FL 50

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm working on a photo clinch of FL 50 on my present Florida trip.  I started yesterday with the segment between US 19 east to US 41 in Brooksville.  I'm looking to make an update all the way to US 1 tomorrow which would include downtown Orlando.

Edit:

Replaced the first album with a new one with the entirety of FL 50

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmx4P6wx

[formulanone]

There's probably 100 traffic lights from US27 to 408.

Good luck, I completed it in small doses because that's about how much patience I have for it...there's also some Old 50 shields which look like Old Lake County which are silly. The road's much curvier and scenic, but you also might give up on a clinch doing so.

If you can find a CR 420 shield in Christmas, take a photo while you can; my guess is that it's intentionally not posted, as I've never seen one in the field.

[Max Rockatansky]

There's probably 100 traffic lights from US27 to 408.

Good luck, I completed it in small doses because that's about how much patience I have for it...there's also some Old 50 shields which look like Old Lake County which are silly. The road's much curvier and scenic, but you also might give up on a clinch doing so.

If you can find a CR 420 shield in Christmas, take a photo while you can; my guess is that it's intentionally not posted, as I've never seen one in the field.

Yep, its a complete beast really from Clermont east to Bithlo.  For context I lived in Orlando for several years and I used to drive 50 every week between downtown Orlando west to Spring Hill.  I've clinched 50 piecemeal several times and driven all the confirmed former alignments (which includes the pre-45 renumbering ones).  But that said, my photo stock absolutely sucks before 2016 which is why I'm trying to check off as much stuff as I can on this year's trip.  Back in 2017 I did some of the big stuff like US 98 in the Panhandle, US 1/FL 4A in the Keys and US 41 in the Everglades. 

In regard today went a lot more smoothly than it probably should have circling Tampa Bay.  The only bog down was taking US 19 north from Clearwater up to FL 52.  The new freeway grade is appreciate it but it really ought to least to go all the way to New Port Richey or Hudson IMO if we're talking long term planning. 

The Old 50 shields are pretty well posted oddly.  I find it strange considering that Old FL 50 essentially is divided up in sections and isn't really a true through route anymore.  Regarding CR 420, I seem to recall it being signed a couple years ago when I was in Orlando.  I'm planning on stopping at Fort Christmas so I guess I'll find out for sure.

[Max Rockatansky]

Confirmed no CR 420 Shields at Lake Pickett Road or Fort Christmas Road.

[US 89]

There's probably 100 traffic lights from US27 to 408.

And knowing Florida, they probably are timed like shit too. Orlando is a giant scam; the surface roads and I-4 are perpetually congested to force you onto the tollways.

[Max Rockatansky]

There's probably 100 traffic lights from US27 to 408.

And knowing Florida, they probably are timed like shit too. Orlando is a giant scam; the surface roads and I-4 are perpetually congested to force you onto the tollways.

They are as bad as advertised but I'd still take it over I-4.  On my way back to Tampa, finished 50 and I have about 40 miles of I-4 to go. 

[NE2]

420 used to be signed off 50 at its east end, but the signs were stolen and never replaced.

[kevinb1994]

420 used to be signed off 50 at its east end, but the signs were stolen and never replaced.

It must be that it runs near the UCF campus, can't say that I am surprised at this though, it's similar to what has happened to PA 420 shields being stolen for similar reasons, also being located in a major metropolitan area.

[Max Rockatansky]

420 used to be signed off 50 at its east end, but the signs were stolen and never replaced.

I want to say back in 2014 they were present on parts of Lake Pickett Road somewhere between the loop between FL 50, at least I seem to recall passing one at a random back road junction.

I updated the original post with a full photo album of FL 50 from US 19 east to US 1.  Suffice to say this was a beast to finish given the highway junctions along 50 across the state.  I'll probably have my typical historical blog stuff up some time in the next two weeks, I'd like to try to confirm (for certain, I suspect several are pre-1945) some of the supposed former alignments.  Some observations I had regarding 50 driving it entirely this week:

-  Between US 19 and FL 589 in Spring Hill the road has been widened to a full six lanes and access to businesses is generally more restricted than it was previously.  It didn't seem to be helping traffic much but I would attribute that to the increase in population in the area.

-  The construction with the new I-75 on ramp seems to be progressing as everyone on this board has discussed previously.  Traffic is presently bottlenecked towards the westbound lanes but it wasn't a big deal given the junction is somewhat rural.

-  I'm still not what qualifies FL 50 east from FL 471 east to approximately the Lake County line as "scenic."

-  FL 50 from CR 33 east to Bithlo is still a beast to travel through given the already discussed billion or so traffic lights.  The lights are incredibly timed poorly, it seemed a little better in downtown Orlando than other areas.  I suppose that's to be expected given it is a surface route in a major city...still seemed more optimistic than driving I-4.

-  East Orlando could really use some improvements with light timing and traffic flow.  The 45 MPH zones east of FL 551 seemed a little excessive in my opinion, especially since the highway has been improved since I last lived in the area.

[Max Rockatansky]

Regarding former FL 50 alignments, here is what I have confirmed/unconfirmed:

Hernando County Route 550 from Bayport east to US 19/FL 50 in Weeki Wachee (confirmed)

-  This segment appears to be FL 50 at least until 1988 according to the topo maps on historicaerials.


Brooksville east to over the Sumter County line

-  This is where things get interesting, obviously FL 50A is the most recent realignment of FL 50 but there is a large variation before the 1945 renumbering:

FL 15 (I believe B pre-1945) from US 19 to Wiscon Road/CR 570.  Wiscon Road/CR 570 to Fort Dade Avenue/CR 484.  Mildred Avenue to Broad Street.  Broad Street to Main Street where I believe the roadway would have become FL 51.  Main Street to Martin Luther King Drive.  Current US 98/FL 50A on Jefferson Street to US 98/FL 50 at Cortez Boulevard.  FL 51/FL 34 (pre-1945) along US 98/FL 50 on Cortez Boulevard to Olympia Road.  Olympia Road to CR 581/Spring Lake Highway.  Spring Lake Highway to Old Trilby Road.  Old Trilby Road/FL 51 across what is now I-75 (there is even an implied line in the woods on modern images) to Croom-Rital Road in Rital.  From Rital east on Ridge Manor Boulevard back to FL 50/Cortez Boulevard east of US 301.  At Burwell Drive/CR 575 the FL 51 appears to have picked up FL 210 entering the Green Swamp.  In the Green Swamp there appears to be a split from Cortez Boulevard to Richloam via Richloam-Clay Sink Road (displayed as Aka Porter Gap on Google Maps).  From Richloam east on Riverland Road alongside an Atlantic Coast Rail Line over the Little Withlacochee River to Sumter County.  FL 51/FL 210 appear to converge back with modern FL 50 via Sumter County Road 757. 

This is what I lose the trail of pre-1945 FL 210, it appears to get to Center Hill somehow.  FL 51 appears to cut north towards Webster.  I'm using the three maps below as my basis for the above alignment description:

1936 Western Hernando County Road Map

http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/maps/pages/700/f758/f758.htm

1936 Eastern Hernando County Road Map

http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/maps/pages/700/f757/f757.htm

1939 Florida State Highway Map

https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~258613~5522097:Rand-McNally-Road-map--Florida?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:florida%20road;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=76&trs=79

From here eastward some stuff is more obvious than others but it took me longer than I thought to organize my notes so I'll chime back in later.

[roadman65]

Did you get that blank SR 527 shield east of I-4. Obvious now that FDOT won't shield roads anymore they don't maintain where Orlando now controls North of Colonial to Gore Street.  It always was local maintenance but FDOT caught Caltrans disease and started to relinquish parts of the state network.

[Max Rockatansky]

Did you get that blank SR 527 shield east of I-4. Obvious now that FDOT won't shield roads anymore they don't maintain where Orlando now controls North of Colonial to Gore Street.  It always was local maintenance but FDOT caught Caltrans disease and started to relinquish parts of the state network.

Didn't see anywhere in the vicinity of Orange Avenue but I recall a time when they were everywhere.  I noticed a lot of routes were missing this go around, I'm assuming it was more than 527?

[roadman65]

Yeah you did as I viewed your Flickr page. You captured it.

[Max Rockatansky]

Yeah you did as I viewed your Flickr page. You captured it.

Fairly obvious now I flipped back through the photos:

https://flic.kr/p/2d9VVRC

[roadman65]

It easy to not see something when you are behind the viewfinder.

[roadman65]

Here are some photos that I took last week of SR 50 in Weeki Wachee.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/32920141808/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/32920141928/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/46743323032/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/45880756245/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/46743321312/in/dateposted-public/

[Max Rockatansky]

Here are some photos that I took last week of SR 50 in Weeki Wachee.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/32920141808/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/32920141928/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/46743323032/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/45880756245/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/46743321312/in/dateposted-public/

Noticed you had County Route 550 in your shield assembly pictures.  Back in 2017 I actually covered CR 550 since it was an old part of FL 50.  I always thought it was odd that FL 50 would end in Bayport which even half a century ago essentially was a ghost town.

https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2017/05/2017-southeast-trip-part-3-crusing.html

[Brian556]

A few notes...

Near the FL 50/ Bluford Av (Old FL 50) intersection in Ocoee, there was an old brick section on an even older alignment that was recently removed. There was also a RR crossing on SR 50 at this intersection https://www.google.com/maps/@28.5560015,-81.541807,375m/data=!3m1!1e3

This one I just recently found out about. Lorna Doone Blvd in Orlando. The section from Central to Church has been removed:
https://www.google.com/maps/@28.5413914,-81.4077073,749m/data=!3m1!1e3

Here, in Clermont, two railroad tracks, along with the old highway, were removed from the lake shore:https://www.google.com/maps/@28.5609323,-81.7619412,1498m/data=!3m1!1e3

Wish I had a pic of the RR tracks running down the median of Plant St in Winter Garden. My father took me to see them when I was a young teenager

[Max Rockatansky]

One possible alignment of FL 50 I suspect but haven't confirmed is County Road 772 from Linden to Mabel.  There was once railroad tracks between FL 50 and County Road 772. I would find it all that far fetched for an early highway route to have a couple rail grade crossings that would have been atraightened over time. 

[D-Dey65]

-  I'm still not what qualifies FL 50 east from FL 471 east to approximately the Lake County line as "scenic."

Perhaps being almost as rural as the portion between the CSX Wildwood Subdivision and the farms of Tarrytown might have something to do with that. I know that when they tore down the former FL 50 bridge over the ex-Seaboard Air Line railroad line that was partially replaced by the General James A. Van Fleet State Trail, they added a left-turn lane, but not where it should be (the roads that lead to the Mabel Trailhead).

[Max Rockatansky]

-  I'm still not what qualifies FL 50 east from FL 471 east to approximately the Lake County line as "scenic."

Perhaps being almost as rural as the portion between the CSX Wildwood Subdivision and the farms of Tarrytown might have something to do with that. I know that when they tore down the former FL 50 bridge over the ex-Seaboard Air Line railroad line that was partially replaced by the General James A. Van Fleet State Trail, they added a left-turn lane, but not where it should be (the roads that lead to the Mabel Trailhead).

That would be my assumption given there is a "Scenic Highway End" right at the Van Fleet Trailhead:

IMG_7715 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Personally I'd rather see the segment east of FL 520 to Titusville signed as a Scenic Highway.  The segment of FL 50 over the St. Johns River in particular is something worth seeing given it resembles Everglades. 

[D-Dey65]

But as you can see, the left turn lane goes north of where the trail ends.

 

[Max Rockatansky]

Finished the first of three blog posts on Florida State Road 50.  Given that there is so many realignments and shifts over the years coupled with a fairly sizable route I thought that splicing everything into three parts would be appropriate.  The first part covers the general history of FL 50 from what pre-1945 it was formed from along with the modern route in Hernando County.  I added all former alignments that I'm aware of which in the case of Hernando County there are many.  Part 2 will cover Sumter/Lake Counties and Part 3 will cover Orange/Brevard Counties:

https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2019/01/florida-state-road-50-part-1-history-of.html

[Max Rockatansky]

The Florida State 50 series blog series is a little more work than I originally anticipating due to splicing in older photo albums of former alignments.  I did go back to Part 1 to add some back story to Spring Hill which was originally located on Fort Dade Avenue on the earliest precursor alignment to FL 50 in Hernando County.  Part 2 covers Sumter County which has some significant deviations from the modern route of FL 50 in the Green Swamp and near Linden:

https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2019/01/florida-state-road-50-part-2-sumter.html

[D-Dey65]

You might not believe this (I sure found it hard to believe), but that house in Ridge Manor was actually made in 1978! I forget when Ridge Manor was founded, but I'm pretty sure it was long before then.


There's also another former segment on the north side near the Withlacoochee River area, although only the side on the east bank of the river is still paved.