Skip to main content

2017 Southeast Trip Part 10; Monoliths and the road to the Tamiami Trail

By
Despite looping back to the Tampa Area my road trip was not over as I still had much of Southern Florida to explore.  Not wanting to take any I-75 after the previous two days I decided on an inland route south to US 41 on the Tamiami Trail east of Naples.


Leaving Hernando County I took the back roads to CR 541 and went south into Pasco County where it becomes CR 41.





As I mentioned much earlier in the trip blog series CR 41 was part of FL 41 and is probably the hilliest road in Florida.  The dips down the Brooksville Ridge approaching Dade City are gigantic.





I took US 301 to CR 35A the Old Lakeland Highway in Dade City.  US 301 didn't make it down to Florida until 1947 but I'm fairly certain it is an older alignment along with Chancey Road.  US 98 would likely have used the Old Lakeland Highway as well when it was shifted east to Palm Beach in 1952.  When I reached the overpass with US 98 I took a ramp up to it to continue towards Lakeland.







On US 98 at the boundary of Polk County is one of the old County Monoliths which served as entry markers.  The Monoliths were put in place in 1930 alongside well traveled roads that entered Polk County.  The Monoliths proclaim Polk County to be the "Citrus Center" which is odd considering it is mostly known for phosphate mining.  Early US 98 likely followed CR 54 east from Old Lakeland Highway given that Old Dade City Road is just to the south.







I'm fairly certain US 98 once entered Lakeland on Kathleen Road.  The alignment matches up to US 92 and the Old Dade City Highway.  For whatever reason I can't seem to find a reliable highway map from the World War II era of either Pasco or Polk Counties.

Entering Lakeland I passed the "infamous" I-4 (probably the most miserable freeway in the country in my opinion) and followed US 98 through town.  Exiting Lakeland to the south I passed under the FL 570 Toll Road.




I followed US 98 south to Bartow which I took onto a brief multiplex of FL 60 to US 17.  I followed US 17/98 out of Bartow.




US 98 splits away from US 17 in Fort Meade.  The alignment of US 98 east of Fort Meade is interesting in that it takes several graded 90 degree turns through the farm lands.  I continued south on US 17 since it is a quiet route and I wanted to try something a little off-beat from the norm.






I took US 17 south to Arcadia in DeSoto County.  I turned east briefly on FL 70 to the northern terminus of FL 31 where I turned south. 





FL 31 is only 36 miles long and terminates at FL 80 to the south in Fort Myers Shores.  Major junctions like FL 31 include; CR 760, CR 760A, CR 763, CR 74, CR 78, and FL 78.








Having really no other practical route south I took FL 80 west to I-75.  I took I-75 south to CR 951 in Collier County.  I used CR 951 south to reach US 41 where the Tamiami Trail opens up in the Big Cypress Reserve and Everglades.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

By
In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...
4 comments
Read more

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

By
The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process.  The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

By
"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.  Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents.  Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes.  When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood.  The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71.  The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...
Post a Comment
Read more