Route Description
SR A1A is heavily associated with Florida beach culture and is known for its lush tropical and 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. Because of the road's proximity to the ocean and its susceptibility to storm surges, sections of A1A are often closed or even damaged by hurricanes and tropical storms. North of Atlantic Beach, however, A1A turns inland for several blocks before resuming a northward course that ends at the St. Johns River. A ferry takes vehicular traffic to the northern section of A1A which continues along the coast to just south of a Florida State Park, Fort Clinch on the estuary of the Saint Marys River. At that point AIA hooks back south to Fernandina Beach and then turns West, going inland 20 miles through Yulee and crossing I-95, US 17 and finally terminating at US 1, 23, and 301 in Callahan. This section west of Fernandina Beach is also marked as SR 200, but SR AIA signs are displayed at every point of signage, though a designated direction is only above the SR 200 signs.
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 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, as well as Daytona Beach, which became a popular destination for college spring breakers in the 1980s through the present. In Miami Beach, A1A serves as Collins Avenue, one of the city's main north–south thoroughfares, and travels a similar route through exclusive Palm Beach, further to the north. In the Vero Beach area, it is known as The Robert C. Spillman Memorial Highway and it bridges Sebastian Inlet at the Sebastian Inlet Bridge. It then passes just to the west of Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. Two miles of A1A were used as part of the legendary Daytona Beach Road Course. A1A also passes through St. Augustine, the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the mainland United States. It is known as Third Street in Jacksonville, Neptune, and Atlantic Beach.
SR A1A's southern terminus is at the southern end of Bertha Street, where SR A1A begins as a 2 lane, then 4 lane route along the Straits of Florida in Key West, known locally as South Roosevelt Boulevard. Running along the south shore of Key West, SR A1A is the southernmost numbered highway in the lower 48 states. The southern terminus is Bertha Street, where it heads east past East Martello Tower and Key West International Airport. SR A1A then curves to the north to U.S. Route 1/SR 5 (Overseas Highway), after intersecting with CR 5A (Flagler Avenue). SR A1A reappears at I-395 and US 1 in Miami.
Read more about this topic: Florida State Road A1A
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