Current and historic US Highway ends
in Pensacola FL

Photo credits: Larry McDonald; Alex Nitzman

When the US routes were first commissioned in 1926, Pensacola was served by US 331, which branched off US 31 at Flomaton AL. In 1935 the US 29 designation was extended south from Tuskegee AL; it met US 331 at Flomaton and was co-signed with it down to a common terminus in Pensacola. This multiplex lasted two years, until US 331 was decommissioned (today's US 331 is a different route; you can read about its endpoints here).

In Pensacola, US 90 and US 98 join for a short time near downtown; they are routed along Cervantes Street. US 29 is directed down Palafox Street; the photo below shows the junction signage approching its south end:

Nitzman, May 2004

The US 29 designation ends where it intersects Cervantes (US 90/98):

Nitzman, May 2004

Cervantes is the cross street in this photo; notice how only US 90 (not 98) is noted here. The road heading off into the distance is southbound Palafox. This intersection marks the end of US 29 today, although it's possible that in the past US 29 (and maybe US 331) continued eight blocks ahead, to what is now Business US 98 on Garden Street.

The photo below is looking the opposite direction: north from Cervantes, up Palafox:

Nitzman, 1999

That's how the first northbound reassurance marker used to look. The green sign in the background gives mileage to Cantonment and Century, two towns in the far west of Florida's panhandle. Florida used to differentiate their US routes with differently-colored shields; on Robert Droz's page you can view some cool historic signs that were once at these same locations (for reference, note the yellow sign in the background above).

By 2004, that assembly had been moved about a block ahead, just past the green sign:

Nitzman, May 2004

The photos below show signage for the south beginning of US 29 from US 90/98. This first one is looking westbound:

McDonald, September 2003

That sign was down by the time of Alex's visit in early 2006 - perhaps the victim of a hurricane. US 29 begins to the right, and that was possibly the south beginning of historic US 331 as well. FDoT got the sign correct there, but check out the signage on eastbound US 90/98:

McDonald, September 2003

That's approaching Palafox; the mistake is repeated at the intersection itself:

McDonald, September 2003

Another state highway shield. Not only that, but US 29 goes only to the left from here. However, this hints at the possibility that US 29 (and/or US 331) also went right (further south) in the past. By 2004, both of those assemblies had been replaced:

Nitzman, May 2004

Nitzman, May 2004

Alex reports that by 2006, that "interstate" arrow (white-on-blue) had been replaced with a "state route" arrow (black-on-white).