U.S. Highway 19 Alternate (US 19 Alt.) is a former section of US 19 from

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

, Florida. Beginning at the intersection of 4th Street North ( US 92 and State Road 687 (SR 687) and 5th Avenue North in St. Petersburg, it runs west of US 19 near the Gulf coast passing through the cities of

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

, Clearwater,

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, and

Tarpon Springs Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal point and underwent beautification in 2010. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 25,117 at the 2020 census. As of ...

before ending at US 19 in Holiday,

Pasco County Pasco County is a county located on the west central coast in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2024, the population of the county is 656,851, making it the tenth-most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest c ...

. It is also the unsigned State Road 595 (SR 595) throughout the entire route. It also runs along much of the

Pinellas Trail The Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail is a rail trail in Pinellas County, Florida. It stretches from Tarpon Springs in the north to St. Petersburg in the south, passing through the towns of Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Belleair, Clearwater, Largo, Semino ...

Route description

History

US 19 Alt. was established in 1951 when US 19 was realigned from St. Petersburg through Holiday. It hugs the Gulf coast, servicing Seminole, Clearwater, Dunedin, and Tarpon Springs before ending at US 19 in Holiday. Originally, the southern terminus of US 19 Alt. was at US 92/SR 687 in downtown St. Petersburg but was truncated to US 19 in St. Petersburg. As of September 2007, however, signage indicates that US 19 Alt. once again follows US 19's old route all the way to US 92; this original route was numbered and signed as the hidden SR 595 designation of the main route, but the signs are slowly being phased out in favor of US 19 Alt. shields. Both shields are in current use, however, for the time being, with the US 19 Alt. signage on the highway itself, and the SR 595 directional signage at the intersections, including Interstate 275 (I-275) exit 23.

Realignment in Clearwater–Largo

Prior to February 2007, US 19 Alt. originally went south through downtown Clearwater on Fort Harrison Avenue, which becomes Clearwater–Largo Road upon entering Largo. It then turned east along West Bay Drive to the intersection of Seminole Boulevard, then turned south. This intersection is also the western terminus of SR 686 and, until the reconfiguration, the southern terminus of SR 651. As of February 2007, US 19 Alt. was realigned along Missouri Avenue, directly north to SR 60 (Court/Chestnut streets) in Clearwater, west to Myrtle Avenue, then north, before joining Fort Harrison Avenue south of Sunset Point Road. The new alignment now effectively bypasses the downtowns of Largo and Clearwater. The original alignment has since been decommissioned 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 ...

(FDOT) and transferred to the cities of Largo and Clearwater. SR 651 is used in FDOT's road inventory lists concurrent with the US 19 Alt. alignment. When this plan was first announced in 2001, it was viewed as good news for commuters and businesses championing the project as a way to turn Clearwater into a walkable community.

Proposed expressways

The planned St. Petersburg–Clearwater Expressway, or Pinellas Beltway, proposed in 1974, would have followed the current alignment of US 19 Alt. from

I-275 Interstate 275 (I-275) may refer to: *Interstate 275 (Ohio–Indiana–Kentucky), a full beltway around Cincinnati, OH; Covington, KY; Lawrenceburg, IN - construction started in 1968 *Interstate 275 (Florida), a loop through Tampa, St. Petersburg, ...

to Clearwater. A

freeway revolt Highway revolts (also freeway revolts, expressway revolts, or road protests) are organized protests against the planning or construction of highways, freeways, expressways, and other civil engineering projects that prioritize motor vehicle traff ...

canceled the beltway by 1980. The intersection of Seminole and Bay Pines boulevards at SR 666 is a remnant of this proposed road.

Major intersections

State Road 595 and County Road 595

Two extensions of hidden SR 595 exist beyond US 19 Alt. The first one is between US 19 and US 92 in downtown St. Petersburg, though this is being phased out, as signage indicates that US 19 Alt. now ends at US 92 instead of US 19. The other is a brief multiplex with US 19 in Holiday which terminates a block north of the northern terminus of US 19 Alt. in Holiday at Mile Stretch Road. County Road 595 (CR 595) consists of Mile Stretch Road, then takes a sharp left onto Grand Boulevard. Within Holiday and Elfers, the road runs along the

right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

of a former railroad line before heading to Main Street in

New Port Richey New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was counted at 16,728 in the 2020 census. History ...

, where it secretly makes another left turn before terminating at US 19. CR 595 can be found again between

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and

Aripeka Abiaka, also known as Sam Jones, (c. 1781 – c. 1866) was a Seminole-Miccosukee chief, warrior, and shaman who fought against the United States during the Seminole Wars. He was born among the Miccosukee people of Georgia, who would migrate south ...

, where it crosses the Pasco–Hernando county line along 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 ...

on its way toward Hernando Beach, only to bypass downtown Hernando Beach and terminate once again with US 19, but this time also with the western terminus of CR 574/Spring Hill Drive.

References

External links

Alternate US 19 (SouthEastRoads.com)
(AARoads.com). {{DEFAULTSORT:19 Alternate St. Petersburg Alternate, St. Petersburg 19 Alternate Florida St. Petersburg U.S. Highways in Florida Roads in St. Petersburg, Florida Roads in Pinellas County, Florida Roads in Pasco County, Florida 1951 establishments in Florida