State Road 500 (SR 500) is a state highway running through Florida as a mostly unsigned route under several U.S. Highways. From Chiefland to Williston it is U.S. Highway 27 Alternate (US 27 Alt.). From Williston to Ocala, it is US 27. From Ocala to Holopaw, it is US 441. From Kissimmee to Indialantic it is US 192.
Names for State Road 500 include Young Boulevard, 100th Street, Hathaway Avenue, Noble Avenue, Blichton Road, 10th Street, Pine Street, Abshier Boulevard, North Boulevard, Main Street, Burleigh Boulevard, Orange Blossom Trail, East Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Space Coast Parkway, New Haven Avenue the Melbourne Causeway and Fifth Avenue.
Route description U.S. Route 27 Alternate and U.S. Route 27
State Road 500 (SR 500) begins at US 19-US 98 and hidden SR 55 in Chiefland hidden under U.S. Highway 27 Alternate (US 27 Alt.), which had already been running along US 19 and 98 starting in Perry. The route begins as Northeast Eighth Avenue for one block, then curves to the southeast onto North Youngs Boulevard. The routes run southeast along the eastern edge of the city, until the eastern terminus of Florida State Road 345. East of there, US Alt 27/SR 500 runs straight east, running through small farming communities that include intersections with minor county roads then approaches a pair of bridges over the Little Waccassa River, where the routes curve southeast again. Branching off to the left is Former State Road 32, which runs straight west-to-east to some important county facilities.Levy County Jail and Levy County Emergency Management Operations (Google Maps) Crossing under a power line right-of-way, the routes enter Bronson and are given the name "North Hathaway Avenue." Though the road remains four lanes, the divider is replaced by a continuous left-turn lane just before the signalized intersection with Florida State Road 24 (Thrasher Drive), where the street name changes from North Hathaway Avenue to East Hathaway Avenue. The next intersections are Main Street, then Levy County Road 24B. Later, northbound Levy County Road 337 joins the route in a diagonal one-block wrong-way concurrency with US Alternate 27 between Pennsylvania Avenue and South Court Street. Leaving Bronson, the division in the highway widens again.
Entering Williston the road is given the name "West Noble Avenue." The route curves straight east where it is joined by U.S. Route 41 (US 41) along with hidden SR 45 and exposed SR 121. From that intersection with Southwest and Northwest Seventh Streets, US 41-Alt. 27 and SR 121 follow SR 500 along West Noble Avenue into Downtown Williston. Across from the abandoned Seaboard Air Line Railroad depot, US Alternate Route 27 ends at US 27. US Route 41, hidden SR 45 and SR 121 turn left onto northbound US 27 (North Main Street), while eastbound SR 500 continues straight ahead onto southbound US 27, which is now East Noble Avenue. The site of the former competing Atlantic Coast Line Railroad depot can be found on the same side of the road at the crossing of Florida Northern Railroad's West Coast Subdivision. In East Williston, the road curves from east to southeast as the intersection with Levy CR 318 runs straight ahead towards rural communities in northern Marion County. From this point, the surroundings consist mainly of farm and ranch land, including some horse farms with private racetracks. US Alt. 27/SR 500 crosses the Levy-Marion County Line between the intersections of Levy CR 335 and Marion CR 316. The horse farms and other ranches continues as it cuts through Blitchton where it encounters the intersection with Marion County Road 326, a bi-county extension of Florida State Road 326. Horse farms become more abundant as the road enters Fellowship, where it intersects the eastern terminus of Marion CR 464B (a former section of Florida State Road 464), and later the southern terminus of Marion CR 225.
The routes officially enter the City of Ocala as Northwest Blichton Avenue just before the interchange with Interstate 75 at Exit 354. An increase in industrial development has been occurring on the northeast corner of the interchange within the past decade. After the intersection with northwest 30th Avenue (Marion CR 500A), the route curves straight west-to-east onto Northwest Tenth Street. This area consists of mixed commercial and residential development. US 27 and SR 500 turn south onto US 301-US 441 (Pine Avenue) along with hidden state roads 25 and 200. Tenth Street continues east from this intersection onto Florida State Road 492 (Bonnie Heath Boulevard). A total of three US Highways (27, 301, and 441) as well as three hidden state roads (25, 200, and 500) rise above a bridge over the CSX Wildwood Subdivision and other railroad sidings , then has an intersection with the main crossroad in the city, specifically Florida State Road 40 (a.k.a., Silver Springs Boulevard). Ten blocks later, Florida State Road 200 branches off to the right at Southwest 10th Street, to head southwest towards Marion Oaks and Hernando.
Just before a slight curve to the southeast, SR 500 has its first major intersection with Florida State Road 464 (Southwest 17th Street). Remaining at this angle the routes approach a bridge under the CSX Wildwood Subdivision. The routes make curve more toward east-southeast at Southeast 32nd and 31st Streets only to curve back to the previous angle at the intersection with Lake Weir Road, also unsigned Marion CR 464A. US 27, 301 and 441, as well as hidden routes 25 and 500 don't officially leave the Ocala City Limits until just south of Ocala Twin Drive-In movie theater. The median widens in Santos just before the intersection with Marion County Road 328 where it crosses the site of the formerly proposed Cross Florida Barge Canal. After this widened median ends, the road encounters the northern terminus of the Belleview Bypass at the 92nd Street Loop. Shortly after this intersection, the routes enter Belleview itself. Across from the eastern terminus of Marion CR 484, Florida State Road 25 branches off onto a separate road, which will soon become a county road that moves around the east coast of Lake Weir. US 301 breaks away onto southbound hidden SR 35 to head south into Wildwood, Bushnell and Dade City, while US 27 and 441 takes northbound SR 35 on a wrong way concurrency onto one last bridge over the Wildwood Subdivision towards a separate exposed route at the intersection with Baseline Road. The next intersection will be Marion County Road 25A.
The southern intersection with the Belleview Bypass is encountered again at 132nd Street Road just as US 27-441-SR 500 enters Summerfield. From there it continues as a straight semi-rural northwest to southeast four-lane divided highway. The last resemblance to a major intersection in Marion County is Marion CR 42, a bi-county road that spans from Pedro towards the southern edges of Ocala National Forest. South of CR 42, the route enters the ever-growing retirement community known as The Villages. Within this community, the route crosses the Marion-Sumter County Line, then bisects the northeastern corner of Sumter County before crossing the Sumter-Lake County Line. Within the Town of Lady Lake, US 27-441 and hidden SR 500 intersects Lake County Road 25, which until the early-2020's ran above a flyover with both CR 25 and the right-of-way for the former ACL High Springs—Croom Line.U.S. 441 Widening from Lake Ella Road to Avenida Central (FDOT Region #5 Archives)FDOT Flyer for proposed widening of US 441 from Lake Ella Road to Avenida Central SR 25 rejoins US 27-441 and hidden SR 500 as an additional hidden route. South of there, it passes through Fruitland Park, which is the headquarters of the LakeXpress bus service, and the entrance to Lake Griffin State Park.Lake Griffin State Park (Florida Parks Service)
U.S. Route 441 and the Orange Blossom Trail
In Leesburg US 27 and hidden SR 25 continue straight south along 14th Street, while US 441 and SR 500 branch off to the southeast onto North Boulevard. Running in close proximity to the southern coast of Lake Griffin, North Boulevard passes by the Herlong Park and Fishing Pier, then crosses the Tav-Lee Trail just before entering eastern Leesburg, where the route joined by Florida State Road 44. US 441 shares hidden overlaps of both SRs 500 and 44 as it winds through a strip of land between Lake Griffin and Lake Harris. A former segment of SR 44 (now Lake CR 44) breaks away just before SR 500 and company pass by the western and northern edge of the Leesburg International Airport. After some more commercial development, most of which is on the north side the routes climb the embankments of a pair of bridges over the Dead River between Lake Harris and Lake Eustis, then after the Lake Eustis Boat Launch area, another set of bridges over the Dora Canal.
In Tavares the route encounters a fork in the road with Florida State Road 500A, then is joined by yet another overlap, this time with Florida State Road 19. Together US 441, SRs 19, 44 and 500 all cross a railroad line owned by the Florida Central Railroad that was originally part of the St. Johns and Lake Eustis Railway. SR 19 branches off to the north at an interchange that includes Lake CR 19A. Entering Mount Dora, eastbound SR 44 branches off to the north across from an intersection with North Donnelley Street and former Lake CR 44B. From that point, US 441-FL 500 curve from east to south. After passing by three flea markets next door to one another, US 441 and SR 500 encounters a south-to-eastbound flyover ramp leading to their first major intersection with Florida State Road 46. Until the late-2010's, the intersection was a diamond interchange. As the routes cross the Lake-Orange County Line, they immediately enter Tangerine and the streets they run along gain the name Orange Blossom Trail. Less than a mile after entering Orange County, the routes encounter the channelized intersection with Orange CR 500A (Old Highway 441). South of there, it passes along the east side of Lake Ola. In Zellwood US 441/SR 500 run parallel the Florida Central Railroad (FCEN) on the southwest side of the road. Both the FCEN and US 441-SR 500 run parallel to a local airstrip known as the Orlando-Apopka Airport.Orlando-Apopka Airport (AirNav) In Apopka, a connecting road to Orange CR 437 leads to a SPUI interchange with Florida State Road 429 and Florida State Road 414 at exit 34. The interchange was built here in order to avoid the risk of encountering the Florida Central Railroad line. At the border between Apopka and Plymouth, the tracks move away from the side of the road, only to return just before the unfinished interchange with Florida State Road 451. The routes continue to run southeast until the intersection with South Central Avenue when they briefly run straight east, passing under a decorative rail trail bridge for the West Orange Trail east of the intersection with Forest Avenue. At the partial interchange with Florida State Road 436, US 441 and SR 500 turn to the southeast while SR 436 resumes the straight-eastbound trajectory after the bridge over northbound US 441 and westbound SR 500.