State Road 24 (SR 24) is an east–west

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

that runs between

Cedar Key Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 687, down from 702 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of ...

on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

and

Waldo, Florida Waldo is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2020 census, the population was 846, down from 1,015 at the 2010 census. History William Sparkman, the "father ...

, at US 301. State Road 24 runs along a former branch of the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

. This branch was originally owned by the Florida Railway and Navigation Company, and used to lead to ferries to both

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

and

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. It also passes through

Rosewood Rosewood is any of a number of richly hued hardwoods, often brownish with darker veining, but found in other colours. It is hard, tough, strong, and dense. True rosewoods come from trees of the genus '' Dalbergia'', but other woods are often ca ...

, site of the infamous 1923 massacre.

Route description

Levy County

Starting as D Street in Cedar Key, State Road 24 skips over Jackson Island and Sunset Island before making its way across the mainland of northwestern Florida. Once on the mainland, the road runs between the

Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge The Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System, located near Cedar Key, at the western end of SR 24 Route 24, or Highway 24, can refer to: International * European route E24 Australia ...

and Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park just before a fork in the road with Levy County Road 347. Along the way intersects CR 345 in Rosewood. In the City of Otter Creek, the road intersects

US 19 U.S. Route 19 or U.S. Highway 19 (US 19) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the Eastern United States. Despite encroaching Interstate Highways, the route has remained a long-haul road, connecting the Gulf of Mex ...

- 98, at a blinker light, which hardly looks like a city at all. Between US 19-98 and Alternate US 27 in Bronson, the road runs through a wooded area north of Goethe State Forest, which includes preserves such as the Devil's Hammock Wildlife Management Area. Names for State Road 24 in Levy County include D-Street, 2nd Avenue, West Thrasher Drive, East Thrasher Drive and SR 24.

Alachua County

Shortly after crossing the Levy-Alachua County Line, SR 24 becomes Archer Road and enters

Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern ...

itself, intersecting with

US 27 U.S. Route 27 or U.S. Highway 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the Southern and Midwestern U.S. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I ...

- 41. After the interchange with

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

in Gainesville, State Road 24 crosses SR 121, where it runs along the south side of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

then become concurrent with

US 441 U.S. Route 441 (US 441) is a auxiliary route of U.S. Route 41. It extends from US 41 in Miami, Florida to US 25W in Rocky Top, Tennessee. Between its termini, US 441 travels through the states of Florida, Georgia, North ...

(West 13th Street), later with SR 20/ 26 (University Avenue), until the intersection with SR 331 (Williston Road) in the east part of town. Here, SR 24 breaks off as Waldo Road, which is also overlapped with US Truck Route 441 and State Truck Route 121 until the intersection with SR 222. The northeast corner of SR 24 and SR 222 (North 39th Avenue) is the site of the

Gainesville Regional Airport Gainesville Regional Airport is a public airport three miles northeast of Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville, in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is owned by Gainesville-Alachua County Regional Airport Authority. The National Plan of In ...

, while the rest of the road runs through the University of Florida Austin Carey Forest before finally terminating at an interchange with US 301 in

Waldo Waldo may refer to: People and fictional characters * Waldo (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Waldo (surname), a list of people * Waldo (footballer), Brazilian footballer Waldo Machado da Silva (1934–20 ...

. Names for State Road 24 in Alachua County include SR 24, Archer Road, 13th Street, University Avenue, Waldo Road, and Kennard Street (westbound lanes in Waldo).

Major intersections

Related routes

State Road 24A

State Road 24A (SR 24A) is an alternate route within Gainesville. It is overlapped by State Road 226 (Southwest 16th Avenue and Southeast 16th Avenue), and then State Road 331 from SR 226 to SR 20/26, where it terminates at SR 24 again. The west end of SRs 24A/226 is only accessible eastbound from SR 24 and westbound to SR 24. Motorists who want to travel in the opposite direction must use nearby Shealy Drive. At

the road transforms from a four-lane divided highway to a four-lane undivided highway with a continuous left-turn lane. The divider returns again east of Southwest 10th Avenue, but ends east of Southwest 6th Street. SR 24A-226 runs along Southwest 16th Avenue, and becomes Southeast 16th Avenue, when it crosses SR 329 and narrows down to two lanes. The road curves down to a southbound direction and has frequent pedestrian crosswalks across it before curving back east. SR 226 ends at SR 331, however SR 24A continues north along SR 331 until it reaches the intersection of SR 20-24-26.

County Road 24

County Road 24 is a short

county road A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...

spur of SR 24 in Bronson. It travels west of SR 24 to U.S. Highway 27 Alternate and is known locally as Picnic Street.

State Road 24 Truck

Florida State Truck Route 24 in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

was established in order to divert trucks form the congested downtown areas of Gainesville.FDOT Public Notice (Gainesville Sun; Gainesville Sun -- May 14, 1986)
/ref> The route begins at the

at Exit 384, and follows that route south, having also joined Truck Route 26 which ran southbound along I-75 since Exit 387. Both routes follow the interstate until leaving at Exit 382 to make an easterly turn onto a new overlap with State Road 121. One block after the interstate, the two truck routes encounter the southern terminus of

Florida State Road 331 State Road 331 (SR 331) is a short state highway running south and east of Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville, although it once stretched as far south as Williston, Florida, Williston. It also serves as a truck route for State Roads 24, 26, an ...

, and SR 121 makes a sharp left turn, while Truck Routes 24 and 26 join SR 331 in an overlap are joined by Florida State Truck Route 121. At the intersection with U.S. Route 441, the routes are joined by a truck route of that route as well. The four truck routes run northeast along SR 331 past the eastern terminus of Florida State Road 226, and are also joined by another overlap, this time with Florida State Road 24A. This makes a total of five overlapping routes with SR 331, which curves from northeast to the north. Florida State Truck Route 24/SR 24A/Truck Route 26/SR 331 terminates at the east end of the overlap of SRs 20, 24, and 26. However US 441 Truck and Florida Truck Route 121 continue to the northeast along SR 24 until reaching their respected parent routes.

References

External links

{{Commons category multi , Florida State Road 24, Florida State Road 24A
Florida Route Log (SRs 24 and 24A)
State highways in Florida, 024 024 024 024 1945 establishments in Florida