Interstate 175

This article is about the current highway in Florida. For proposed meanings, see Interstate 175 (disambiguation).

Interstate 175 (I-175) in St. Petersburg, Florida, also known as South Bay Drive, is a 1.3-mile-long (2.1 km) spur route from I-275 into downtown St. Petersburg. It is also designated as the unsigned highway State Road 594 (SR 594).^[2] There is a sibling segment of freeway nearby designated as I-375.

Interstate 175
South Bay Drive
I-175 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-75
Maintained by FDOT
Length	1.372 mi[1] (2.208 km)
Existed	1980–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-275 in St. Petersburg
East end	SR 594 / SR 687 in St. Petersburg
Location
Country	United States
State	Florida
Counties	Pinellas
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Florida State Highway System Interstate US State Former Pre‑1945 Toll Scenic
← SR 173 → SR 187
← SR 592 SR 594 → I-595

Route description

The Interstate begins at I-275 with Tropicana Field on the northeast side of the interchange, going east into downtown St. Petersburg, passing through eastbound exits with 9th Street South/8th Street South and 6th Street South before the Interstate ends at 5th Avenue South next to an at-grade intersection with 4th Street South. Westbound, the Interstate begins with a split from southbound 4th Street South just north of the 4th Street South/5th Avenue South intersection and has no exits until the interchange with I-275. Along with its sister highway, I-375, I-175 lacks exit numbers.^[1]

History

The freeway was originally to have been a part of the former Pinellas Belt Expressway, which would have continued from its western terminus at I-275. The Pinellas Belt Expressway was budgeted in 1974 but was canceled in the late 1970s due to local opposition.^[3] I-175 was built between 1977 and 1980 and opened on April 23, 1980, at a cost of $5.5 million (equivalent to $17.1 million in 2023^[4]).^[5]

When I-75 was relocated in the late 1970s–early 1980s, five miles (8.0 km) of additional Interstate became available; thus, the St. Petersburg feeder sections of I-175 and neighboring I-375 were upgraded to Interstate status.^{[citation needed]}

Exit list

The entire route is in St. Petersburg, Pinellas County. All exits are unnumbered.

mi[2]	km	Destinations	Notes
0.000	0.000	I-275 (SR 93) – Bradenton, Tampa	Western terminus, I-275 exit 22; tri-stack interchange.
0.785	1.263	M.L. King Jr. Street South / 8th Street South	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; access to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg
1.089	1.753	6th Street South	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
1.285	2.068	4th Street South	East end of I-175; SR 594 continues one block (eastbound only)
1.372[1]	2.208	SR 687 north (3rd Street South) – Downtown St. Petersburg
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

See also

• Florida portal
• U.S. Roads portal