Florida State Road 44
East end | US 441 in Leesburg | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Central section | ||||
Length | 52.198 mi[1] (84.005 km) | |||
West end | US 441 in Mount Dora | |||
Major intersections | US 17 / US 92 in DeLand I-4 near DeLand I-95 in New Smyrna Beach US 1 in New Smyrna Beach | |||
East end | SR A1A in New Smyrna Beach | |||
Eastern section | ||||
Length | 1.433 mi[1] (2.306 km) | |||
West end | North Riverside Drive in New Smyrna Beach | |||
East end | Peninsula Avenue in New Smyrna Beach | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Florida | |||
Counties | Citrus, Sumter, Lake, Volusia | |||
Highway system | ||||
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State Road 44 (SR 44) is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of Florida. It runs from Crystal River on the Gulf of Mexico east to New Smyrna Beach on the Atlantic Ocean, passing through Inverness, Wildwood, Leesburg and DeLand.
A section in
A former western extension of SR 44 from Crystal River to the Gulf of Mexico is now County Road 44. In some locations, it is signed as County Road 44W.
Route description
Crystal River to Inverness
State Road 44 begins as NE 5TH ST (then Gulf to Lake Highway) at the intersection of US 19/98 in Crystal River, a four-lane divided highway. The divider only exists at the intersection, however, the rest of the road is undivided throughout much of Western Citrus County. SR 44 runs directly east, until it leaves the city limits, then makes a sharper southeastern turn prior to the intersection of North Dunkenfield Avenue and West Norvell Bryant Highway (County Road 486). It briefly turns east again as it reaches the intersection of Rock Crusher Road, but curves back to the southeast roughly a mile later. The new interchange with the
After crossing Lecanto Highway (County Road 491), the divider becomes more prominent, The road runs up and down various hills as it runs along the northern border of Withlacoochee State Forest, and though it never stays straight, it still runs mostly east. Near a pair of shopping centers, the divider ends east of Croft Avenue, and the road resumes its status as an undivided four-lane highway with center-left turn lanes. Entering the Inverness City Limits, the road straightens out again at the intersection of South Pleasant Grove Road(County Road 581) and Forest Drive, where it becomes Main Street. CR 581 secretly joins SR 44 as a hidden route. One block before CR 581 leaves SR 44 to become its own route again, southbound US 41 joins SR 44. The two routes continue to move directly east until the intersection of Seminole Avenue, where it curves around the Old Citrus County Courthouse, and then moves to the southeast before breaking off at East Highland Boulevard, where US 41 continues towards Floral City, Brooksville, Tampa, and points south, while SR 44 moves onto Gulf-Atlantic Highway and becomes a divided highway once again.
Inverness to Leesburg
East of US 41, SR 44 runs over the Withlacoochee State Trail with bike ramps on both sides, and then along the southern shore of Lake Henderson. The rest of the road is surrounded by farms, parkland, and boat launching areas, especially as it gets ready to cross the Withlacoochee River at the Citrus-Sumter County Line, where it enters Rutland. The rural landscape continues even at the northwest end of County Road 470, which leads to Lake Panasoffkee, Sumterville, and Okahumpka in Lake County.
As the road enters
Before reaching Downtown Leesburg, SR 44 makes a sharp right turn onto a truck bypass at the intersection of Main Street and County Road 468. The name of this section is South Street and it runs north and south, until it takes a sharp curve at Casteen Road, which it replaces. South Street continues to run in its easterly direction and approaches Venture Avenue, which was built on a former southwest-to-northeast railroad right-of-way, and Carpenter Avenue which runs along the east side of this former ROW. SR 44 approaches the intersection of US 27, and turns into West Dixie Avenue, where it runs northeast momentarily, and then turns east again. At the intersection of South Palmetto Street and west end of Dozier Circle, West Dixie Avenue turns into East Dixie Avenue. The road curves to the northeast again at Lake Port Boulevard and crosses the same abandoned railroad line that originated in Wildwood. Right after the intersection of East Main Street, SR 44 joins Southbound US 441, but both continue to run east.
Leesburg to Mount Dora
The US 441-SR 44 segment is a six-lane divided highway with provisions for bicycles. The road serves as the western terminus of County Road 44 then passed by Leesburg International Airport. From here it squeezes between Lake Harris and Lake Eustis where it crosses over the Dead River on a bridge between the two lakes.
The southbound wye at
North of Mount Dora, SR 44 leaves US 441, which curves south towards Orlando and Miami. SR 44 turns north then narrows from four lanes to two lanes before it curves between Lake Joanna and Loch Leven before passing by the Mid Florida Air Service Airport in Eustis. From there the road turns right onto East Orange Avenue, which continues Route 44's status as a two lane rural scenic highway.
Seminole State Forest through DeLand
Before the road curves northeast, an intersection with
Motorists know they're getting close to Downtown DeLand itself when they intersect
Toward New Smyrna Beach
East of I-4, SR 44 becomes a four lane divided highway, serving as the northern terminus of State Road 415 and the southern terminus of County Road 415, where the New Smyrna Speedway can be found on the northwest corner. O'Reilly Road, a gateway to a housing development is slated to become County Road 4009. A partial cloverleaf exists for Interstate 95, with separate westbound and eastbound off-ramps for southbound traffic. Northbound traffic uses a half-diamond interchange.
When the road finally arrives within the New Smyrna Beach city limits,
History
From the 1945 Great Renumbering, until the mid-1960's, the segment between US 17/92 in DeLand and US 1 in New Smyrna Beach was part of
In Lake County, SR 44 originally passed through downtown
The current alignment around the south side of Leesburg was taken over ca. 1986.
At some point, SR 44 from US 441 east of Leesburg to State Road 19 north of Eustis was given to the county and numbered County Road 44; the route via US 441 and SR 19 south of Lake Eustis became SR 44. CR 44 has since been realigned to bypass Eustis to the north.
SR 44 was realigned around downtown Eustis in 2005,[7] taking over what had been County Road 44B between US 441 and SR 44 east of Eustis. The Florida Department of Transportation gave SR 44 west of CR 44B to Lake County. CR 44B had been marked from US 441 as a bypass to SR 44 east and from SR 44 as a bypass to US 441 south, as part of a longer bypass of Eustis also including County Road 44 north and west to SR 19.
Major intersections
County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.378 | 3.827 | CR 486 east (West Norvell Bryant Highway) – Hernando | ||||
| 5.621 | 9.046 | SR 589 south (Suncoast Parkway) – Tampa | ||||
CR 490 west (West Homosassa Trail) – Homosassa Springs, Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Historic State Park | |||||||
7.310 | 11.764 | College of Central Florida Citrus Campus | |||||
CR 581 south (South Pleasant Grove Road) – Brooksville | |||||||
16.581 | 26.685 | To CR 581 north / Davidson Avenue | |||||
16.668 | 26.825 | West end of US 41 / SR 45 overlap | |||||
17.615 | 28.349 | East end of US 41 / SR 45 overlap | |||||
| 21.105 | 33.965 | CR 470 west (East Gospel Island Road) | ||||
CR 470 east – Lake Panasoffkee | |||||||
| 30.970 | 49.841 | CR 475 north | ||||
| 32.70 | 52.63 | I-75 exit 329; Turnpike exit 307 | ||||
| 33.698 | 54.232 | CR 44A east | ||||
CR 44A west | |||||||
CR 468 west | |||||||
46.929 | 75.525 | ||||||
49.155 | 79.107 | SR 500 ) to SR 44 east | |||||
Gap in route | |||||||
CR 44B | |||||||
SR 19 north | |||||||
| 4.074 | 6.556 | CR 439 north | ||||
| 7.110 | 11.442 | CR 437 – Sorrento | ||||
| 8.263 | 13.298 | CR 46A south – Sanford | ||||
CR 44A west | |||||||
St. Johns River | 22.97 | 36.97 | Francis P. Whitehair Bridge | ||||
Glenwood | Roundabout | ||||||
| 26.172 | 42.120 | Amtrak | ||||
US 92 | |||||||
28.140 | 45.287 | ||||||
| 30.840 | 49.632 | CR 4101 (Kepler Road) | ||||
Intersection continues as "SR 44A" | |||||||
| 33.00 | 53.11 | SR 400) – Daytona Beach, Sanford | I-4 exit 118 | |||
| 33.770 | 54.348 | Prevatt Avenue - Lake Helen | ||||
| 39.692 | 63.878 | CR 4118 east (Pioneer Trail) | ||||
Miami | I-95 exit 249 | ||||||
51.191 | 82.384 | SR 44 Bus. east to US 1 – Atlantic Center for the Arts | |||||
52.1 | 83.8 | SR 5) to SR A1A north | Interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||||
52.198 | 84.005 | SR A1A south to SR 44 east (North Causeway) – Beaches | |||||
Gap in route | |||||||
0.000 | 0.000 | North Riverside Drive | |||||
1.22 | 1.96 | Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway ) | |||||
1.433 | 2.306 | Peninsula Avenue | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
|
Related roads
State Road 44 Business
Location | New Smyrna Beach |
---|
State Road 44 Business is a state road in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The latest GIS data has it listed as SR 44 even though there are two signs which have "business" tabs on them. Business 44 was the old alignment of SR 44 through downtown New Smyrna Beach.
County Road 44W (Citrus County)
Location | Fort Island-Crystal River |
---|
County Road 44W exists as the western tip of old State Road 44, south of Crystal River. The suffix, "W", was most likely added to not confuse this section with State Road 44, to the north, and to show its location by being west of US 19 and US 98(SR 55). As with the majority of these type of 'coastal spur' routes, in West Central Florida, it is county maintained.
County Road 44A (Sumter County)
Location | Wildwood – Orange Home |
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County Road 44A exists along the north side of State Road 44 in Wildwood and Orange Home. The road begins southeast of the interchange with Interstate 75, and instantly intersects with CR 225, which runs north and south, while CR 44A runs directly east and west until it curves slightly to the right and becomes Kilgore Street. The road then moves south onto Central Avenue running parallel to the CSX line until reaching Lynum Street, and crosses the tracks until Lynum Street terminates at US 301. County Road 44A then not only crosses US 301 to enter Huey Street, but the wye for the former Leesburg and Tavares railroad line. One block away, CR 44A breaks away from Huey Street and curves south before running along the north side of the right-of-way of the previously mentioned abandoned railroad line. The line contained a series of abandoned freight cars until the 2000s (decade), and the road and railroad line followed each other until CR 44A terminates at a recreational vehicle park in Orange Home.
Lake County
Location | Leesburg – Mount Dora |
---|
County Road 44 is a
The western terminus County Road 44 is at an intersection with the
In Eustis, CR 44 intersects
County Road 44 Leg A is a short spur near CR 44's western terminus in Leesburg. It serves as an alternate route for northbound
County Road 44A
Location | Umatilla – Mount Dora |
---|
County Road 44A is an east/west
The western terminus of County Road 44A is at an intersection with
On the eastern edge of Eustis, CR 44A intersects one of the eastern termini of County Road 44 before turning east once again on DeLand Road.[9] It then continues east on DeLand Road for approximately 9.4 miles (15.1 km), passing by Black Bear Golf Club, before reaching its eastern terminus at State Road 44.[12][13]
County Road 44B
Location | Mount Dora |
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County Road 44B, formerly a short north–south county route in the Mount Dora area. In 2004, CR 44B was turned over to State Road 44 when SR 44 was re-routed out of downtown Eustis, with SR 44 becoming a complete eastern and southern bypass of Eustis. The remaining portion of SR 44 through Eustis was reverted to CR 44, and remains unsigned to this day.
County Road 44C
Location | Mount Dora |
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County Road 44C, is Eudora Road, a short north–south county route also in the Mount Dora area. It spans from the convoluted intersection between Old County Road 441 and the eastern terminus of County Road 19A to US 441-SR 44 almost crossing the Mount Dora-Eustis border.
References
- ^ a b c d e FDOT straight line diagrams Archived March 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, accessed February 2014
- ^ FDOT GIS data Archived June 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "I-75/Turnpike Interchange Modification - Sumter County (Florida's Turnpike Enterprise)" (PDF).
- ^ Florida DOT Map (1946)
- ^ General Highway Map, Volusia County, July 1973, reprinted December 1982: sheet 1, sheet 2
- ^ a b Florida Department of Transportation, General Highway Map, Lake County, Florida, February 1969 (reprinted September 1978)
- ^ a b c Florida Department of Transportation, Pavement Management Office Report - Lake County (PDF)
- ISBN 0-528-85927-7.
- ^ ISBN 0-528-85927-7.
- ISBN 0-528-85927-7.
- ISBN 0-528-85927-7.
- ^ CR 44A to CR 44A (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ. Google. 2008.
- ISBN 0-528-85927-7.