between I-75 and SR 121 is locally referred to as "Restaurant Row" for the large quantity of eateries lining the 0.9 mile stretch. 01/20/19
Only 0.8 miles separate the entrance ramp from SR 24 and the folded diamond interchange (Exit 382) with SR 121 on I-75 south. 06/26/22
SR 121 (Williston Road) is one of a few multi-state routes (MSR) extending north from Florida into Georga. MSR 121 concludes at Rock Hill, South Carolina to the north and at U.S. 19/98 and Lebanon Junction in Levy County to the southwest. 06/26/22
Exit 382 also represents the departure point for truckers circumventing Downtown Gainesville to SR 24 and SR 26 east. 06/26/22
Immediately east of Exit 382, SR 121 turns north along SW 34th Avenue while SR 331 continues Williston Road east. SR 121 runs across the west side of Gainesville. Providing part of a southeastern bypass around Gainesville, SR 331 is a 3.4 mile long divided boulevard to SR 20/24/26. 06/26/22
The Paynes Prairie Rest Area lies less than a mile south of SR 121 along Interstate 75. 06/26/22
Micanopy lies south of Paynes Prairie along U.S. 441 to the east of I-75. The rural freeway travels south 34 miles to Ocala in neighboring Marion County. 06/26/22
The rest area overlooks Paynes Prairie, a state park on the southern periphery of Gainesville. 01/20/19
I-75 continues south from the rest area across a portion of Paynes Prairie. 07/22/20
I-75 meets CR 234 in Micanopy. Micanopy has a rich history, being settled after Spain ceded from Florida in 1821 and staging grounds during the Second Seminole War (1835-1843). Many antique stores line the historic district of the small community. 06/26/22
CR 234 leads back north to U.S. 441 toward Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. From 1871 to 1886 the drainage became so blocked in the prairie that a lake formed (aptly referred to as Alachua Lake) and steamboats ferried across either end. 06/26/22
Exit 374 departs I-75 south for CR 234 east to Micanopy and U.S. 441. CR 234 continues north from U.S. 441 through the community of Rochelle along SR 20 and ends at SR 26 midway between SR 222 and U.S. 301 in Orange Heights. 06/26/22
Interstate 75 crosses into Marion County six miles ahead of Exit 368 with CR 318 west of Orange Lake. The split with Interstate 275 at Wesley Chapel lies 94 miles further south. 06/26/22, 07/22/20
Marion County was founded in 1844 and has become one of the major thoroughbred horse centers of the world. 01/20/19


 
Sources:
  1. "Celebration Pointe bridge, Bass Pro Shops opens." The Gainesville Sun (FL), November 9, 2016.


Photo Credits:

07/02/11, 01/20/19, 07/22/20, 06/26/22 by AARoads

Connect with:
U.S. 41
U.S. 441
State Road 24
State Road 26
State Road 121
State Road 222

Page Updated 08-26-2022.

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