U.S. Route 1 in Florida
U.S. Highway 1 in Florida runs along the state's east coast from Key West to its crossing of the St. Marys River into Georgia north of Boulogne and south of Folkston. US 1 was designated through Florida when the U.S. Numbered Highway System was established in 1926. With the exception of Monroe County, the highway runs through the easternmost tier of counties in the state, connecting numerous towns and cities along its route, including nine county seats. The road is maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation.
From its national southern terminus in Key West, US 1 carries the Overseas Highway, which is the Keys's main highway, north to the mainland, entering South Florida. From South Florida to Jacksonville, US 1 runs close to the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, generally east of Interstate 95 and west of State Road A1A, running roughly parallel with both roads. North of Jacksonville, US 1 curves inland toward the St. Mary's River as it enters Georgia.
As is the case with all Florida roads with national designations, the entirety of US 1 has a hidden FDOT designation:
- SR 5 from Whitehead Street/Fleming Street in Key West to Federal Highway in Lantana, Belvedere Road in West Palm Beach to the I-95/Kings Avenue interchange in Jacksonville, and the Main Street on/offramps south of the Main Street Bridge to US 1 Alternate /US 17 in Jacksonville.
- SR 805 from Federal Highway in Lantana to Belvedere Road in West Palm Beach.
- SR 9 from the I-95/Kings Avenue interchange in Jacksonville to the Main Street exit heading toward the Main Street bridge via the I-95 service road.
- SR 10 from the Atlantic Boulevard interchange to Beaver Street in Downtown Jacksonville via Main Street.
- SR 115 from US 1 Alt./US 17 in Jacksonville to the junction with I-95/SR 15 south/SR 115 north via the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.
- SR 15 from the I-95 interchange in Jacksonville to the Georgia state line near Boulogne.
Route description
The Keys
US 1 officially begins its northward journey at the Monroe County courthouse at the intersection of Whitehead and Fleming streets in Key West. It proceeds south as Whitehead Street, a two-lane street, until the intersection with Truman Avenue, which takes it east through central Key West. Truman Avenue becomes North Roosevelt Boulevard about east and remains so until leaving the island; US 1 expands to four lanes along its length. The road follows the northern shore of this section of Key West, then after curving southward, it meets SR A1A head-on at a T intersection before continuing east. This intersection also marks the southern terminus of the Overseas Highway, which US 1 is known by between here and mainland Florida.After crossing to Stock Island and forming the boundary between the eponymous district and incorporated Key West, US 1 proceeds through unincorporated Monroe County on Boca Chica Key, past Naval Air Station Key West, and Rockland Key, where the Overseas Highway drops down to a two-lane road. It then crosses East Rockland Key, Big Coppitt Key, Saddlebunch Keys, Sugarloaf Key, Park Key, Cudjoe Key, Summerland Key, Ramrod Key, Middle Torch Key, Little Torch Key, Big Pine Key, Scout Key, and Spanish Harbor Key. The highway expands to four lanes as it crosses the Bahia Honda Bridge, then reduces to two lanes as it traverses Bahia Honda Key, Ohio Key, Missouri Key, and Little Duck Key. After Little Duck Key, US 1 enters Knights Key, Boot Key, Key Vaca, and the town of Marathon via the Seven Mile Bridge, thus leaving the lower Keys.
US 1 runs through Marathon as a four-lane road. After Key Vaca, the road becomes two-lane once more and runs through Fat Deer Key, where it forms the northern boundary of the city of Key Colony Beach. It then continues wholly in Marathon through Long Point Key, Crawl Key, and Grassy Key. The road then crosses to Little Conch Key and then Conch Key, both part of the Duck Key district. US 1 then crosses to and traverses Long Key, which is mostly unincorporated except for the city of Layton, which the highway passes through. The road then reaches Craig Key, and then the village of Islamorada including Lower Matecumbe Key, Tea Table Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, and Windley Key. US 1 crosses a drawbridge onto Plantation Key, where it expands to four lanes and then leaves Islamorada as it crosses to Key Largo. Immediately the Overseas Highway enters Tavernier, where it temporarily splits into a pair of one-way roads through the community. Soon, the road enters the community of Key Largo, which also features another pair of one-way roads. At the northern end of the Key Largo district, about two-thirds of the way along the island, US 1 intersects County Road 905, which offers an alternative route out of the Keys via North Key Largo and the Card Sound Bridge. Signage approaching the intersection directs northbound motorists to take this alternative route if the lights on it are flashing. US 1 swings to the northwest, forms the southern boundary of North Key Largo, and becomes a two-lane divided road after the intersection. After crossing the Jewfish Creek Bridge and traveling along Cross Key, US 1 crosses Manatee Creek, along with the Miami-Dade County boundary, and reaches the mainland, marking the northern end of the Overseas Highway.
Miami-Dade County
For the first in Miami-Dade County, US 1 is a divided two-lane road bordering Everglades National Park on the west. It is named South Dixie Highway from the county line to Miami. Its first major intersection is with the north end of Card Sound Road south of Florida City. Similarly, to the south, signage directs southbound travelers approaching this intersection to take Card Sound Road if the lights on it are flashing rather than taking US 1 south to Key Largo.Just north of the Card Sound Road intersection, US 1 meets the southern end of Krome Avenue and then enters Florida City. Here, US 1 intersects SR 9336, providing access westward to Everglades National Park; at the same intersection, Palm Drive likewise provides access eastward to Biscayne National Park. From here northbound, the South Dixie Highway is paralleled by the South Dade TransitWay along the former Florida East Coast Railway alignment. Near-immediately northbound of the Palm Drive intersection, US 1 meets the southern end of the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike and then crosses into Homestead at South 328th Street. The road then curves northeast through Homestead, parallel to Florida's Turnpike, leaving the city north of South 304th Street and continuing northeast through the communities of Leisure City, Modello, Naranja, Princeton, and Goulds.
At West 112th Avenue/Allapattah Road, US 1 enters the incorporated town of Cutler Bay, soon passes under the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike, and continues northeast in the town until at South 186th Street it forms the town's border for two blocks before leaving at South 184th Street. From here, the road continues northeast from this point, forming the western boundary of Palmetto Bay. In Perrine, it meets SR 994, and then divides into a one-way pair of streets, with northbound traffic directed east one block of the southbound traffic along a sweeping curve between South 183rd and South 168th streets. After the two directions of traffic rejoin, the road meets Coral Reef Drive, then passes through Rockdale and Howard until it reaches South 136th Street, meets the southern terminus of SR 973 a block later, and serves to divide Pinecrest to the southeast and Kendall and Dadeland to the northwest for the next few miles. The road is also known as Pinecrest Parkway through this section. Also through this section, US 1 meets the eastern terminus of SR 990, the southern terminus of the Palmetto Expressway, and the eastern terminus of SR 94 at Kendall Drive. Dadeland South station lies just north of the Palmetto Expressway, on US 1's western side, and acts as the handover point between the South Dade TransitWay and the Metrorail line, which proceeds to parallel US 1 for most of its subsequent journey into Downtown Miami.
North of Snapper Creek, US 1 continues northeast and enters another section of unincorporated Miami-Dade County. Here, US 1 forms the Snapper Creek Expressway 's eastern terminus. The South Dixie Highway then crosses into South Miami at South 80th Street. At SR 959, US 1 leaves South Miami and enters Coral Gables, passing the main campus of the University of Miami and headed northeast. At West 38th Avenue, it leaves Coral Gables and enters Miami, heading northeast toward the southern terminus of I-95 just south of Downtown Miami. At this point, there is a signage gap in the route, though since 2013, it is federally and state defined as cosigning with I-95 and SR 970 all the way to Biscayne Boulevard, where US 1 signage resumes. However, some mapmakers like Rand McNally and Google Maps continue to sign US 1 along its original alignment via Brickell Avenue.
In Miami, US 1 first intersects SR 976, followed by the south end of SR 9, which ends up running concurrent with I-95 and is also I-95's state designation through most of Florida. About east, it meets the national southern terminus of I-95, which it joins over the Miami River into downtown.
The road is then named Biscayne Boulevard through the rest of Miami-Dade County as it proceeds north on Biscayne Bay. As Biscayne Boulevard, US 1 becomes a one-way pair at an intersection with SR 970. Two blocks north, it reaches SR 968, the north–south baseline for most of Miami-Dade County. US 1 then passes by the western end of Bayfront Park and then intersects Port Boulevard, providing access to PortMiami, with Kaseya Center at the northeastern end of the intersection. For the next few blocks, it passes by Museum Park, with I-395 at the northern end, which also marks the national southern terminus of US 41. US 1 continues through Midtown Miami, intersecting with the national southern terminus of US 27 one block south of I-195 next to the Julia Tuttle Causeway. North of I-195, the road continues through Miami as a residential road, intersecting SR 944, SR 934, and SR 915 before leaving Miami. Moving further inland, the boulevard replaces East Sixth Avenue at 61st Street. It enters the village of Miami Shores at North 87th Street. Crossing the Biscayne Canal, Miami Shores becomes North Miami. In North Miami, it intersects SR 922, leading to the Broad Causeway and SR 916. In North Miami Beach, it intersects SR 826 and SR 860. The road enters Aventura at Greynolds Park. It continues north-northeast through the city of Aventura, curving due north at North 187th Street and northeast at North 203rd Street. In Aventura, it intersects SR 856 at the southwest of Aventura Mall, and, after intersecting the former SR 854, it leaves Miami-Dade County.