U.S. Route 41 in Florida
U.S. Highway 41 in the state of Florida is a north–south United States Highway. It runs from Miami in South Florida northwest to the Georgia state line north of the Lake City area. Within the state, US 41 is paralleled by Interstate 75 all the way from Miami to Georgia, and I-75 has largely supplanted US 41 as a major highway.
Like all highways designated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in Florida, US 41 always carries a hidden state road number designated by the Florida Department of Transportation :
- State Road 90 from US 1 in Miami to the junction with 5th Avenue/9th Street/Tamiami Trail North in Naples.
- SR 45 from US 41 in Naples to the junction with US 441 and North Main Street in High Springs, with the following exceptions:
- * SR 45A between the north and south termini of US 41 Business in Sarasota County.
- * SR 684 from the junction with the south end of US 41 Business to 44th Avenue Connection in unincorporated Manatee County.
- * SR 55 from 44th Avenue Connection to the north end of US 41 Business in Palmetto.
- * State Road 599 from the junction of the south end of US 41 Business and SR 676 east near Tampa to US 92 in Tampa.
- * SR 600 from US 41 south to Nebraska Avenue in Tampa.
- SR 25 from the junction with US 441, US 41 and North Main Street in High Springs to the Georgia state line near Jennings.
According to both AASHTO documentation and FDOT straight line diagram inventory, the defined southern terminus of US 41 is located at Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, but FDOT has chosen not to sign the final leg of the route past SR 90 since 2000. From there, the route runs concurrently with SR A1A westbound, then south along US 1/SR 5, before meeting the route's signed southern terminus at Brickell Avenue.
Route description
Miami to Tampa
US 41, along with the Tamiami Trail designation, begins its northward journey at an intersection with US 1 in downtown Miami.Between Miami and Naples, US 41 cuts across the Florida peninsula, running through the vast Everglades wilderness. This section has been designated a National Scenic Byway. The byway runs east–west through the Big Cypress National Preserve, skirting the northern border of the Everglades National Park for about. The part of the highway between Tampa and Miami is known as Tamiami Trail, thus, this section of the road is commonly known as the East Trail, as it runs east–west across this part of the state, in contrast to the road's otherwise distinctively north–south routing. Alligators are a common sight along the scenic Tamiami Trail from Miami to Naples. Unlike the parallel road, Alligator Alley, the trail is only one lane in each direction, and it has no fences to keep wildlife from crossing it.
In Naples, US 41 changes direction at the intersection of hidden SR 90 and hidden SR 45, turning from west to north towards Tampa, or from south to east towards Miami. This segment of US 41 is still considered Tamiami Trail. US 41 has a bypass in Fort Myers that separates from the trail, however in the Venice Area, US 41 breaks away from the trail onto hidden SR 45A, while US 41 Business uses the trail. A connector to I-75 can be found just north of the northern end of the business route.
Two major US highways terminate at US 41 in the Sarasota metropolitan area. The first is US 301 in Sarasota, which runs straight, while US 41 curves to the west towards the John Ringling Causeway, only to turn back north again. North of the western end of it CR 610, it runs along the western edge of Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport where it crosses the Sarasota-Manatee County line. Across from the airport, the road serves as the address for New College of Florida, and then the University of South Florida's Sarasota/Manatee Campus. In Bradenton, US 41 makes a sharp turn east onto SR 684 at the intersection of US 41 Business. The road curves north onto SR 55 and it encounters US 301 again, and shares a short concurrency with the road across the Manatee River. US 301 makes a sharp right turn onto SR 43 at a diamond interchange, while US 41 continues north. Just after the interchange with the northern end of US 41 Business in Memphis, another interchange exists with the southern end of US 301 exists. Here, US 41 rejoins hidden SR 45, while hidden SR 55 moves to US 19, where it will stay until it reaches Perry. The rest of US 41's journey will continue along the east coast of Tampa Bay.
Tampa to Lutz
From US 41 Business and SR 676 near the unincorporated Palm River-Clair Mel to US 92 in Tampa, US 41 carries the unsigned SR 599 designation. It contains the northwestern end of the Tamiami Trail at the SR 60 intersection. It is normally three lanes wide, but between I-4 and the northern end of SR 569 is only two lanes wide. The unsigned state highway is long. At the northern end, US 41 turns west. Major intersections include the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, SR 60, I-4, SR 583, SR 569, and SR 574. US 41 runs west along US 92 for several blocks, and upon doing so shares SR 600 as a hidden route. One other major intersection exists with SR 585, before running along the southern border of the Hampton Terrace Historic District where it turns north onto Nebraska Avenue just before approaching I-275 at Exit 47 A-B. Though not every signalized intersection along Nebraska Avenue provides access to I-275, many of them do. At first, the road runs through Old Seminole Heights where it remains along the border of the Hampton Terrace Historic District until the intersection of Hanna Avenue. The only other intersection that passes for a major street in the area is Sligh Avenue, which leads to Exit 48 on I-275 to the west. The road leaves Old Seminole Heights by crossing the 1923-built Nebraska Avenue Bridge over the Hillsborough River and enters Sulphur Springs, where one can find such sites as the Springs Theater on the corner of Sitka Street and on the opposite side, the former Tampa Greyhound Track between Bird Street and Waters Avenue. As the road is about to leave Sulphur Springs, a concrete median begins before US 41 crosses another at-grade railroad crossing along the south side of SR 580. The rest of the way, it becomes the main north–south road through North Tampa, other than I-275.West of the University of South Florida, US 41 intersects such major streets as State Road 582 and then several block north of there crosses SR 579/CR 582A. Further north, SR-CR 678 is the last chance for motorists to access I-275. After this, it curves to the northwest as it begins to run along the west side of the CSX Brooksville Subdivision, and both share an underpass with no access to I-275. Entering Lutz, the at-grade interchange with the northern end of BUS US 41, is where US 41 becomes six lanes wide. Most intersections beyond this point are only of local importance. Nevertheless, US 41 crosses the Brooksville Subdivision at a sharply diagonal at-grade crossing, and both curve to the right, where they both run straight north through the rest of Lutz. From this point on, it runs along the east side of the Brooksville Subdivision, both of which run straight north throughout most of the community. Shortly after passing the historic Old Lutz Elementary School on the east side, it encounters a traffic signal with the eastern end of Lutz-Lake Fern Road on the west side. A replica of the former Lutz Seaboard Air Line Railroad Depot can be found on the northwest corner between the railroad tracks and the local library. The further north that US 41 runs, the more likely it runs into dead end streets and private roads, some of which are on the opposite side of the tracks. The road curves to the northwest before intersecting with County Line Road at the Hillsborough-Pasco County Line and enters Land o' Lakes, where it is named Land o' Lakes Boulevard throughout the county.
Pasco County
US 41 only remains in the northwest direction until it encounters the northern end of State Road 597 and after turning straight north passing by some naturist resorts, almost instantly intersects SR 54. Almost a mile north of that point, the Brooksville Subdivision banks off to the northwest, while US 41 prepares to squeeze between some lakes for which the hamlet is named. North of County Road 583 in the former community of Denham, the road narrows down to four lanes but remains divided as it curves to the northwest. Here, the road crosses the former right-of-way for a railroad line that ran between Tarpon Springs and Trilby until the mid-1970s. The road curves north again and then passes Land o' Lakes High School where it had only recently been widened. This newly widened section serves as the two gateways to the still under construction Connerton Conner development, and has been slated to become the future end of CR 524. Just after that, the gateway to the still under construction Tierra Del Sol development is where the division of the highway ends, although US 41 is still in the process of being widened throughout the northern Tampa Bay suburbs. Most of the surroundings beyond that point include dog sitting kennels, and run-down farms, although a road to the Pasco County Jail, with a fire station on the northeast corner stands out among the usual surroundings. After making another right curve and squeezing between two more small lakes, US 41 approaches a section of Land o' Lakes known as Gowers Corner, where the intersection of SR 52 can be found. Just east of Gowers Corner is the Pilot Country Airport, a local airport community.Besides some random former motels and other businesses, most of the surroundings of this segment of the road consists of farmland, this time, much more active. Near a former lumber yard, US 41 crosses the Brooksville Subdivision again, and a local automotive and truck repair shop can be found on the northeast corner of that crossing. Continuing north, the road encounters sites such as the Detroit Resort Motel and shortly after this runs along the western edge of the Pasco Lake Estates community where it runs along a former section of the road known as Old Gainesville Highway and Pasco Lake Drive. An old narrow bridge across a dry creek can be found just north of this development. By the time the road reaches South Masaryktown the number of farm fields begin to diminish. A few small trailer parks, private homes and even some small businesses pop-up along the side of the road, but the farms don't completely move away from the road until after it crosses a narrow bridge over the Masaryktown Canal. Just north of the intersection of Bowman Road the west side of the road features a somewhat larger trailer park and private houses in front of a notably wide right-of-way for a future southbound lane. This right-of-way ends at Hernando-County Road 578, another County Line Road in Masaryktown, and US 41 becomes Broad Street.