U.S. Route 441 in Florida

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 441 in Florida. For the entire length of the highway, see U.S. Route 441.

U.S. Highway 441
Route information
Maintained by FDOT
Length:	459 mi (739 km)
Major junctions
South end:	US 41 in Miami
	I-95 in Biscayne Gardens Turnpike / SR 91 in Miami Gardens and Davie US 98 from Royal Palm Beach to Okeechobee US 192 from Holopaw to Kissimmee US 17 / US 92 from Kissimmee to Orlando Turnpike / SR 528 in Orlando I-4 in Orlando US 27 from Leesburg to Ocala US 301 from Belleview to Sparr I-75 in Alachua and Ellisville US 41 from High Springs to Lake City I-10 in Lake City
North end:	US 441 south of Fargo, GA
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced Florida State and County Roads Interstate • US • SR (Pre-1945) • Toll • County ← SR 439 SR 442 →

U.S. Route 441 (US 441) in Florida is a north–south United States Highway. It runs 459 miles (739 km) from the South Florida Metropolitan Area northwest to the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Hidden state roads along the route consist of SR 7 from Miami to Royal Palm Beach (of which many locals in this area generally call US 441 as "State Road 7" instead of US 441), SR 80 from Royal Palm Beach to Belle Glade, SR 15 from Belle Glade to Holopaw, SR 500 from Holopaw to Ocala, SR 25 from Leesburg to Lady lake, and again from Belleview to Lake City, SR 25A within Lake City, and SR 47 from Lake City to the Florida-Georgia State line.

Concurrencies include US 98 from Royal Palm Beach to Okeechobee, within the vicinity of Lake Okeechobee, US 192 between Holopaw and Kissimmee, US 17-92 from Kissimmee to Orlando, SR 44 from Mount Dora to Leesburg, US 27 from Leesburg to Ocala, US 301 from Belleview to near Sparr, and US 41 from High Springs to Lake City.

Route description

Miami to Kissimmee

The southern terminus of US 441 in Miami

US 441 begins northbound at Southwest 7th Street, which is westbound U.S. Route 41, and ends southbound on Southwest 8th Street, which is eastbound U.S. Route 41 in downtown Miami (both are one way streets). The route is concurrent with SR 7 from its southern terminus and parallels Interstate 95 north out of Miami to western Aventura, where I-95 heads northeast to access Fort Lauderdale and the remainder of the eastern Florida coast. However, the route is soon joined by the tolled Florida's Turnpike and I-95 (Exits 12 and 12C), which follows US 441 north to West Palm Beach. In between, the route interchanges with the Turnpike at exit 62 via State Road 870 (Commercial Blvd.) in Tamarac. Additionally, US 441 meets Interstate 595 (Exits 8 and 8B) west of Fort Lauderdale and the tolled State Road 869 in Coconut Creek.

At West Palm Beach, US 441 intersects U.S. Route 98, ending the concurrency with SR 7, and overlaps the highway through central Palm Beach County, along with two hidden state routes Florida State Road 80 and Florida State Road 700. In Twenty Mile Bend SR 700 branches off to the northwest, which is where US Routes 98 and 441 split until 2007. US 98-441 continues west to Belle Glade at the intersection of Florida State Road 15, along the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee, where SR 80 turns south and US 98-441 turns north to follow the shoreline to Pahokee. Just north of Pahokee in Canal Point, SR 700 rejoins US 98-441 and remains concurrent with US 441 along the eastern edge of the lake. North of Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee, US 98 splits away from US 441 making a left turn at Florida State Road 70. US 441 continues north, meeting the Turnpike at Yeehaw Junction (via State Road 60) prior to intersecting U.S. Route 192 at Holopaw. US 441 turns west onto US 192, forming an overlap into Kissimmee. At the concurrent routes of U.S. Route 17/92, US 441 separates from US 192 and follows US 17/US 92 north onto the Orange Blossom Trail.

Kissimmee through Mount Dora

Due to its proximity with Walt Disney World and affiliated resorts as well as Sea World, Universal Studios, and others, US 17/US 92/US 441 intersects many toll roads between Kissimmee and Orlando, the first of which is the partially tolled and partial limited-access Osceola Parkway in Kissimmee. Immediateley after this in Orlando is the Central Florida GreeneWay (exit 11). North of here the Central Florida Parkway lead to Sea World. Neither of these intersections or interchanges however, compare to the combined interchanges of Florida's Turnpike and the Beachline Expressway, in Sky Lake, which contains a series of convoluted interchanges and partial ramps from side roads.

In Holden Heights, US 441 has an interchange with I-4 (Exit 80). Eastbound access from I-4 comes from partial cloverleaf ramps, and westbound access comes from a left-turn ramp between the two carriageways that runs under the eastbound lane and merges with the east to southbound ramp before merging with southbound OBT. The interchange provides no south to east access and no west to north access, but such access can found from the intersection with West Michigan Street. Further north is the interchange with SR 408 (East-West Tollway) at exit 9, which is a diamond interchange. After curving around Givens Street and Springdale Road, both of which can only be accessed from West Concord Street, OBT moves closer to a parallel railroad freight line and meets the intersection of SR 50 (Colonial Drive) northwest of downtown. Here, US 17/92 turns east onto State Road 50 while US 441 continues north on the Orange Blossom Trail. North of downtown, US 441 encounters intersections with Florida State Road 438, then Florida State Road 416, and after running along the western edge of Lake Fairview, an intersection with Florida State Road 423 which changes from the north-and-south John Young Parkway to the east-and-west Lee Avenue.

The road moves away from the freight line north of SR 423, but in Lockhart it runs over a bridge for that line again between Rose Avenue and Beggs Road. Further northwest it runs beneath an interchange with Florida State Road 414, then cuts through a corner of Seminole County and re-enters Orange County in Apopka where it meets the northern terminus of West Orange Trail and the tolled State Road 429 before leaving the Orlando area. This road was intended to be part of the Central Florida GreeneWay loop around the Orlando Metropolitan Area. The road cuts through Plymouth and back to Apopka again, but the last sites in Apopka are Orlando Apopka Airport along the west side and Zellwood Cemetery on the east side before entering Zellwood, Florida. Intersections here include Ponkan Road and then Jones Avenue which lead to another airport known as Bob White Field The road takes a slight reverse curve before the intersection with Sadler Avenue (Orange CR 448), and then approaches Lake Ola in Tangerine, where the road turns straight north and serves as the southern terminus of Old Orange County Road 441 (former Florida State Road 500A), before both roads cross the Orange-Lake County Line and enter Mount Dora. But while Old CR 441 remains a local downtown street, US 441 continues as a rural at-grade four-lane divided highway, with the exception of an un-numbered diamond interchange with Florida State Road 46 and Lake CR 46.

Mount Dora through Sparr

Continuing with the rural surroundings, US 441 maintains its straight north and south position until it curves to the northwest between Lincoln and East Pine Avenues. Approaching Loch Leven, it turns straight west, and then Florida State Road 44 joins US 441 after having run west from New Smyrna Beach and DeLand. This intersection is also shared with Lake County Road 44B, which takes motorists to Downtown Mount Dora. In southern Eustis, US 441-SR 44 encounter another un-numbered interchange with Florida State Road 19 and Lake County Road 19A, taking SR 19 in a wrong way concurrency until it reaches a wye in Tavares, where SR 19 heads south toward Howey-in-the-Hills and Groveland, and Old Lake County Road 441 rejoins US 441. From here, US 441-SR 44 is a six-lane highway with bicycle lanes that squeezes between Lake Harris and Lake Eustis where it crosses over the Dead River on a bridge between the two lakes. The road passes by Leesburg Municipal Airport, then serves as the western terminus of Lake County Road 44, all the while winding around the northern shores of Lake Harris. In Leesburg, SR 44 leaves US 441 heading toward Wildwood, Inverness, and Crystal River, while US 441 curves to the northwest, then intersects U.S. Route 27 in another concurrency, and as a result, the hidden state routes are officially SR 25-500. The concurrency with SR 25 is short-lived, because in Lady Lake, SR 25 branches away as Marion County Road 25. This once served as the southern terminus of the US 27-441 Alternate Route around Lake Weir into Belleview, but still remains a scenic route.

Golf cart bridge over US 27/US 441, in The Villages

A surviving support for a never-completed bridge that was part of the Cross Florida Barge Canal project, in the US 441 median in Santos.

Around the Lake-Marion county border, US 27-441 enters a retirement community known as The Villages. Because of the frequent use of street-legal golf cars in the community, bridges and tunnels for these carts can be found throughout the road. US 27-441 leaves The Villages as it approaches Marion County Road 42, a bi-county east-west scenic route through Central Florida. North of here, it serves as the newly constructed eastern terminus of Marion CR 484, in Summerfield. Within Belleview, the road encounters two somewhat important intersections; Marion County Road 25A, and then Florida State Road 35. SR 35 joins US 27-441 in a wrong-way concurrency with SR 500 as the road curves more to the west, until it reaches the intersection with US 301, where SR 35 turns south, and SR 500 becomes the hidden state road for US 27-301-441 for a few blocks. However SR 25 reunites with the triplex at the former eastern terminus of Marion CR 484, and shares a concurrency with SR 25, and US 27-301-441's new secret route becomes SRs 25-500 once again. After that the road curves more to the north again. Near the right of way for the formerly proposed Cross Florida Barge Canal in Santos, the median for the road widens, as it contains supports for a bridge that was never completed once the Canal project was cancelled. Before the median narrows back down to normal again, it intersects Marion CR 328, where a police station exists in the median. To the west of this intersection is the Santos Trailhead of the Cross Florida Greenway.

Before US 27-301-441 enters Ocala, it veers off to the left at an intersection with Marion County Road Old 441 (Southeast Lake Weir Avenue), a former segment of US 441 that eventually leads to Ocala Union Station. The first major intersection after this is 31st Street. Then it crosses under a railroad bridge before reaching the City Limits and the intersections with the northern terminus of Marion CR 475 and crossing SR 464 (17th Street). US 27-301-441 intersects with SR 200 (becoming the new hidden state road until US 301 reaches US 1-23). The highway reaches the heart of Ocala at the intersection with SR 40 (West Silver Springs Boulevard). After this, the road crosses a railroad bridge west of Ocala Union Station. Five blocks later, it reaches the intersection of SR 492 (Northwest 10th Street) only to move in the opposite direction, leaving the US 301-441 overlap and taking SR 500 with it as they head northwest towards Williston, Perry, Tallahassee, and points north. Before US 301-441 leaves Ocala, it has an intersection with Marion County Road 200A (Northwest 20th Street), which runs east and then north. This road was the former State Road 200A and decommissioned US Route 301 Alternate.

After Marion County Road Old 441 (North Magnolia Avenue) terminates at the southeast corner of the intersection of US 301-441 and Northwest 28th Street, another county alternate which was a former section of US 441-SR 25 begins on the opposite side. This road is Marion CR 25A (Northwest Gainesville Road), which is also the decommissioned US Route 441 Alternate, and runs northwest through towns such as Zuber, Lowell, and Reddick. East of Zuber, the road intersects SR 326, which originally had a short concurrency, but now directly crosses US 301-441. South of the intersection with Marion CR 329 is an interchange with U.S. Route 441 between Sparr and Lowell, where the US 301-441 concurrency ends. US 301 moves northeast towards Waldo, Starke, and Jacksonville taking SR 200 with it, while US 441 moves northwest.

Reddick through the Georgia State Line

US 441 in McIntosh, looking south

In Reddick US 441 continues to the northwest, serving as the northern terminus of Marion CR 25A. From there it intersects Marion CR 318, which provides access to I-75 in Irvine to the west and Salt Springs in Ocala National Forest to the east. The road then runs through communities such as Orange Lake and McIntosh, where it passes through the McIntosh Historic District before crossing the Marion-Alachua County Line near the town of Evinston. It passes by a turnoff to Cross Creek before entering Micanopy, then runs across Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and goes through Gainesville. After intersecting SR 331 and later SRs 24A-226, Florida State Road 24 joins US 441 in a brief concurrency until it reaches Florida State Road 26 and turns east. US 441 continues north as it becomes the western terminus of Florida State Road 120, then intersects Florida State Road 222 before curving to the northwest and finally joining Florida State Road 20, thereby converting it into an additional hidden state road. At the intersection of SR 121, the DeSoto Trail moves from SR 121 to US 441. In Alachua, US 441 intersects with SR 235, and then runs under an interchange with Interstate 75 (Exit 399), with quarter-cloverleaf interchanges on the northeast and northwest corners.

Just as it did in Leesburg, US 441 in High Springs curves to the right while a state road becomes independent, specifically SR 20, which runs west only to join US 27 as they head towards Perry, Tallahassee, and Niceville. Meanwhile as it did with US 27 in Leesburg, US 441 joins US 41 north, but here it also serves as the northern terminus of hidden SR 45. US 41-441 crosses the Santa Fe River then runs north passing by O'Leno State Park and River Rise Preserve State Park, near which it shares a brief concurrency with Florida State Road 18. It then runs through Ellsville, where it has another interchange with I-75 (Exit 414), just south of the western terminus of Florida State Road 238.

Entering Lake City, US 441 splits from US 41 onto Florida State Road 25A south of the city. The routes remain parallel, and at some point Route 441 is joined by Florida State Road 47 which was signed as terminating at US 41. However, past U.S. Route 90 (where the DeSoto Trail heads west) to the northern extents of Lake City. Past Lake City, US 441 has an interchange with Interstate 10 (Exit 303), then skirts the western edge of the Okefenokee Swamp and east bank of the Suwannee River as it enters Georgia.

History

A US 441 shield used in Florida prior to 1993

From 1956, signs for U.S. Highways in Florida had different colors for each highway. The "shield" for US 441 was brown, until the state was forced by the federal government to conform to standards that required consistent black-and-white signs in 1993.

Although the southern terminus of US 441 is US 41 in Miami, the current, temporary terminus has been the Miami River since early 2007, when the Florida Department of Transportation demolished the NW 7th Avenue Bridge over which the highway passed. The replacement bridge will not be finished until 2011.^[1]

Related routes

At least six other bannered routes of US 441 have existed in Florida, however only one exists today.

• U.S. Route 441 Business – Tangerine to Tavares; former Mount Dora Business route, now County Road Old 441.
• U.S. Route 441 Truck – Eustis; Main line US 441 signed as a truck route to keep truck drivers out of downtown Eustis.
• U.S. Route 441 Truck – Leesburg; runs west along SR 44 then north along US 27.
• U.S. Route 441 Alternate – Lady Lake to Belleview; former route co-signed with Alternate U.S. Route 27.
• U.S. Route 441 Alternate – Ocala to Reddick; Today Marion CR 25A.
• U.S. Route 441 Truck – Lake City

References

1. ^ "Bridge work stymies Dade Civic Center area," Larry Lebowitz, Miami Herald, August 20, 2007.

External links

• US 441; Florida in Kodachrome
• US Route 441 in Florida (SouthEastRoads.com)

U.S. Route 441
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