The shortest truck bypass on record may be the 0.9-mile route off U.S. 441 around Micanopy, Fla. Diane Cohen, who waged a six-year campaign to preserve the antebellum buildings on the town square, persuaded the legislature to approve the bypass, built in 1992 for $425,000. Prior to its construction, the downtown intersection was tight for rigs, which rattled buildings’ foundations. During her preservation efforts, she interviewed many long-haulers about the need for the bypass. The Gainesville Sun published her poetic salute, “Micanopy Bypass: Ode to the Great Trucks,” when the bypass was dedicated:
” Rank upon rank at sunrise they gleam,
On to the interstate mighty rigs stream,
White splendid armor embellished and scrolled.
High crested helmets of crimson and gold
