Автомагистраль US 19: От Мексиканского залива до озера Эри

Highway in the United States

U. S. Route 19 or U. S. Highway 19 (US 19) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the Eastern United States. Despite encroaching Interstate Highways, the route has remained a long haul road, connecting the Gulf of Mexico with Lake Erie. The highway's southern terminus is at Memphis, Florida, which is just south of St. Petersburg at an intersection with US 41. Its northern terminus is in Erie, Pennsylvania, at an intersection with US 20 about 2 mile (3 km) from the shores of Lake Erie. The length of the highway is 1438.2 mile (2315 km), including both US 19E/US 19W paths through North Carolina and Tennessee.

US 19 runs 262 mile (422 km) along Florida's west coast from an interchange with US 41 in Memphis, south of St. Petersburg, and continues to the Georgia border north of Monticello. US 19 remains independent of Interstate 75 (I 75), even as the routes converge in the Tampa Bay area. The route is cosigned with I 275 over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a cable stayed bridge over the mouth of Tampa Bay, US 98 between the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge and Perry, US 27 Alternate (US 27 Alt.) between Chiefland and Perry, and US 27 between and Perry and Capps. The unsigned designation for US 19 in Florida, between Memphis and Perry, is State Road 55 (SR 55). Between Perry and Capps, it follows SR 20, and, between Capps and the Georgia border, it follows SR 57. According to a 2005 Dateline NBC report, part of US 19 in Florida may be the most dangerous road in the U. S. A Highway Patrol test period beginning in 1998 and ending in 2003, as mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, showed the stretch of US 19 from Pasco to Pinellas county to average approximately 52 deaths a year, or 262 deaths in the five year duration of the study; 100 of these deaths were pedestrian related, making US 19 the worst road to walk on in these two counties. Multiple efforts to improve US 19 have been suggested to the Florida Department of Transportation, among them, an overpass strictly for left turn lanes. Currently, US 19 between Clearwater and St. Petersburg is getting a freeway style upgrade due to the cancelation of an extension of I 375 in the late 1970s.

US 19 enters Georgia just south of Thomasville as Lee Highway, concurrent with State Route 3 (SR 3). It continues north, passing through Albany, Americus, Ellaville, Butler, Thomaston, and Zebulon. It becomes concurrent with US 41 in Griffin. It then proceeds through the western tip of Henry County, passing through Hampton, home of Atlanta Motor Speedway, and continues north through Clayton County and Jonesboro, entering Atlanta. US 19/US 41 travels through the south side of Atlanta as Metropolitan Parkway (formerly Stewart Avenue) and through Downtown Atlanta as Northside Drive. The concurrencies with US 41 and SR 3 end when US 19 turns east onto 14th Street in Midtown, beginning a concurrency with SR 9. It then turns north on Peachtree Street until it intersects with SR 141 in Buckhead and becomes Roswell Road. US 19 then continues north through Sandy Springs until it reaches I 285's north side. There, the concurrency with SR 9 ends and US 19 is briefly concurrent with I 285, for about 1.5 mile (2 km). US 19 leaves I 285 to travel through the northern suburbs of Atlanta along SR 400. Most of this section is a limited access road with four lanes in each direction, becoming two lanes in each direction as the highway continues away from the northern suburbs of Atlanta. It picks back up as Lee Highway north of Atlanta. It arrives in Dahlonega, where it is no longer concurrent with SR 400, before about 37 mile (60 km) of extremely curvy road, which includes a concurrency with US 129. The last major town it travels through in Georgia is Blairsville.

US 19 is cosigned with US 129 from the Georgia line to Murphy as Lee Highway, then is cosigned with US 74, as well as US 129 as far as Graham County. US 129 vears away from US 19, heading north to Robbinsville, and continuing to Maryville, Tennessee. US 19 and US 74 are cosigned as far as Ela, after which US 74 veers south, leaving US 19 to head into the Great Smoky Mountains. US 19 passes through the Qualla Boundary. For a brief time, US 19 is cosigned with US 276. Then, US 19 is cosigned with US 23 from Lake Junaluska to Mars Hill (and with US 70 in Asheville), which closely parallels I 40 and then Future I 26. Just north of Mars Hill, US 19 continues solo to Cane River, where US 19 splits: US 19E toward Burnsville and US 19W toward Erwin, Tennessee.

Traversing 75.9 mile (122 km) from Cane River, North Carolina, to Bluff City, Tennessee, US 19E first goes east to Burnsville and Spruce Pine, then north along the banks of the North Toe River to Cranberry and Elk Park, before crossing the North Carolina–Tennessee state line. Heading northeast, it goes through Roan Mountain, Hampton, and Elizabethton, rendezvousing with US 19W in Bluff City.

Traversing 62.6 mile (101 km) from Cane River, North Carolina, to Bluff City, Tennessee, US 19W goes immediately north along the banks of the Cane River to the communities of Ramseytown and Sioux, then northwest through the Unaka Range, crossing the North Carolina–Tennessee state line. At Ernestville, US 19W joins with I 26/US 23 and proceeds through Erwin, Unicoi, and Johnson City. In Johnson City, it switches partners to US 11E along Bristol Highway, rendezvousing with US 19E in Bluff City.

US 19 starts again in Bluff City, heading northeast along the Volunteer Parkway (and concurrency with US 11E) to Bristol. In downtown Bristol, US 19 crosses the Tennessee–Virginia state line on State Street.

US 19 goes northeast from Bristol, parallel to I 81, until Abingdon. It then heads north to Lebanon, through Clinch Mountain, then northeast again through the towns of Claypool Hill, Tazewell, and then finally to Bluefield, where it enters West Virginia.

US 19 enters West Virginia as a four lane highway in Bluefield, where it narrows to two lanes as it winds northward. It later parallels I 77/I 64 until it reaches Beckley, where it goes northeasterly on an expressway grade four lane highway. Crossing the New River via the New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville, it passes through Summersville and Birch River before arriving at I 79, 5 mile (8 km) south of Sutton. From there, it runs concurrent with I 79 from exit 57 to exit 67 at Flatwoods. Then, it exits and reverts to a two lane highway, more or less following the route of I 79 as it passes through Weston, Clarksburg, Fairmont, and Morgantown before crossing into Pennsylvania. The distance from Beckley from I 79 is also known as Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) Corridor L. It allows traffic to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area to bypass Charleston, and is thus part of a main link from Charlotte, North Carolina, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to Pittsburgh.

US 19 is closely paralleled by I 79 for its entire length. From the state line, it goes north to Washington and then through Pittsburgh. In Downtown Pittsburgh, US 19 crosses the Ohio River via West End Bridge. In Cranberry Township, north of Pittsburgh, US 19 shares a major junction between I 76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) and I 79, via the Cranberry Connector. US 19 crosses I 80 in the East Lackawannock Township. Near Erie, it crosses I 90 before going through the downtown area, ending at US 20 (26th Street).

US 19 overlaps with three corridors that are part of the ADHS, which is part of Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). Passed in 1965, the purpose of the ADHS is to generate economic development in previously isolated areas, supplement the Interstate Highway System, connect Appalachia to the Interstate System, and provide access to areas within the region as well as to markets in the rest of the nation. Corridor A – From I 285, in Sandy Springs, Georgia, to I 40, near Clyde, North Carolina. US 19/SR 400 overlaps from Sandy Springs to SR 141, near Cumming in Georgia. The entire section is a controlled access highway. Corridor A 1 – From SR 141, near Cumming, Georgia, to SR 53, near Dawsonville, Georgia. The entire 15.8 mile (25 km) section of US 19/SR 400 is authorized for ADHS funding. The entire route is a divided four lane highway, with the southern section a controlled access highway and the northern section being a limited access road. Corridor L – From I 64/I 77, near Beckley, West Virginia, to I 79, near Sutton, West Virginia. Of the 69.9 mile (112 km) section of US 19, only 60.5 mile (97 km) was authorized for ADHS funding. This corridor is considered complete, with a divided four lane limited access road with interchanges at major intersections. Corridor Q – From US 23/US 119, in Shelbiana, Kentucky, to I 81, near Christiansburg, Virginia. US 19 overlaps from US 460, in Claypool Hill, Virginia, to US 460, in Princeton, West Virginia. The entire route is a mostly divided four lane limited access road with interchanges at major intersections.

US 19 first entered Florida in 1929. It underwent two route shifts, the first in 1933 and the second in 1946, which adjusted it to its current alignment. US 19 was extended to its southern terminus of Memphis in September 1954, when the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge opened to traffic. Starting around 1956, US 19 was four laned, initially in the Perry area, working north toward the Georgia border. The entire route in Florida was four laned by 1972. The planned St. Petersburg–Clearwater Expressway, or Pinellas Beltway, would have followed the current alignment of US 19 Alt. from I 275 to Clearwater, Florida. The intersection of Seminole Boulevard and Bay Pines Boulevard is a remnant of this proposed road. The beltway road was proposed in 1974, but it was dead by 1980.

In North Carolina, US 19 was North Carolina Highway 10 (NC 10) from the Georgia state line to Asheville, NC 29 from Asheville to Madison County, NC 69 to a point near the Tennessee state line, and either NC 194 or NC 694 for a short distance south of the Tennessee state line. The original US 19 in Yancey, Mitchell, and Avery counties mostly followed the route now designated US 19E. US 19W in Yancey County was US 19 23 in 1935, and what is now US 19E was US 19A. The US 19E and US 19W designations have been used since 1930. Prior to 1948, US 19 between Ela and Waynesville essentially followed the route of present day US 74. Then, this road was called US 19A and the section of NC 28. From Ela to Cherokee and the section of NC 293 from Cherokee to near Waynesville became US 19. Improvements were made, including a new section of highway west of Lake Junaluska. Around 1956, US 19/US 23 was widened to four lanes from Lake Junaluska to Canton. By 1970, a section of US 19 west of Murphy, also designated US 64 (and later US 74), was widened to four lanes. In January 1983, after improvements to US 19A had made it similar to an Interstate Highway, the state proposed designating US 19A as US 19 Bypass. At one point, changing US 19A to US 19 was considered, but businesses in Maggie Valley opposed the idea of their highway being changed to US 19A. US 19A became the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway.

Although an original U. S. Highway, US 19 does not appear on the 1926 official road atlas (which shows other U. S. Highways) nor the 1927 Clason road atlas. It does appear on a mid 1927 official map. It ran generally as it does today. In this routing, US 19 was added to US 11 and State Route 10 (SR 10) from the Tennessee state line to Abingdon, SR 106 from Abingdon to Hansonville, SR 112 from Hansonville to Lebanon, and SR 11 from Lebanon to the West Virginia state line. Initially, US 19 entered Virginia via Pennsylvania Avenue in Bristol, Tennessee, then used State Street west to Front Street north to Spencer Street northeast to Mary Street east to Goodson Street north to Danville Avenue east to Fairview Street north to Massachusetts Avenue east to Texas Avenue north, which became Old Abingdon Highway ran back into US 11/US 19 near the I 81 interchange. US 19 followed today's US 11 approaching Abingdon, then used Colonial Avenue and crossed the railroad to modern US 11 at roughly the Bytt Street location, then US 58 Alt. northwest. US 19 followed today's US 19/US 58 Alt. to Hansonville except SR 766 near Abingdon, SR 633 loop at Butts, SR 775 at Greendale, and SR 876/SR 802 at Holton. Leaving Hansonville, US 19 used today's US 19 up to SR 674, then abandoned alignment on the north side to Sunset Drive, US 19, SR 841 (except initially used SR 758 loop) to US 19 Business (US 19 Bus. ), some of US 19 Bus., Gilbert Street/Old Fincastle Road, SR 82, and US 19 Bus. through Lebanon. East of Lebanon, US 19 used SR 656 loop back to US 19. After a brief stretch of today's US 19, US 19 followed the SR 872 loop near SR 80 eastbound. US 19 followed more of today's US 19 but near SR 80 westbound stayed north of the creek on Old Rosedale Highway and some abandoned alignments until around SR 644. East of here, US 19 more closely followed it current path although in the field it appears old alignment pieces are visible to the north side. Before SR 369, US 19 originally used SR 770 to cross into Tazewell County, then SR 609 north back to US 19. US 19 followed its current path to Claypool Hill except it used the SR 705 loop. At Pounding Mill, US 19 used SR 637 but otherwise followed US 19/US 460 and then US 19 Bus./US 460 Bus. to SR 16 Alt. Initially, US 19 followed Old Fincastle Turnpike in western Tazewell, then current US 19 Bus. through Tazewell, then Ben Bolt Road east to SR 61. US 19 then followed SR 61 north to SR 678 (Market Street). US 19 followed SR 678 north to SR 645 east which used to connect back to modern US 19/US 460. US 19 followed today's US 19 to Bluefield, West Virginia, except SR 781, SR 680 loops in Springville, SR 665, and SR 744/SR 1520 Shannandale. There are other visible unnumbered loops that are visible to the north side of US 19/US 460. In Bluefield, US 19 used Greever and East streets.

For many years, the Venango Path was a Native American trail between the Forks of the Ohio (present day Pittsburgh) and Presque Isle Bay. This trail follows modern US 19 from Pittsburgh across the Allegheny River to Perrysville. It continues to Wexford and crosses Brush Creek at Warrendale. Here, the path and modern road separate for a time. The path goes across fields while the road parallels it—from a distance of 0.75 mile (1 km) to the west—for about 3.5 mile (6 km) to Ogle. US 19 in Pennsylvania has maintained a similar alignment for much of its history. In 1928, US 19 was moved to its current route between Pittsburgh and Meadville. The West End Bridge in Pittsburgh was completed in 1932, and US 19 was realigned to cross the bridge. In 1936, US 19 was moved to its current alignment between Zelienople and Harmony. Through the 1940s and 1950s, different parts of US 19 were widened. In 1987, the Phase One project started to connect two sections of Ohio River Boulevard near Western Avenue and Chateau Street. Phase Two of the project included a new interchange between the Pennsylvania Route 65 (PA 65) expressway (concurrent with US 19 west of the interchange) and the West End Bridge. The bridge was closed for two years for construction but reopened in 1991 while construction finished in 1992. In 2003, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) started a project to build a US 19 tunnel under the Norfolk Southern Railway, as well as align the West End Bypass with the West End Circle, the intersection of US 19, PA 51, PA 60, and PA 837. The project was completed in 2010. In 2016, a diverging diamond interchange was built at the intersection of US 19 and I 70/I 79 in South Strabane Township. PennDOT has started construction on a multilane roundabout at the intersection of US 6, US 19, US 322, and PA 98 in Vernon Township, near Meadville. Construction is expected to be completed in October 2019. PennDOT has also started construction on an intersection improvement project at the northern intersection of US 19 and PA 97. PA 97 will be realigned to meet US 19 at a 90 degree angle, and new left turn lanes and traffic signals will be installed. Construction is expected to be completed in October 2019.