runs across the center of the
U.S. State of
Florida through
Orlando , with its termini at
SR 55 (
US 19 ) at
Weeki Wachee and
SR 5 (
U.S. Route 1 ) in
Titusville .
SR 50 is signed east-west. Through much of
Orlando , it is signed as Colonial Drive.
Several portions of SR 50 east of
SR 436 follow the original
Cheney Highway , which was the first road to the coast from Orlando. Full travel from Orlando to Titusville on the Old Cheney Highway, however, is not possible due to the demolition of a bridge over the
Econlockhatchee River .
Prior to the
1945 Renumbering , the route that became SR 50 had the following numbers:
SR 50 was defined in the
1945 Renumbering as:
Since then, the following changes have been made:
- SR 50 was extended west from its west end to Bayport , on the Gulf Of Mexico . Later it was given back to Hernando County as CR 50 (now CR 550 ).
- A new alignment for SR 50 was built east of Brooksville , removing the section on Main Street (which may have become SR 581 ) and a part east of Main Street.
- Later, SR 50 was realigned around Brooksville, and the old road through downtown became SR 50A .
- Near the Withlacoochee River a higher four-lane bridge was built on a short realigned section. The old road, which only exists on the east side of the river is now called Paul N. Steckle Lane, and can be found behind a Hernando County Firehouse.
- Three dirt roads inside Withlacoochee State Forest were once part of SR 50. They include Richloam-Clay Sink Road, Riverland Road, and Ham Road.
- The spur in Mascotte is no longer state-maintained.
- A whole new alignment was built from east of Groveland to south of Tildenville , via Clermont . The old road became, in order from west to east, SR 565A (now CR 565A ), SR 561A (now CR 561 ), SR 561 (now partly abandoned and partly maintained by Clermont), an unknown number (now CR Old 50 ), and SR 438 (now CR 438 ). The short north-south connector at Tildenville became an extension of SR 545 (now CR 545 ).
- A whole new alignment was built from Minorville to west of downtown Orlando . The old road became an extension of SR 526 (now CR 526 ), and the concurrency with SR 500 / SR 600 was removed.
- Several minor realignments were built in 1948 (at least the eastern two) at SR 436 and west of and at Bithlo . The old roads are now Old Cheney Highway.
