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Florida State Road 60
USinfo | 2012-12-25 17:05
State Road 60 is an east–west route transversingFlorida from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. The western terminus of SR 60 is at the Sunsets at Pier 60 in Clearwater. The eastern terminus is in Vero Beach near the Atlantic Coast just past State Road A1A.
Memorial Causeway Bridge looking left from under the bridge toward Clearwater, Beach
Memorial Causeway Bridge looking left from under the bridge toward Clearwater, Beach
State Road 60 is an east–west route transversingFlorida from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. The western terminus of SR 60 is at the Sunsets at Pier 60 in Clearwater. The eastern terminus is in Vero Beach near the Atlantic Coast just past State Road A1A.
Route description
SR 60 is primarily a four lane divided highway from its western terminus through the town of Lake Wales to Polk County Highway 630 near Indian Lake Estates; from there it was a lonely two-lane road until reaching Florida's Turnpike at Yeehaw Junction, but has recently become a four-lane highway as well. From there until its eastern terminus it is a divided highway.
In the Tampa Bay area it is the main route from Tampa to the Clearwater area beaches and from Tampa International Airport to northern Pinellas county. It also provides service from Tampa International Airport to the Suncoast Parkway. It is the main non-limited access route from downtown Tampa to Brandon, paralleling the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway.
As of 2005, SR 60 briefly divides into two, one-way streets in southern downtown Clearwater. This is a result of the recent realignment of the SR 60 corridor in the area, following the completion of the new Memorial Causeway.
History
Originally, SR 60 in Clearwater traveled west of Highland Avenue along Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard and Cleveland Street to the Memorial Causeway. When construction of the new Memorial Causeway began in 2001/2002, SR 60 was realigned along Court Street and Pierce Boulevard to the Causeway, with the original alignment downloaded to the city of Clearwater. Between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Pierce, SR 60 is split into two one-way streets—Court Street carrying westbound traffic, and Chestnut Street carrying eastbound traffic.
Prior to the realignment, Court Street east of Missouri Avenue was known as SR 651, while Court and Chestnut Streets west of Missouri was a locally maintained road signed as "Bypass 60".
