Florida

[D-Dey65]

Can somebody point out what's wrong in these pictures?

Presence of SUVs.

Considering how many dirt roads there are in Florida, that's not really a bad thing.

[jdb1234]

Alright, I was thinking about -- in the near future -- taking a roadtrip down to Albany (GA), following U.S. 19. I would start on the southside of Griffin, following U.S. 19 into Zebulon, Thomaston, Thomasville, then going into Tallahassee. From Tallahassee I would travel to Jacksonville, via a scenic route. I looked at MapQuest and avoided all Interstates. From Tallahassee, I would follow U.S. 27 South, picking up U.S. 19 in Jefferson County (FL), then follow U.S. 19 South/27 South into Perry, Florida. I would then continue to follow U.S. 27 South to Brantford, then pick up S.R. 247 East toward Lake City, Florida. From Lake City, I'd pick up U.S. 90 East, taking that into Jacksonville. While in Jacksonville, I would drive along I-295 (at the time I go, 295 would have probably taken over all of S.R. 9A).

Does anybody have any info on these routes? I've never been to the Florida panhandle, nor have I been on U.S. 19 south of Griffin. I'm shooting to do this roadtrip in the summer of 2011, if everything works out like I think it should.


Be well,

Bryant

I know US 19 is 4 lane from Thomasville to Perry with a mostly 65 MPH speed limit.   I have never used US 27 east of Perry.

[agentsteel53]

Considering how many dirt roads there are in Florida, that's not really a bad thing.

I'll bet most SUVs have never seen a dirt road in their life.

[florida]

Alright, I was thinking about -- in the near future -- taking a roadtrip down to Albany (GA), following U.S. 19. I would start on the southside of Griffin, following U.S. 19 into Zebulon, Thomaston, Thomasville, then going into Tallahassee. From Tallahassee I would travel to Jacksonville, via a scenic route. I looked at MapQuest and avoided all Interstates. From Tallahassee, I would follow U.S. 27 South, picking up U.S. 19 in Jefferson County (FL), then follow U.S. 19 South/27 South into Perry, Florida. I would then continue to follow U.S. 27 South to Brantford, then pick up S.R. 247 East toward Lake City, Florida. From Lake City, I'd pick up U.S. 90 East, taking that into Jacksonville. While in Jacksonville, I would drive along I-295 (at the time I go, 295 would have probably taken over all of S.R. 9A).

Does anybody have any info on these routes? I've never been to the Florida panhandle, nor have I been on U.S. 19 south of Griffin. I'm shooting to do this roadtrip in the summer of 2011, if everything works out like I think it should.


Be well,

Bryant

I know US 19 is 4 lane from Thomasville to Perry with a mostly 65 MPH speed limit.   I have never used US 27 east of Perry.

US 27 east of Perry is 4-laned until Taylor CR 30, then it's two-laned all the way until Williston. There might be some truck traffic, but you're going through rural parts of the state (the town of Mayo is pretty much a blip). SR 247 is two-lane, until probably the greater Lake City area (haven't been on that road, surprisingly). US 90 is multi-laned until the east side of SR 10A in Lake City, then it's pretty rural until you get into Sanderson in Baker County. Of course, in Glen St. Mary and Macclenny you'll get some town traffic, but in Baldwin, the trucks join for a bit, and if you're really unlucky, the train will crawl through at 1 MPH.

[Bryant5493]

Thanks, jdb1234 and florida. I went on Google maps and did a little scouting of the areas in question last night and this morning.


Be well,

Bryant

[D-Dey65]

I'll bet most SUVs have never seen a dirt road in their life.

I wouldn't doubt that, but I don't think it's as few of them as you might think.

edit: malformed quote

[realjd]

It looks like Brevard County will be getting a handful of new interchanges on I-95 in the next few years. Other than the new Pineda Cswy interchange that's under construction now, a pair of interchanges are going to be built to support the new parkway to be build around Palm Bay.

The parkway is going to start down where Micco Road crosses I-95 at a new interchange to be built. It is long-needed since it will be right in the middle of an 18-mile stretch of freeway with no interchanges and will provide much-needed access to south Palm Bay. The new parkway will continue around Palm Bay to the west, crossing US-192, and ending at a new interchange being built for the Ellis Road extension (which, combined with the NASA Blvd realignment, will provide much better access to the Melbourne Airport).

For whatever reason, they're building it as a surface road, not a freeway. The planners said it's going to be designed like John Young Pkwy in Orlando where there is a limit to the number of stoplights on the road. Personally, I think it's short sighted to not make it a freeway, but I guess it's not up to me! It's being funded primarily through federal earmarks. For a long time it looked like this road was just a pipe dream, but it's been approved by all of the required government bodies and looks like it's actually going to happen.

The other new interchange will be at the new Viera Blvd. overpass and was negotiated as a requirement for the county to approve Viera's expansion to the west.

More info on the new Palm Bay Parkway:
http://www.drmp.com/Brevard/Project_Map.html (for the northern segment north of Malabar Rd - CR-514)
http://www.palmbayparkway.com/ (lobbying website)
http://palmbayflorida.org/utilities/divisions/documents/proposed_parkway.pdf (entire proposed alignment)

On a side note, this will open up the creepy part of Palm Bay known locally as "The Compound" to development.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Compound
It's 200-miles of paved roads built by the General Development Corp that were never developed. It's creepy out there. There's no road signs (although arrows someone spray painted on the roads at some intersections point the way out if you're lost), lots of burnt out cars, and who knows what else. I've gone geocaching out there a few times and during the day, it's full of people flying model airplanes and rockets and people riding ATV's and dirt bikes. I wouldn't want to be out there at night. Even during the day, I usually don't go out there without carrying protection. I'm sure there's plenty of illegal activity going on out there, although the police do patrol it. The city has slowly been developing it from the east, and turned a part of it into a paintball park. The parkway will cut right through the compound. I don't doubt that utilities and then actual development will shortly follow.

[florida]

For whatever reason, they're building it as a surface road, not a freeway. The planners said it's going to be designed like John Young Pkwy in Orlando where there is a limit to the number of stoplights on the road. Personally, I think it's short sighted to not make it a freeway, but I guess it's not up to me! It's being funded primarily through federal earmarks. For a long time it looked like this road was just a pipe dream, but it's been approved by all of the required government bodies and looks like it's actually going to happen.

I'd like to know what section of JYP they're talking about.

Speaking of this road, Osceola County is building a new interchange on it at Osceola Parkway (CR 522); John Young Parkway will be on the overpass and Osceola Parkway will unfortunately have to keep stop-and-going underneath it.

[realjd]

I'd like to know what section of JYP they're talking about.

Speaking of this road, Osceola County is building a new interchange on it at Osceola Parkway (CR 522); John Young Parkway will be on the overpass and Osceola Parkway will unfortunately have to keep stop-and-going underneath it.

I think they said JYP (at least south of I-4)  is limited to lights every 1/2 mile or something, which is better than most of the roads around here! The point was that it won't have lights every 100' for retail, side streets, and stuff like that.

I've always hated the Osceola Pkwy. Why should I have to pay a toll for a damn surface road?

[realjd]

In honor of the frigid weather we've been having here in Florida, here's a picture of the start of the seven mile bridge along US-1. Notice anything unusual or out of place?


Picture from AARoads

[Truvelo]

Notice anything unusual or out of place?

I'm guessing the icy sign next to the palm trees

[realjd]

I'm guessing the icy sign next to the palm trees

Yep! That sign always cracked me up considering it's never been anywhere near freezing in the Keys. I don't remember seeing a sign like that anywhere else in Florida, even farther north where it does occasionally freeze. Sadly, as of last summer, FDOT took it down.

[FLRoads]

Almost needed that sign this past weekend with the arctic blast!! I heard that wind chills in the Keys were below freezing!

[froggie]

When it comes to water (or other surfaces) freezing, wind chill doesn't apply.

[FLRoads]

Well I said ALMOST needed the sign, not that it WAS needed. I was just commenting that the wind chill was below freezing. And yes, growing up in south Florida, I do know that wind chill factor does not apply...

I just found it ironic that the only place that a sign like that existed in Florida would have almost the right conditions for a freeze...

[Alex]

Drove to St. Petersburg today, noted a few projects of interest.

http://www.mytbi.com/projects/projectinfo.asp?projectID=170&RoadID=1

A new directional ramp is under construction from Interstate 275 north to CR 296 west. This ramp utilizes the existing Roosevelt Boulevard from northbound to connect with Bryan Dairy Road. Widening of the current structure is also nearly completed.

http://www.mytbi.com/projects/projectinfo.asp?projectID=158&RoadID=1

Work on expanding Interstate 275 north between Himes and the Hillsborough River is essentially completed. Drivers shift over to the new four lane roadway from near the Dale Mabry interchange. Southbound remains along the old alignment parallel to the now abandoned northbound carriageway.

TURNPIKE WIDENING PROJECT–INTERSTATE 4 TO GOTHA ROAD (MILEPOSTS 259-265)
This $128.6 million project adds two lanes in each direction between Interstate 4 and the State Road 408 Interchange.  Construction includes widening the existing bridges over Interstate 4 and Apopka-Vineland Road, and replacing the Kirkman Road and Gotha Road bridges over the Turnpike.  Additionally, improvements will be made at the Interstate 4 and State Road 408 (East-West Expressway) interchanges.  This project is scheduled to be complete in August 2010.

This project directly ties into the widening west from the Toll 408 interchange. Jersey barriers still line the carriageways and the sound walls are nearly complete.

TURNPIKE WIDENING PROJECT — State Road 408 TO NORTH OF BEULAH ROAD (MILEPOST 265-270)
This $68.8 million project consists of widening of Florida's Turnpike (State Road 91) from four to eight lanes and six to 12 lanes from milepost 266 to milepost 269 in Orange County.  The construction includes widening of the bridges over Beulah Road. and reconstruction of the State Road 50 connector bridge over Florida's Turnpike, resurfacing existing pavement, construction of storm water retention ponds, signing and marking, lighting, landscaping, sound barriers, ITS and utilities.  This project is scheduled to be complete in August 2010.

New signs and such are posted for the SR 50 reconstructed trumpet interchange and the eventual two-lane ramps to Toll 429. Work west of this project is in earlier stages on expanding the roadway.

Locally, Good Homes Road and Colonial Drive are both under construction to be widening near their intersection near Pine Hills. The work on Good Homes eliminates a bottleneck between Toll 408 and SR 50.

There is only one button copy sign left on Interstate 275 north of downtown St. Petersburg. Some of the signs for the 38th Av N and 54th Av N exits were replaced. The lone button copy holdout is that of the advance sign for 54th Av N on I-275 northbound.

[rickmastfan67]

Alright, I'm currently working on creating the FL State Highways (and making tweaks to the US Highways & Interstates to correct mistakes) for the CHM Project and I just came across something "interesting" when comparing an area with how it's posted in the field and how it's shown on FDOT's GIS files.

The part in question is US-1 (FL-5) & US-90 (FL-10) after they cross the Main St. Bridge in Downtown Jacksonville.  According to FDOT's GIS files (and all the online maps I can find), US-1, US-90, FL-10 all join up with I-95 for a short segment (meanwhile FL-5 follows the following route mentioned after this).  HOWEVER, according to signage in the field that I just recently checked with StreetView (which has been updated recently because of the better quality), it shows that US-1 and US-90 leave Main St to piggyback on FL-13 (Prudential Dr) over to Kings Ave.  Once they turn onto Kings Ave, they stay on it till US-90 leaves onto Atlantic Blvd and Kings Ave turns into the Phillips Hwy.

So, which is correct?  FDOT's own GIS files, or what's posted in the field?  If anybody has any info on this, I would greatly appreciate it.  Otherwise, I'll contact FDOT (via e-mail) on Monday and ask them this question (unless somebody else already has in the past).

[florida]

Even on the Highway Data CDs, it's shown the same way. There are several different segments of those routes, in that area, which do not "connect" to one another via the data. The "co-signing" of FL 5 and FL 10 on I-95 could be for the ramps that run along the south side of I-95 when connecting from The Main Street and Acosta Bridges to Phillips Hwy.

For example, FL 13 has a segment (the on-ramp, basically) from Water Street to just south of the northern beginning of the Acosta Bridge, then the ramp from I-95 (where Exit 350 splits into access for the two bridges) across the Acosta Bridge to off-load onto Riverside Dr SB, finally there is the surface street that zig-zags on the south side of downtown, but FL 13 is only signed on the surface streets, with no shields or trailblazers on I-95.

I believe what is signed in the field is correct because it is consistent with what FDOT does (not co-signing Interstates and US Routes unless there is no other choice).

This is almost like the Golden Glades interchange and Tampa International Airport where the ramps are considered state maintained, but not signed.


By the way, FL 537 has been deleted. And FL 825 has been added from US 41, north to FL 836 (there is also the older FL 825 from the Kendall-Tamiami Airport, north to FL 94. No idea if they will connect the two segments in the future....both of them are on SW 137th Ave).

[D-Dey65]

I'm guessing the icy sign next to the palm trees

Yep! That sign always cracked me up considering it's never been anywhere near freezing in the Keys. I don't remember seeing a sign like that anywhere else in Florida, even farther north where it does occasionally freeze. Sadly, as of last summer, FDOT took it down.

I remember seeing "Bridge May Ice Before Road" signs as far south as Metropolitan Jacksonville on a family vacation to Florida back in 1975, and considering what I learned about Florida when I was a kid, it baffled me every time we went into some southern state and I kept seeing those signs.

[rickmastfan67]

Even on the Highway Data CDs, it's shown the same way. There are several different segments of those routes, in that area, which do not "connect" to one another via the data. The "co-signing" of FL 5 and FL 10 on I-95 could be for the ramps that run along the south side of I-95 when connecting from The Main Street and Acosta Bridges to Phillips Hwy.

For example, FL 13 has a segment (the on-ramp, basically) from Water Street to just south of the northern beginning of the Acosta Bridge, then the ramp from I-95 (where Exit 350 splits into access for the two bridges) across the Acosta Bridge to off-load onto Riverside Dr SB, finally there is the surface street that zig-zags on the south side of downtown, but FL 13 is only signed on the surface streets, with no shields or trailblazers on I-95.

I believe what is signed in the field is correct because it is consistent with what FDOT does (not co-signing Interstates and US Routes unless there is no other choice).

So, you're saying I should re-route US-1/90 off of I-95 and onto the surface streets (which is what StreetView shows) instead of keeping them on I-95 (like the GIS shows)?  FL-5 is shown off of I-95 there, but FL-10 is shown on I-95.  So, with FL-10, keep that on I-95 just like in the GIS?

Here's an animated GIF I made out of the most recent GIS data:

[florida]

US 1 and US 90 are signed on the surface streets (Atlantic Blvd and Kings Ave). But there is no signage on I-95 NB for them, and there are BGSs for them on I-95 SB at the Phillips Hwy/Atlantic Blvd split (Exit 349?).

The curved SR 5 leg on the bottom of the gif is the on-ramp from US 1 NB onto I-95, but if you continue up to Atlantic Blvd, US 1 is signed west on Atlantic Blvd, underneath I-95, then north on Kings Ave.

The two parallel SR 10 legs, north of the aforementioned, are the on/off-ramps to I-95 (FDOT has this thing with including some exit ramps as state maintained mileage).

The SR 10 section on I-95 facilitates the connection from Atlantic Blvd to the Main Street Bridge, that's where the curved part picks up (at the Exit 350A mess). To me, that section consists of the far edge lanes on NB I-95 between Exits 349 and 350A.

The curved section of SR 10 is the NB off-ramp for Exit 350A (it is kind of long, which matches the GIS data), which continues onto the Main Street Bridge.

SR 13's curved section is where what's listed on Google Maps as the "Acosta Expy" begins immediately where SR 10's curved section branches north onto the Main Street Bridge.

As for US 1, according to the GIF you made there is no indication of SR 5 on I-95, but US 1 is on it...if that's the case, then US 1 would only travel on the extreme outer ramps (both or either NB and SB). Did they show all of SR 5 connected like that? Usually there is an orphaned section south of Atlantic Blvd.

[rickmastfan67]

As for US 1, according to the GIF you made there is no indication of SR 5 on I-95, but US 1 is on it...if that's the case, then US 1 would only travel on the extreme outer ramps (both or either NB and SB). Did they show all of SR 5 connected like that? Usually there is an orphaned section south of Atlantic Blvd.

If you look at the FL-5 only segment of the GIF, it shows all of what FDOT considers FL-5.

Anyways, I got a response back from FDOT today about this.  According to them, US-1 is miss posted.  IT IS suppose to be on I-95 right there. (The response didn't mention US-90, so I sent back a response asking for a clarification on US-90.)

The correct route for U.S. 1 is the route shown on GIS.  The posted route on Kings Road and Prudential Drive is incorrect.  We are currently working on a plan to correct the U.S. 1 route markers in this area.  I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

[rickmastfan67]

Just got a response back on US-90 (as well as FL-5).

The route for U.S. 90 will be identical to U.S. 1.  State Road 5 will follow Kings Rd. / Prudential Dr.

So, does this mean that FL-5 will become unhidden in Jacksonville?  I don't know.  I sent a quick response back asking that question.  Odds are I will not get a response back till Monday on that question.

[Alex]

Just got a response back on US-90 (as well as FL-5).

The route for U.S. 90 will be identical to U.S. 1.  State Road 5 will follow Kings Rd. / Prudential Dr.

So, does this mean that FL-5 will become unhidden in Jacksonville?  I don't know.  I sent a quick response back asking that question.  Odds are I will not get a response back till Monday on that question.

Can you write your contact there and ask what the deal is with CR-399/SR-399 through the Gulf Islands National Seashore and southern Santa Rosa? It seems no one, nor the GIS data, can give us a straight answer on who maintains what...

[rickmastfan67]

Can you write your contact there and ask what the deal is with CR-399/SR-399 through the Gulf Islands National Seashore and southern Santa Rosa? It seems no one, nor the GIS data, can give us a straight answer on who maintains what...

All I did was contact the PIO for the Jacksonville area.

Here's the page with all of their e-mail addresses: http://www.dot.state.fl.us/PublicInformationOffice/moreDOT/phone.shtm