U.S. Route 19

U.S. Route 19
Route information
Length	1,438 mi (2,315 km)
Existed	1926–present
Major junctions
South end	; US 41 / US 41 Bus. in Memphis, FL
	I-10 near Monticello, FL; I-20 / I-75 / I-85 in Atlanta, GA; I-26 / I-40 in Asheville, NC; I-81 in Bristol, VA; I-64 / I-77 near Beckley, WV; I-79 Parallel route through West Virginia and Pennsylvania; I-70 in Washington, PA; I-76 / Penna Turnpike in Warrendale, PA; I-80 near Mercer, PA; I-90 near Erie, PA;
North end	US 20 in Erie, PA
Location
States	Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania
Highway system

U.S. Route 19 (US 19) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the Eastern United States. Despite encroaching Interstate Highways, the route has remained a long-haul route, 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 U.S. Route 41. Its northern terminus is in Erie, Pennsylvania, at an intersection with U.S. Route 20 about two miles (3 km) from the shores of Lake Erie.[1]

The length of the highway is 1,438 miles (2,314 km), including both U.S. Route 19E/U.S. Route 19W paths through North Carolina and Tennessee.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Route description

Lengths
	mi	km
FL[2]	262.0	421.6
GA[3]	348.0	560.1
NC[4]	145.0	233.4
19E[5]	75.9	122.1
19W[6]	62.6	100.7
TN[7]	11.8	19.0
VA[8]	88.9	143.0
WV[9]	249.0	400.7
PA[10]	195.0	313.8
Total	1,438.2	2,314.6

Florida

US 19 Florida red shield (1956-1993)

US 19 runs 264 miles (425 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 I-75, even as the routes converge in the Tampa Bay Area. The route is co-signed with I-275 over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge over the mouth of Tampa Bay, US 98 between Chassahowitzka and Perry, US 27 Alt. between Chiefland and Perry, and US 27 between and Perry and Capps.

The "secret" designation for US 19 in Florida, between Memphis and Perry, is SR 55. Between Perry and Capps, it follows SR 20, and between Capps and the Georgia border, it follows SR 57.

According to a Dateline NBC study, part of US 19 in Florida is the most dangerous road in the United States. 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 County 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.[11] Multiple efforts to improve US 19 have been suggested to the FDOT, among them, an overpass strictly for left-turn lanes.[12]

Currently, US 19 between Clearwater and St. Petersburg is getting a freeway-style upgrade due to the cancellation of an extension of Interstate 375 in the late 1970s.[13][14]

Georgia

US 19 enters Georgia just south of Thomasville, concurrent with 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 the 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 miles (2.4 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 arrives in Dahlonega, where it is no longer concurrent with SR 400, before about 37 miles (60 km) of extremely curvy road, which includes a concurrency with US 129. The last major town it travels through in Georgia is Blairsville.

North Carolina

US 19 in Cherokee, NC

US 19 is co-signed with US 129 from the Georgia line to Murphy, then is co-signed with US 74, as well as US 129 as far as Graham County. US 19 and US 74 are co-signed 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 Eastern Cherokee Indian Reservation. For a brief time, US 19 is co-signed with US 276. Then US 19 is co-signed 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 towards Burnsville and US 19W towards Erwin, Tennessee.

U.S. Route 19E

Traversing 75.9 miles (122.1 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.

U.S. Route 19W

US 19/19E/19W junction at Cane River, NC

Traversing 62.6 miles (100.7 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.

Tennessee

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.

Virginia

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

West Virginia

New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia

View south along US 19 at I-79 in Lewis County, West Virginia

The Westover Bridge carrying U.S. 19 over the Monongahela River in Morgantown, 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 (8.0 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 ADHS Corridor L. It allows traffic to the Pittsburgh area to bypass Charleston, and is thus part of a main link from Charlotte and Myrtle Beach to Pittsburgh.

US 19 through Summersville, West Virginia has been dubbed the "world's largest speed trap".[15]

Pennsylvania

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).

ADHS corridors

US 19 overlaps with three corridors that are part of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS), which is part of Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). Passed in 1965, the purpose of ADHS is to generate economic development in previously isolated areas, supplement the interstate 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.[16]

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.[17]
Corridor A-1 – From SR 141, near Cumming, Georgia, to SR 53, near Dawsonville, Georgia. The entire 15.8-mile (25.4 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.[17]
Corridor K – From I-75, in Cleveland, Tennessee, to US 23, in Dillsboro, North Carolina. US 19 overlaps from US 64/US 74, near Murphy, to US 74 (Great Smoky Mountains Expressway), near Bryson City. The routing is a four-lane limited-access road from near Murphy to Andrews; the rest is two-lane through the Nantahala Gorge. Future plans include building a new four-lane limited-access road from Andrews, through Robbinsville, to Stecoah, bypassing the Nantahala Gorge.[18]
Corridor L – From I-64/I-77, near Beckley, West Virginia, to I-79, near Sutton, West Virginia. Of the 69.9-mile (112.5 km) section of US 19, only 60.5-mile (97.4 km) was authorized for ADHS funding. This corridor is considered complete, with a divided four-lane limited-access road with interchanges at major intersections.[19]
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.[19][20]