U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a

United States Numbered Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

that runs from

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, to

Mackinaw City, Michigan Mackinaw City ( ) is a village at the northernmost point of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, United States. Divided between Cheboygan and Emmet counties, Mackinaw City is located at the southern end of the Mackinac Bridge, which carries Inter ...

. In the U.S. state of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, US 23 is concurrent with US 1 south of

Alma, Georgia Bacon County Courthouse Alma is a city in Bacon County, Georgia, United States, and the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,433. Alma is known as Georgia's blueberry capital, and hosts a Blueberry Festival ea ...

, except in

Downtown Jacksonville Downtown Jacksonville is the historic core and central business district (CBD) of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It comprises the earliest area of the city to be developed and is located in its geographic center along the narrowing point ...

. US 23 is also concurrent with US 301 between Homeland, Georgia, and Callahan. In the Jacksonville area, US 23 is the unsigned State Road 139 (SR 139), which also continues east from the south end of US 23 along SR 10A to SR 115 near the

Mathews Bridge The Mathews Bridge is a cantilever bridge in Jacksonville, Florida, which spans the St. Johns River. Constructed in 1953, the bridge brings traffic along the Arlington Expressway between downtown Jacksonville and the Arlington neighborhood. It ...

Route description

US 23 begins at US 1 (Main Street) at the northern end of

, starting as a

one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...

, with the northbound lanes meeting with

Florida State College at Jacksonville Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) is a public college in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is a member institution of the Florida College System, and offers a range of associate and baccalaureate degree programs. FSCJ is also kn ...

. It is also unsigned SR 139 from its southern terminus to its interchange with US 1 in northwestern

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

(SR 139 continues east along SR 10A from the end of US 23 to SR 115). Additionally, it has a

wrong-way concurrency Wrong way may refer to: * a traffic sign to warn of wrong-way driving * nickname of Douglas Corrigan (1907–1995), an American aviator who flew east from New York to Ireland instead of west to California in 1938 * nickname of Roy Riegels (1908–1 ...

with US 17 from the beginning at US 1 to exits 363B and 363C on Interstate 95 (I-95). West of I-95, US 23 ends the one-way pair, continuing as Kings Road through northwestern Jacksonville, as an off-grid road. A few miles to the northwest in the Grand Park section of Jacksonville, US 23 runs beneath a railroad bridge originally owned by the St. Johns River Terminal Company (now the

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

Springfield Lead) before it meets with US 1/ SR 15 ( Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway), running concurrently with the highway through the rest of its journey through Florida. The road continues northwest, intersecting with

I-295 Interstate 295 is the designation for the following eight Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: *Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania), a bypass of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Interstate 295 (Florida), a be ...

, and eventually makes its way out of Jacksonville. At Callahan, US 1/US 23 meets US 301, beginning a three-way concurrency as the road continues northward through Hilliard and

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

toward the St. Marys River, leaving Florida and entering Georgia.

History

Beginning in 1950, US 23's southern terminus was extended into Florida approximately south from

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, to Jacksonville. From 1956 until 1993, US 23 signs in Florida featured white numbering on a green shield. The "color-coding" of U.S. Highways by the

Florida Department of Transportation The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the U.S. state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the power ...

was stopped when the state could no longer use federal funds to replace the signs with anything but the standard black-and-white version. Some green US 23 signs may still remain.

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{state detail page browse, type=US, route=23, state=Florida, statebefore=, stateafter=Georgia 23 U.S. Route 23 023 023 023

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links