State Route 54 and 55 in Florida

Florida State Route 54

State Route 54 or State Road 54 (SR-54) is a state route in the U.S. state of Florida, located in the Tampa Bay region. The road forms an east-west route north of Tampa, from the coast at Holiday to Zephyrhills inland. The road is interrupted by Interstate 75. State Route 54 is 55 kilometers long.

Travel directions

The SR-54 in Land ‘O Lakes.

According to Topschoolsintheusa, State Route 54 begins on the north side of Holiday at an intersection with US 19, the north-south route through the Suncoast. The road leads east through urban areas and is a 2×3 divided highway with traffic lights. At Odessa one crosses the Suncoast Parkway. To the east, State Route 54 has 2×2 lanes with traffic lights. East of Land O’Lakes, the road is again equipped with 2×3 lanes. In Land O’ Lakes you cross the US 41. To the east, the road ends at Interstate 75, about 20 miles north of Tampa.

Three miles north, State Route 54 begins again at Wesley Chapel and continues east, again with 2×3 lanes and traffic lights. East of Wesley Chapel the road is single carriageway, with a center turn lane. The road leads through suburban areas to the town of Zephyrhills, where State Route 54 ends at US 301.

History

The current State Route 54 was established during the renumbering of 1945, as an east-west connection north of Tampa. At the time, the road was a single carriageway through countryside. From the 1960s onwards, the region urbanized, first along the coast, later also inland, so that State Route 54 was slowly transformed into an urban boulevard with numerous traffic lights. Several parts of the route have been widened to a 2×2 or 2×3 divided highway.

Florida 54 Express

In 2013, the Florida Department of Transportation received an “unsolicited proposal” to build a toll road over State Route 54, from Florida 54 Express / FL 54 Xpress. The idea involves an elevated toll road built on pillars on the central reservation of State Route 54. The concessionaire would then lease the land from the state of Florida and operate a private toll road on it.

The elevated toll road allows traffic to bypass 20 traffic lights between US 19 and I-75, and 12 traffic lights between I-75 and US 301 in Zephyrhills. However, the number of intersections is a multiple of that, most of the intersections are irregular, and because State Route 54 has 2×2 or 2×3 lanes in many places, it is difficult to cross the road or turn left.

In May 2014, FDOT decided not to continue the project for the time being.

Traffic intensities

28,000 vehicles drive daily on US 19, increasing to 42,000 vehicles at the Suncoast Parkway and 52,000 to 63,000 vehicles as far as US 41. Thereafter, 62,000 to 75,000 vehicles drive until the fork at SR-56, the busiest point on the US highway. State Route 54. Thereafter, 25,000 vehicles drive to the junction with I-75 and 54,000 vehicles through Wesley Chapel, then descending again to 20,000 vehicles until US 301 at Zephyrhills.

Florida State Route 55

State Route 55 or State Road 55 (SR-55) is a state route in the U.S. state of Florida. State Road 55 is an administrative and virtually unsigned number for a long stretch from Bradenton to the Georgia border north of Greenville, which is formed by US 41, US 19 and US 221. The route is 418 kilometers long.

Travel directions

See also US 41 in Florida, US 19 in Florida, and US 221 in Florida.

State Road 55 begins in the town of Bradenton as part of US 41. A few miles north in the suburb of Memphis, State Road 55 becomes US 19 and follows a long stretch along Florida’s west coast, through urbanized Pinellas County, part of the Tampa Bay region, and continuing as a 2×2 divided highway to Perry in northern Florida, where the route merges with US 221 and follows it to the Georgia border north of Greenville.

History

In 1945, the Florida state road network was renumbered with x5 routes forming the primary north-south routes. This grid partly coincided with the then existing US Highways, State Road 55 coincides with a short section of US 41, a long section of US 19 and a shorter section of US 221. The route is hardly signposted anywhere.