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State Road A1A (Florida)

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Florida State Road A1A is a Florida State Road that runs mostly along the Atlantic Ocean, with sections from Key West at the southern tip of Florida, to Fernandina Beach, just south of Georgia. It is the main road through most oceanfront towns. SR A1A is designated the A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Highway, a National Scenic Byway.

The designation is unique: other than SR A1A Alt (now SR 811, SR 707, SR 732, and an extension of SR 842), only two other Florida State Roads have begun with a letter: SR A19A (now a loop of SR 693-SR 699-SR 682 near St. Petersburg), and SR G1A (now SR 300) have existed.

The road was assigned the number SR 1 in the 1945 renumbering as the easternmost major north-south road. However, just across the Intracoastal Waterway, and in some cases on the same side, is U.S. Route 1 (SR 5), causing confusion. The State Road Board changed the designation to SR A1A on November 25, 1946, about a year and a half after the renumbering.

The twin A's are often said to stand for 'Atlantic 1 Alternate', but this argument fails when applied to the former A19A, a loop off US 19 near St. Petersburg, which touched the Gulf of Mexico rather than the Atlantic Ocean. On the other hand, the former SR G1A was on the Gulf.

SR A1A is signed north-south.

SR A1A is heavily associated with Florida beach culture and is known for its lush subtropical scenery and ocean vistas. In many places, the highway directly fronts the Atlantic Ocean, and in other places, runs 1-5 blocks inland from the beachfront. For most of its length, A1A runs along Florida's East Coast Barrier Islands, separated from the mainland of the state by the Intracoastal Waterway. Sections of A1A are often closed or minor damage due to hurricanes and tropical storms, due to the road's proximity to the ocean and susceptibility to storm surges.

A1A is the title of an album by singer Jimmy Buffett, and is referenced in several popular songs, including Vanilla Ice's 1990 hit "Ice, Ice Baby." Two miles of A1A were used as part of the legendary Daytona Beach Road Course. A1A also has been a backbone of Florida Spring Break, serving as "the strip" in both Fort Lauderdale, a popular spring break destination in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, as well as Daytona Beach, which became a popular destination for college spring breakers in the 80s through the present. In Miami Beach, A1A serves as Collins Avenue, the city's main North-South thoroughfares, and travels a similar route through exclusive Palm Beach, further to the north. A1A also bridges Sebastian Inlet near Vero Beach, known as the Surf Capital of the East Coast, and passes just to the west of Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. A1A also passes through St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States.

Contents

Major roads intersected

History

Pre-1945 alignment

State Road A1A as it runs over the 17th Street Causeway in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Enlarge
State Road A1A as it runs over the 17th Street Causeway in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Prior to the 1945 renumbering, the route that became SR 1 had the following numbers:

Initial Alignment

SR 1 was defined in the 1945 renumbering as:

Alignment modifications

Since then, the following changes have been made:

 

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