U.S. Route 301 (US 301) in Florida runs from the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area northeast to the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan Area. The road is a spur of U.S. Route 1, which it intersects in Callahan.
US 301 carries the hidden state road designations of State Road 683 from Sarasota to US 41 in Bradenton, SR 55 from Bradenton to Palmetto, SR 43 from US 41 in Palmetto to US 92 east of Tampa, SR 41 from US 92 to Zephyrhills, SR 39 from Zephyrhills to US 98 south of Dade City, State Road 35 from US 98 to Belleview (except SR 533 around downtown Dade City), SR 500 from Belleview to Ocala, SR 200 from Ocala to Callahan and SR 15 from Callahan to the Georgia border, south of Folkston, Georgia.
Concurrencies include U.S. 41 between Bradenton and Palmetto, U.S. 98 between Clinton Heights (near Dade City) and Trilacoochee (formerly known as Moss Town), US 27 between Belleview and Ocala, US 441 between Belleview and Sparr, US 90 in Baldwin, and U.S. 1 and US 23 north of Callahan.
Route description
Sarasota through Hillsborough County
US 301 begins its northward journey at an intersection with U.S. Route 41 along Washington Boulevard in Sarasota. The first state highway it intersects with is SR 780. On the Sarasota-Manatee County line, it also intersects with CR 610, which takes commuters from Ringling College of Art and Design, University of South Florida's Sarasota/Manatee Campus, New College of Florida, and Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport to Interstate 75. The next major intersection is SR 70, and after this, the road curves northwest before it eventually joins US 41(Hidden SR 55) again in southern Bradenton where they briefly overlap each other as they cross the Manatee River.
US 301 makes a sharp right turn onto SR 43 at a diamond interchange, then crosses I-75 in Ellenton at Exit 224. Just north of the intersection of State Road 62, the road passes by the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum and then intersects CR 683 (Moccasin Wallow Road). After the road crosses the Manatee-Hillsborough County Line, it passes by the Little Manatee River State Park, then intersects State Road 674, and shares a brief overlap with CR 672 between Balm Road and Big Bend Road.
North of the intersection with Gibsonton Drive, and over the Alafia River in Riverview, US 301 makes another turn to the northwest, where it crosses I-75 again near Brandon at Exit 254. Beyond that, all access to I-75 is available from roads that cross US 301 in one way or another, the nearest of which being the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway. Shortly before a diamond interchange with the Selmon Expressway, US 301 intersects with SR 676 at Causeway Boulevard, serving as the route's eastern terminus and providing access to US 41 and US Bus 41. The first major intersection north of the Selmon Expressway is with SR 60 at Adamo Drive.
At Six Mile Creek, an overpass takes US 301 over the tracks of CSX's "A-line", one of the railroad company's main lines through Florida (also used by Amtrak's Silver Star passenger trains), and CR 574, which is only accessible from local connecting roads. It then crosses the first bridge over the Tampa Bypass Canal before intersecting SR 574 in East Lake-Orient Park. At the Florida State Fairgrounds, US 301 has a parclo interchange with Interstate 4 and U.S. Route 92 (SR 600). A reconstruction project took place in the early-2000s with provisions for a future ramp from westbound US 92, that are currently being obstructed by the Tampa Bypass Canal and land owned by the Vandenberg Airport. Near the northern end of Vandenberg Airport, US 301 crosses over a flood channel that runs between the Hillsborough River and Tampa Bypass Canal on the southern border of Temple Terrace.
Between Temple Terrace and Thonotosassa, the hidden SR 43 leaves US 301 and joins County Road 580 at Harney Road, and the new hidden road becomes SR 41. Former sections of Harney Road are on hills on the northwest and northeast corners, both of which were designed to go around a former railroad bridge for a line that no longer exists. After crossing under I-75 with no access for the last time, and the Tampa Bypass Canal again shortly afterwards, US 301 encounters the eastern terminus of SR 582 and its hidden County extension, County Road 582.
County Road 43 ends at US 301 in Thonotosassa along Harney Road, and US 301 loses more of its easterly trajection. Here, it serves as the northern terminus of Mango Road, and later Stacy Road, Sargeant Wilderness Memorial Park, and extension of Hillsborough River State Park. After passing by a field used for the Tampa Machinery Auctions, US 301 officially runs along the eastern end of Hillsborough River State Park, which it will eventually enter. The same former railroad line that was encountered near Harney Road is visible along the east side of US 301 throughout the park and beyond. The last moderate intersection US 301 encounters before finally entering the park is the northern terminus of McIntosh Road. One residential area can be found on a minor side road off to the left, but the rest of the road is surrounded by parkland. US 301 leaves the park almost as instantly as it crosses the Pasco County line.
Pasco County After US 301 enters Pasco County, a slight curve to the right is a clear indication that 301 is entering Zephyrhills. Here, the road is known as Fort King Highway and Gall Boulevard depending on the location. Across from the fields of Festival Park, US 301 serves as the eastern terminus of SR 56, and the first major intersection in Pasco County. The next intersection is with Chancey Road which eventually becomes County Road 535. SR 39 intersects with US 301 from the southeast. However, instead of terminating at Route 301, it becomes a hidden route north of the intersection and both roads head straight north again. This trajectory is short lived though when some local traffic is rerouted along 7th Street, and both roads intersect South Avenue before moving slightly northwest.
Downtown Zephyrhills is where US 301 serves as what would appear to be the eastern terminus of SR 54, even though Fifth Avenue continues east of SR 54. Originally SR 54 extended east of US 301 along Fifth Avenue and then to 12th Street before turning back east again at Eiland Boulevard. In more recent times however, some maps have indicated that it serves as a third hidden route along US 301. Southbound motorists on US 301 have been encouraged to access SR 54 through 6th Street in recent years. After North Avenue, US 301 curves to the northeast as SR 41 leaves Route 301 to the northwest as County Road 41, along Fort King Road. The rest of 301 is known as Gall Boulevard until it moves deep into Dade City. After the curve to the northeast ends the road intersects County Road 54, a county bypass and extension of SR 54 that leads to US 98 (SR 700) on the Pasco-Polk County line. From there, US 301 runs along a series of steep hills as a four-lane divided highway with median openings that lack left-turn lanes until it reaches US 98 and the US 98-301 overlap begins. Immediately after this, the road intersects SR 52 in Clinton Heights (near Dade City). While some of the median openings are still missing left-turn lanes, and is briefly replaced by a center left-turn lane, the road becomes much more level at this point.
In February 2007, US 98-301 was realigned to the former truck route, which is two lanes wide as of this writing. Efforts to widen the road to four lanes has met stiff opposition from both the public and the city. The former truck route and old US 98-301, which is now SR 39 as well as hidden state routes hidden SRs 35–700, split from each other at an at-grade interchange. A local east–west street takes motorists to southbound County Road 35 Alternate. At the intersection of ALT CR 35 itself, the road moves from northeast back to northwest again, and runs along the CSX S-Line, where it encounters the eastern terminus of CR 52 Alt and the Dade City Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot.
US 98 & 301 reunite with the former route, near a former citrus plant. The first intersection after this is eastern County Road 578 and the next one is at the northern border of the former citrus plant that leads to the Pioneer Florida Museum. As with the segment between Zephyrhills and Dade City, the road is a hilly four-lane divided highway with median openings that lack left-turn lanes, but the hills aren't as steep, and the road isn't as straight. After passing by the drive-in movie theater, US 98-301 intersection with Payne Road which was part of the former County Road 35B, There are some trailer parks, a golf course, and small motels in this segment. A sure sign the segment is about to end, is when it passed by the Owensboro Junction Trailhead, of the Withlacoochee State Trail. This was once a former junction between the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line Railroads, until both were merged into the Seaboard Coast Line and the segments that crossed Routes 98 & 301 were abandoned. US 98 leaves US 301 in Trilacoochee, veering to the northwest and taking hidden State Roads 39 and 700 with it. State Road 35 becomes the sole hidden state route as the road narrows down to two lanes before approaching State Road 575 and CR 575 in Lacoochee. It remains a two-lane road even after it crosses the border with Hernando County, Florida and over the Withlacoochee River.
Hernando to Marion counties
In Hernando County, US 301 continues its two-lane rural surroundings until it approaches SR 50 in Ridge Manor, which while hardly urban, contains some local businesses, and a large gas station, convenience store and car wash on the northeast corner. North of the Whispering Oaks Country Club, a gated community near SR 50, US 301 passes by random intersections of dirt roads, many of which are part of local deed-restricted communities.
US 301 enters Sumter County by crossing over the Little Withlacoochee River, where it shortly enters the unincorporated community of Croom-a-Coochee, runs parallel to the CSX's S-Line, and intersects with County Road 675. In St. Catherine, 301 intersects with CR 673, which leads to local campgrounds before reaching I-75, and almost instantly CR 478, which leads to Webster and Center Hill.
In Bushnell, US 301 becomes Main Street. The first main intersection there is County Road 476 (Seminole Avenue), a road that runs from northwestern Hernando County to north of Webster. CR 48 shares a hidden concurrency with US 301, that's not so hidden when it turns onto CR 476. Sumter County Road 48 runs north towards West Belt Avenue, taking the DeSoto Trail with it, while US 301 turns east on East Noble Avenue, and crosses CSX's S-Line, where it once shared a brief concurrency with CR 48 until that designation turned south onto Florida Avenue on its way to Lake County. From there, Route 301 shares an even shorter concurrency with County Road 476, until it curves back north.
US 301 passes by the ground of Lake-Sumter Community College's Sumter Campus in Sumterville. Shortly after this, US 301 intersects County Road 470, and both roads share a concurrency. The north end of SR 471 is encountered after this, and then the concurrency with County Road 470 breaks away to head east towards Okahumpka. In Coleman US 301 intersects with an abandoned railroad right-of-way that carried the SAL/Amtrak Silver Meteor until 1988. At this point, the road is briefly named South Commercial Street until it intersects with Warm Springs Avenue (County Road 514) and then heads east along Warm Springs Avenue. The road curves north again at the intersection of County Road 468.