Interstate 375 and Interstate 175

While I was finishing a photo-clinch of Interstate 275 I decided to make two short detours in St. Petersburg to do the same with Interstate 375 and Interstate 175.

I-375 is a 1.2 mile Interstate carrying the hidden Florida State Road 592 designation which spans from I-275 east to US 19A in downtown St. Petersburg. I-175 just to the south is a 1.3 mile Interstate carrying the hidden FL 594 designation from I-275 to FL 687.

I-375 in it's present configuration opened to traffic in 1979. Originally I-375 was slated to extend west of I-275 to a toll road facility that would be built to connect northward to Clearwater. Ultimately these aspirations failed leaving something of a lame duck feeder freeway that I-375 is today.

My approach to I-375 was on I-275 southbound. I took I-275 Exit 23A and turned onto I-375 east towards downtown St. Petersburg.

I-375 east is signed as the "C. Bette Wimbush Highway."

The view of downtown St. Petersburg on the ramp to I-375 is actually pretty scenic.

Traffic to Tropicana Field is directed to exit onto Martin Luther King Jr. Street while US 92/4th Street traffic is directed to continue eastward on I-375.

Traffic is given copious warning that I-375 east is about to end. I-375 east ends at US 19A on 4th Avenue on unsigned FL 595 just short of US 92 at 4th Street. I've often found it odd that US 92 was never extended over FL 595 westward to the mainline US 19 which would largely clear up the strange terminus points. Even extending US 92 south on FL 687 to I-175 would make more sense.

I looped back onto I-375 west from US 19A on 5th Avenue.

There isn't much on I-375 west aside from a direct connection back to I-275.

I-175 opened to traffic in it's current configuration in 1980. Originally the route that became I-175 was intended to become part of the much larger Pinellas Belt Expressway which would have extended west of I-275.

I headed south on I-275 to the junction with I-175 east at Exit 22.

Tropicana Field traffic is directed to use Martin Luther King Jr. Street/8th Street. Downtown traffic to FL 687 on 4th Street is directed to stay on I-175 east.

The John Hopkins All Children Hospital is signed off the 6th Street Exit on I-175 east.

As I-175 east ends in downtown St. Petersburg at FL 687 on at 4th Street traffic is advised that the Dali Museum and Mahaffey Theater are ahead.

Traffic can almost immediately loop back onto I-175 east via 4th Street, 4th Avenue and 6th Street.

I-175 west essentially is a direct shot back to I-275.

Comments

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

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

Mines Road

Mines Road is an approximately twenty-eight-mile highway located in the rural parts of the Diablo Range east of the San Francisco Bay Area. Mines Road begins in San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County and terminates at Tesla Road near Livermore of Alameda County. The highway essentially is a modern overlay of the 1840s Mexican haul trail up Arroyo Mocho known as La Vereda del Monte. The modern corridor of Mines Road took shape in the early twentieth century following development of San Antonio Valley amid a magnesite mining boom. Part 1; the history of Mines Road Modern Mines Road partially overlays the historic corridor used by La Vereda del Monte (Mountain Trail). La Vereda del Monte was part of a remote overland route through the Diablo Range primarily used to drive cattle from Alta California to Sonora. The trail was most heavily used during the latter days of Alta California during the 1840s. La Vereda del Monte originated at Point of Timber between modern day Byron and Bre

Interstate 210 the Foothill Freeway

The combined Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor of the Foothill Freeway is approximately 85.31-miles. The Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor begins at Interstate 5 at the northern outskirts of Los Angeles and travels east to Interstate 10 in Redlands of San Bernardino County. Interstate 210 is presently signed on the 44.9-mile segment of the Foothill Freeway between Interstate 5 and California State Route 57. California State Route 210 makes up the remaining 40.41 miles of the Foothill Freeway east to Interstate 10. Interstate 210 is still classified by the Federal Highway Administration as existing on what is now signed as California State Route 57 from San Dimas south to Interstate 10. The focus of this blog will mostly be on the history of Interstate 210 segment of the Foothill Freeway. Part 1; the history of Interstate 210 and California State Route 210 Interstate 210 (I-210) was approved as a chargeable Interstate during September of

Gribblenation

Search This Blog