Skip to main content

Old Tampa Highway

Along the boundary of the Osceola-Polk County in Central Florida exists a portion of brick roadway known as the "Old Tampa Highway."  The Old Tampa Highway was once part the Western Route of the Dixie Highway and early US 17/92.


The Old Tampa Highway actually is somewhat lengthy segment of highway that still exists from the outskirts of Kissimmee in Osceola County west to Davenport in Polk County.  Most of Old Tampa Highway is paved and largely is lined with modern residential structures.  Near Reedy Creek the route of Old Tampa Highway is bisected by a closed bridge west towards County Route 532/Osceola-Polk Line Road.  This has led to an odd circumstance where a small part of Old Tampa Highway on the Osceola County side is still maintained as a local through route with a brick surface.

Pulling off of Osceola-Polk Line Road onto Old Tampa Highway the asphalt surface quickly gives way to brick. 



Old Tampa Highway is signed with a 30 MPH limit and generally spot patched with asphalt.  The surface quality isn't great but nowhere near as bad as it probably could be considering it dates back to the days of the Auto Trails.


Old Tampa Highway slows winds it's way alongside a nearby rail towards the Polk County Line.  The Polk County Line is obvious due to the resumption of a asphalt surface and concrete monolith.









The Polk County Line was marked in the early 1930s at major roadways by concrete monoliths.  In the case of the Old Tampa Highway monolith it was erected in 1930.  Several other monoliths can be found on, one that comes to mind off the top of my head is located at the junction of US Route 98 and County Route 54.


The Polk County monoliths are supposed to display the text "Oct 1930 Welcome to Polk County Citrus Center."  Amusingly the south face of the Old Tampa Highway monolith has a spelling error stating "Citurs Center."



Looking back eastward on Old Tampa Highway really is like looking back in time...aside from the modern turn warning sign and garbage cans.


Old Tampa Highway can be seen on this 1924 Florida Auto Trail map as part of the West Dixie Highway and Lee Jackson Highway.  Old Tampa Highway is also shown as a paved highway.

1924 Florida Auto Trail Map

US Route 92 was plotted out between Daytona west to Tampa as one of the original US Routes which took it on a course over the Old Tampa Highway.  US 17 was extended from Jacksonville south to Punta Gorda in 1932 which multiplexed it onto US 92 on Old Tampa Highway.  This 1931 Florida State Road map shows US 92 on Old Tampa Highway along with Pre-1945 Florida State Road 2.

1931 Florida State Road Map

I'm uncertain when Old Tampa Highway was replaced by modern US 17/92 but it appears that it was replaced by the late 1930s.  This 1940 State Road map appears to show the current alignment of US 17/92 .

1940 Florida State Road Map

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

Highways in and around Old Sacramento; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, CA 24, CA 70, CA 99, CA 275, and more

This past weekend I was visiting the City of Sacramento for a wedding.  That being the case I decided to head out on a morning run through Old Sacramento, Jibboom Street Bridge, I Street Bridge, Tower Bridge, and path of US Route 40/US Route 99W towards the California State Capitol.  My goal was to retrace the paths of the various highways that once traversed the Old Sacramento area. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The old highway alignments of Sacramento The City of Sacramento lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River in Sacramento Valley.  Sacramento Valley was discovered by Spanish Explorer Gabriel Moraga in 1808.  Moraga referred to the fertile Sacramento Valley akin to a "Blessed Sacrament."  By 1839 John Sutter Sr. settled in Mexican held

Old Stage Road in Tulare County and Kern County

Old Stage Road is an approximately 30-mile rural highway comprised of Tulare County Mountain Road 1, Kern County Mountain Road 447 and Tulare County Mountain Road 109.  Old Stage originates at Jack Ranch Road near Posey and ends at the outskirts of Porterville at Deer Creek.  Old Stage Road notably is comprised of two 19th Century stage routes.  From White Mountain Road northwest to Fountain Springs, Old Stage Road overlays Thomas Baker's 1860s era stage road to Linn Valley (now Glennville) and the Kern River Gold Rush Claims.  From Fountain Springs to Deer Creek, Old Stage Road is comprised of the 1853 Stockton-Los Angeles Road. Featured as the blog cover is the northward descent on Old Stage Road along Arrastre Creek to the town site of White River.  What became White River was settled along a spur of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road as "Dog Town" when gold was discovered nearby.  By 1856 the community had been renamed Tailholt.  A stage road from Tailholt to Linn Valley w