State Road 44 | ||||
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by FDOT | ||||
Length: | 102.786 mi (165.418 km) | |||
Existed: | 1945 renumbering () – present | |||
Western section | ||||
Length: | 49.155 mi (79.107 km) | |||
West end: | US 19 / US 98 in Crystal River | |||
Major junctions: |
US 41 in Inverness I-75 near Wildwood |
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East end: | US 441 in Leesburg | |||
Central section | ||||
Length: | 52.198 mi (84.005 km) | |||
West end: | US 441 in Mount Dora | |||
Major junctions: |
I-4 near DeLand I-95 in New Smyrna Beach |
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East end: | SR A1A in New Smyrna Beach | |||
Eastern section | ||||
Length: | 1.433 mi (2.306 km) | |||
West end: | North Riverside Drive in New Smyrna Beach | |||
East end: | Peninsula Avenue in New Smyrna Beach | |||
Highway system | ||||
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State Road 44 Business |
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Location: | New Smyrna Beach |
West Fort Island Trail | |
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Location: | Fort Island-Crystal River |
County Road 44A | |
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Location: | Wildwood – Orange Home |
County Road 44 | |
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Location: | Leesburg – Mount Dora |
County Road 44A | |
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Location: | Umatilla – Mount Dora |
County Road 44B | |
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Location: | Mount Dora |
County Road 44C | |
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Location: | Mount Dora |
State Road 44 (SR 44) is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of Florida. It runs from Crystal River on the Gulf of Mexico east to New Smyrna Beach on the Atlantic Ocean, passing through Inverness, Wildwood, Leesburg and DeLand.
A section in Lake County, between eastern Leesburg and a point north of Mount Dora, is concurrent with U.S. Highway 441 (SR 500). This concurrency is not signed; signs on US 441 mark it as TO SR 44. The former alignment of SR 44 in that area is now mostly County Road 44, which runs north of Lake Eustis, on the other side as US 441 and current SR 44.
A former western extension of SR 44 from Crystal River to the Gulf of Mexico is now County Road 44. In some locations, it is signed as County Road 44W.
State Road 44 begins as Gulf-to-Lakes Highway at the intersection of US 19-98 and 4th Street in Crystal River, a four-lane divided highway. The divider only exists at the intersection, however. The rest of the road is undivided throughout much of Western Citrus County. SR 44 runs directly east, until it leaves the city limits, then makes a sharper southeastern turn prior to the intersection of North Dunkenfield Avenue and West Norvelle Bryant Highway (County Road 486). It briefly turns east again as it reaches the intersection of Canyon Rock Road, but curves back to the southeast roughly a mile later. The proposed interchange with the Suncoast Parkway Extension will be built just northwest of where the divider begins again near the intersection of County Road 490 in Lecanto, after which the road turns east again.