Interstate 275 Manatee County

Southern Terminus of Interstate 275 at Interstate 75's
Exit 228 in Parrish to US 19 South (Exit 5)

Thinking about taking a ride on Interstate 275 through Manatee County through the screens of your computer, rather than actually being there? Well, you have come to the right place!

Interstate 275 in Manatee County consists of three exits, Exit 5 being US 19 South and Exit 2 being US 41, not to mention the southern terminus of Interstate 275 at Interstate 75's Exit 228 in Parrish. Parrish is the home of the Florida Railroad Museum which is only five miles away from Interstate 275's southern terminus using Moccasin Wallow Road (via a connection at the exit immediately to the north of Interstate 275 at Exit 229) to US 301 and then south on US 301 a short distance to the museum's entrance. The museum and its weekend train rides make for a great weekend outing and its strategic location in proximity to Interstate 275's southern terminus is a tremendous asset.

A History of Interstate 275 in Manatee County

But first, let's start out with a history of Interstate 275, the final piece of the Interstate 275 puzzle in the Tampa Bay region connecting the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to the Miami extension of Interstate 75. In 1981 a section of the Miami extension of Interstate 75 opened from US 301 (Exit 224) in Ellenton to River Road (Exit 191) in southern Sarasota County just east of Venice. A year later, in 1982 Interstate 75 was opened from US 301 (Exit 224) to Big Bend Road (Exit 246) in southern Hillsborough County, and that included a stub highway just north of US 301 which was marked with large 'TO US 41' signage instead of Interstate 275 at the time, as Interstate 275 wasn't connected to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in St. Petersburg just yet. In fact, construction on the new Sunshine Skyway Bridge was just getting underway which would last five years.

Sometime in 1984 the highway would be extended west of US 41 to link up with US 19. The highway would include several overpasses including those at Bayshore Road, Abel Road as well as the CSX Railroad AZA Line over the Palmetto Subdivison, the former Atlantic Coast Line track that runs from Tampa to Palmetto, Bradenton and Sarasota. But once the highway met at US 19 with a partial interchange, it would be designated as Interstate 275 but it would meet a temporary end at the Sunshine Skyway's southern toll booth as the new Sunshine Skyway was under construction and traffic was still being funneled onto the two lane northbound span of the old Sunshine Skyway due to the southbound span of that bridge being damaged on 9 May 1980 when the Summit Venture collided with a support pier sending 1,260 feet of the southbound span into Tampa Bay and sadly taking the lives of 35 people, several in a Greyhound Bus.

After the segment of Interstate 275 in Manatee County was built, all that was needed to complete the Interstate 275 puzzle in the Tampa Bay region was the completion of Interstate 275 in St. Petersburg as well as the construction of the new Sunshine Skyway Bridge plus needed upgrades to bring the entire Sunshine Skyway up to interstate highway standards. The last piece of the Interstate 275 puzzle was put in place in 1994 with the reconstruction of the first bridge of the Sunshine Skyway going south from St. Petersburg, the Dick Misener Bridge.

Interstate 275 Exits in Manatee County

Interstate 275 in Manatee County consists of three exits. Feel free to click on any of the links below for more information on each interchange:

Exit 0 - Southern terminus of Interstate 275 at Interstate 75's Exit 228 in Parrish.

Exit 2 - US 41 to Port Manatee, Palmetto and Bradenton.

Exit 5 - US 19 South to Palmetto and Bradenton. This exit is a northbound entrance and southbound exit only interchange.

Coverage of Interstate 275 in Manatee County west of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge south toll plaza can be found on the Sunshine Skyway page.