Florida State Road A1A


State Road A1A is a major north–south Florida State Road consisting of seven separate sections running a total of along the Atlantic Ocean, from Key West at the southern tip of Florida, to Fernandina Beach, just south of Georgia on Amelia Island, before turning inland to Callahan. It is the main road through most oceanfront towns. Part of SR A1A is designated the A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway, a National Scenic Byway. SR A1A is famous worldwide as a center of beach culture in the United States, a scenic coastal route through most Atlantic coastal cities and beach towns, including the unique tropical coral islands of the Florida Keys. SR A1A also serves as a major thoroughfare through Miami Beach and other south Florida coastal cities.
A portion of SR A1A that passes through Volusia County is designated the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail, a Florida Scenic Highway. It is also called the Indian River Lagoon Scenic Highway from State Road 510 at Wabasso Beach to U.S. Route 1 in Cocoa. In 2024, the entirety of Highway A1A, from Key West to Yulee, was designated the Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway. Other than SR A1A Alternate, only two other Florida state roads have begun with a letter: SR A19A, and SR G1A.
The road was designated as State Road 1 in the 1945 renumbering, mostly replacing the former State Road 140 designation. The number reflected its location in the new grid as the easternmost major north–south road. About a year and a half later, in November 1946, the State Road Board resolved to renumber the route due to confusion with the parallel U.S. Highway 1. The new designation, A1A, was chosen to keep the number 1 in its place in the grid.
The East Coast Greenway, a system of trails that connects Maine to Florida, travels along sections of SR A1A.

Overview

SR A1A is heavily associated with Florida beach culture and is known for its lush tropical and subtropical scenery and ocean vistas. In many places, the highway runs directly along the waterfront of the Atlantic Ocean, but in other places, it runs one to five blocks inland from the beachfront. For most of its length, SR A1A runs along Florida's East Coast Barrier Islands, separated from the mainland of the state by the Intracoastal Waterway. Because of the proximity of the highway to the ocean and its susceptibility to storm surges, sections of SR A1A are often closed or damaged by hurricanes and tropical storms.
SR A1A also has been a backbone of Florida's spring break serving as "the strip" in both Fort Lauderdale – a popular spring break destination during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s – and Daytona Beach, which became a popular destination for college spring breaks during the 1970s. Today, SR A1A serves as more a main coastal highway that connects beach towns for more than along Florida's east coast.

Route description

Though SR A1A runs from Key West to north of Jacksonville, the designation is not one continuous route. In some areas such as the Florida Keys, there is no oceanfront highway, other parts of the coast are served by county roads rather than state roads, and still other areas are restricted by geography or usage. The longest of the route's seven sections runs from Stuart to Cocoa, while three of the sections are less than long
The southern terminus of the first section of SR A1A is at the southern end of Bertha Street, where SR A1A begins as a two-lane, then a four-lane highway along the Straits of Florida in Key West, known locally as South Roosevelt Boulevard. The road heads east past East Martello Tower and Key West International Airport, before curving north with an intersection with CR 5A, followed by the northern terminus of the Key West section of SR A1A, U.S. Route 1 and State Road 5. Running along the south shore of Key West, SR A1A is the southernmost numbered highway in the lower 48 states.
SR A1A reappears at Interstate 395 and US 1 in Miami, beginning at MacArthur Causeway before becoming Collins Avenue at Fifth Street in Miami Beach, serving as one of Miami Beach's main north — south thoroughfares. Just north in the town of Surfside, the northbound is Collins Avenue, and the southbound is Harding Avenue. In Bal Harbour it is called Bal Harbour Boulevard. In Golden Beach it is called Ocean Boulevard.
It serves Hallandale Beach, Hollywood Beach, and Dania Beach. It joins with US 1 for 3.4 miles, and passes the Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport. It then divides and serves Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, and continuing north.
It serves as the main road throughout much of the exclusive Palm Beach, further to the north.
In the area of Vero Beach, SR A1A is called the Robert C. Spillman Memorial Highway, and it spans Sebastian Inlet at the Sebastian Inlet Bridge.
SR A1A next passes just to the west of Cape Canaveral and the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
Two miles of SR A1A were used as part of the well-known Daytona Beach Road Course.
SR A1A also passes through St. Augustine, the oldest continuously-inhabited city on the mainland of the United States.
SR A1A is called 3rd Street in Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach.
Just south of Atlantic Beach, SR A1A turns inland for several blocks, following Atlantic Boulevard, before resuming a northward course along Mayport Road that ends at the St. Johns River. A ferry takes traffic to the northern section of SR A1A that continues along the coast to just south of Fort Clinch State Park on the estuary of the Saint Mary's River. At that point SR A1A hooks back south to Fernandina Beach and then turns west, going inland 20 miles through Yulee and crossing I-95 and U.S. Highway 17. It ends at U.S. Highway 1, U.S. Highway 23, and U.S. Highway 301 in Callahan. This section west of Fernandina Beach, is also marked as SR 200, but SR A1A signs are displayed at every cluster of signs, though a designated direction is only above the SR 200 signs.

History

Pre-1945 alignment

Prior to the 1945 renumbering, the route that became SR 1 had the following numbers:

  • SR 182 from Miami to Miami Beach
  • SR 140 from Miami Beach to Dania Beach
  • SR 178 from Dania Beach to Dania
  • SR 177 from downtown Fort Lauderdale east to the Atlantic Ocean
  • SR 140 from the Atlantic Ocean in Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach
  • SR 305 from Palm Beach to West Palm Beach
  • SR 25 from Palm Beach to West Palm Beach
  • SR 196 from Lake Park to south of Jupiter
  • SR 176 from North Palm Beach to Jupiter
  • SR 200 from south of Jupiter to Jupiter
  • SR 140 from Jupiter to Stuart
  • SR 140 from north of Stuart to Jensen Beach
  • SR 224 from Jensen Beach east to the Atlantic Ocean
  • unnumbered from the Atlantic Ocean east of Jensen Beach to the Martin/St. Lucie County line
  • SR 332 from the Martin/St. Lucie County line to the Atlantic Ocean east of Fort Pierce
  • SR 559 from the Martin/St. Lucie County line to Fort Pierce
  • SR 162 from the Atlantic Ocean east of Fort Pierce to Fort Pierce
  • SR 140 north of Fort Pierce
  • SR 559 from Fort Pierce to Vero Beach
  • SR 140 from Vero Beach to near Canaveral Harbor
  • SR 252 from Vero Beach to Wabasso Beach
  • SR 273 from near Canaveral Harbor to north of Canaveral
  • SR 140 from north of Canaveral to New Smyrna Beach
  • SR 119 southwest of Titusville Beach
  • SR 140 from Ponce Inlet to St. Augustine
  • SR 21 in Daytona Beach
  • SR 468 in Ormond Beach
  • SR 140 from St. Augustine to Jacksonville

Initial alignment

SR 1 was defined in the 1945 renumbering as:

  • From the intersection of 13th St. and SR 5 in Miami east along 13th St. and across the 13th St. Causeway to Miami Beach, then northerly along the Ocean Route via Surfside and Hallandale Beach to a point on SR 5 in Dania Beach.
  • From the intersection of East Las Olas Boulevard and SR 5 in Ft. Lauderdale, east along East Las Olas Blvd.; then across New River Sound, then northerly via Deerfield Beach – Boca Raton – Lake Worth Beach to a point on SR 5 in West Palm Beach.
  • Also from the intersection of Southern Blvd. and SR 5 in West Palm Beach east across Lake Worth Beach to a junction with SR 1 in Palm Beach.
  • From the intersection of Park Ave. and SR 5 in Lake Park, west on Park Ave. to 10th St., thence northerly via Jupiter to a junction with SR 5 in Stuart.
  • From a point on SR 5 north of St. Lucie River in Stuart, then northeasterly via Jensen and across the Indian River, then northwesterly to a junction with SR 5 in Ft. Pierce.
  • From an intersection with SR 5 in Ft. Pierce northerly to a junction with SR 605, thence easterly across the Indian River, thence northerly via Vero Beach, Melbourne Beach, Cocoa Beach, Canaveral, and Titusville Beach to a junction with SR 5 in New Smyrna Beach.
  • Also a leg running northwesterly from a point on SR 1 approximately two miles south of Titusville Beach to a junction with SR 402 approximately one mile west of Titusville Beach in Brevard County.
  • From a point approximately nine miles south of Daytona Beach northwesterly via Daytona Beach, Ormond, and Flagler Beach to a junction with SR 5 in St. Augustine.
  • Also at the intersection of SR 5 and SR 600, east on Volusia Ave., then north on North Beach St., then east on a bridge across the Halifax River and on Broadway to a junction with SR 1, all in Daytona Beach.
  • Also at the intersection Granada Ave. and SR 5, east on Granada Ave. across the Halifax River to a junction with SR 1 – all in Ormond.
  • From the intersection of May St. and SR 5 in St. Augustine, northeasterly along May St. and across the North River to Vilano, then northerly via Ponte Vedra – Jacksonville Beach to the city limits of Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach, then west along Atlantic Blvd. to a junction with SR 5 in Jacksonville.

Alignment modifications

Since then, the following changes have been made:

  • The section in Key West was added. The portion of A1A on Bertha Street from the beaches to Roosevelt Boulevard was later relinquished to the city.
  • The bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale was moved south; the old one became "SR A1A ALT".
  • The part from Lake Park to Jupiter became "SR A1A ALT", and two new sections were added along the shore, from Riviera Beach to north of Lake Park and from Juno Beach to Jupiter. The latter is now CR A1A.
  • The part from Jupiter to Hobe Sound became SR 707; SR A1A was extended south from Hobe Sound to meet SR 5. This part is now CR A1A.
  • The part north of Stuart was extended south to incorporate the Ernest F. Lyons Bridge and give a more direct access to the Atlantic Ocean from Stuart; the old road became SR A1A Alternate. Recently the part in downtown Stuart, west of SR 714, became CR A1A.
  • Both bridges over the Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Pierce were rebuilt and moved slightly south. The approach to the south one moved two blocks south.
  • When Kennedy Space Center was built around 1962, SR A1A through it was closed and rerouted from the south to go west on SR 528. A small piece of the old road may have become SR 401, but SR 401 now ends before it reaches the old road. Cape Road, which runs east of Launch complex 39, was SR A1A; it ended at former SR 402 at Playalinda Beach. The part from there to south of New Smyrna Beach was never built.
  • SR A1A south of New Smyrna Beach is now CR A1A; part of it in New Smyrna Beach still exists, and ends south of New Smyrna Beach near Turtle Mound. The part connecting to Titusville Beach was never built.
  • The part south of Daytona Beach was routed onto a new bridge at Port Orange; the old road south of the bridge became CR A1A and is now CR 4075.
  • SR A1A was realigned away from the Atlantic Ocean south of St. Augustine onto what had been SR 3; the south half of the old road became CR A1A.
  • The two sections in St. Augustine were connected when SR 5 was moved west onto a bypass and old SR 5 became SR 5A.
  • The north bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway at St. Augustine was moved north, with the east approach moving two blocks north.
  • A bypass was built around Ponte Vedra Beach; the old road became SR 203.
  • SR A1A was moved out of Jacksonville and onto what had been part of SR 101, a new alignment to the ferry across the St. Johns River, and what still is SR 105 and SR 200. The old road became an extension of SR 10.
  • None of the spurs to the mainland are SR A1A any more. The one at West Palm Beach became part of SR 80 on October 25, 1946; the ones at Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach were longer, for SR 40 did not originally go to Ormond Beach.