Interstate 375 (Florida)

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Interstate 375 (abbreviated I-375) in St. Petersburg, Florida, also known as North Bay Drive, is a 1.34-mile-long spur route from Interstate 275 (Florida) into downtown. It is also designated as the unsigned State Road 592. There is a sibling segment of freeway nearby designated as I-175.

[edit] Original aspirations

Interstate 375 was originally planned as a much longer, state highway, extending beyond Interstate 275 and following a CSX rail line towards a proposed toll road near Clearwater. When I-75 was relocated in the late 1970s/early 1980s, five miles of additional interstate became available, thus the St. Pete feeder sections of I-375 and neighboring I-175 were upgraded to interstate status. However, the interstate standards at the time would not allow the 375 extension to receive federal interstate funding. As a result, the original plans failed and only the downtown St. Petersburg stretch was built.

It is because of the cancellation of the rest of Interstate 375 that US 19, north of Gandy Boulevard and south of the Pinellas-Pasco line, is getting a freeway-style reconstruction.

Contrary to popular belief, the ghost ramp at the I-375 interchange was NOT a result of the failed freeway extension. A killed connection to 20th St N. the 20th St N and 5th Ave N Intersection was already convoluted prior to I-275's construction and FDOT decided not to build the connection as a result. The planned freeway extension of I-375 was killed by the mid 1970s. Otherwise, the I-275/I-375 interchange would have been drastically different.

[edit] External links

Florida State Roads
Preceded by: 590	State Road 592	Succeeded by: 594

	edit Auxiliary routes of Interstate 75
I-175	Florida - Kentucky/Tennessee
I-275	Florida - Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio - Michigan - Tennessee
I-375	Florida - Michigan
I-475	Georgia - Ohio - Michigan
I-575	Georgia
I-675	Georgia - Michigan - Ohio