SR 12 begins at SR 20 in Bristol, although originally it starts off heading in more of a northerly direction then curves more towards the east. The surroundings are primarily forestland, one side of which is burnt, until it reaches CR 270, a bi-county east-west route in Liberty and Gadsden Counties. Pine trees become more prominent after this and the next moderate intersection is with CR 1641 which spans southeast towards Hosford and northwest to Torreya State Park. The segment south of SR 12 used to be County Road 271. State Road 12 continues moving relatively northeast as it crosses the Liberty-Gadsden County Line and passes by the Poley Branch Church. From there it descends into a valley, but emerges from it before approaching the southern terminus of County Road 269, a road in western Gadsden County that runs as far north as Chattahoochee before crossing the Florida-Georgia State Line. Later, it curves from east to north around a small farm across from the western terminus of County Road 65D, a county road that eventually leads to a state road which will soon prove to be far more significant. The next intersection is CR 379. After SR 12 veers off to the right from Coleman Road it enters the City of Greensboro and then crosses an Apalachicola Northern Railroad line before curving back to the same direction. Within downtown Greensboro, SR 12 turns right at Selman Street joining a brief concurrency with CR 270. Three and a half blocks later CR 270 turns north onto Tolar White Road and SR 12 continues as Selman Street. The last non-local street in Greensboro is the western terminus of CR 274. From there, SR 12 is named Greensboro Highway, which crosses a bridge over Telogia Creek at Shepards Pond, and shortly after this curves to the northeast to become a four-lane divided highway for the diamond interchange with Interstate 10 at exit 174. The divided segment comes to an end north of I-10 between Beaver Lake Road and Thomas Smith Farm Road. As SR 12 curves back toward the east, it encounters another section of CR 270 and the eastern terminus of CR 270A, just before a wye intersection with SR 65 where the west end of concurrency with the route begins. Immediately after this intersection SR 12/65 has another intersection with another one of SR 65's suffixed routes, specifically County Road 65A that leads north to Gretna. In Douglas City SRs 12/65 serves as the address for the Gadsden Correctional Facility, and then an at-grade crossing with the CSXTallahassee Subdivision a line that carried the AmtrakSunset Limited until it was truncated to New Orleans, Louisiana by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Right after this crossing SRs 12/65 has an intersection with U.S. Route 90, and joins that route in another concurrency. The Tallahassee Subdivision begins to move away from US 90/SRs 12/65, but almost comes back just before the intersection with CR 274 before entering Quincy where the concurrency becomes West Jefferson Street. Within the citythe road encounters an at-grade railroad crossing with a spur of the Tallahassee Subdivision. This spur runs next to the beginning of the concurrency with SR 267 and CR 268 once again. The concurrency with SR 267 may have been in the process of being eliminated though, as a four-lane stub extends a block north of US 90. US 90/SRs 12/65/267/CR 268 enter the Quincy Historic District at Stewart Street. Four blocks later at Adams Street, SR 267 leave US 90 to the north, and CR 268 turns in the opposite direction. Between there it runs in front of the Gadsden County Courthouse and a block later at Madison Street, passes the former routing of SR 12. US 90 and SR 12 head east out of the city and at SR 269, SR 12 turns north off the US 90 concurrency. At Quincy Municipal Airport and East King Street, SR 269 ends and SR 12 turns east onto Havana Highway. The road veers off to the right at the southern terminus of CR 161 where a small gas station can be found at the fork between the two roads. In Shady Rest the eastern segment of CR 270 runs southeast to Scotland and Gibson, while SR 12 curves along the north side of Lake Tallavana. Curving back to the east, the route runs past five churches then approaches CR 159 where Havana Highway is changed to Ninth Avenue West. At the same time, CR 159 joins SR 12 in a one block unsigned concurrency that lasts until the intersection of SR 159. Finally entering Havana the road crosses a CSX Railroad line and curves straight east just before the eastern terminus at US 27. However Ninth Avenue East continues eastward as CR 12A.
History
The entire route originally was a longer state highway that included current county extensions. From 1926 to 1949 the segment between Quincy and Havana was part of US 90, and was part of US 90 Alternate only in 1950. In 2017, two years after the opening of the Quincy Bypass to help remove through truck traffic away from the city's downtown narrow roads, Quincy formally requested the removal of SR 12 from Madison Street and East King Street.
Major intersections
Related routes
Liberty County
County Road 12
County Road 12 is a county extension of SR 12. It begins at State Road 65 in Wilma and runs northwest to SR 20 in Bristol just west of the western terminus of SR 12.
County Road 12A
County Road 12A is a suffixed alternate of County Road 12 located South of Bristol. It is a loop road to the west of CR 12 around Lake Mystic, appropriately named Lake Mystic Road.
Gadsden and Leon counties
SR 269
State Road 269 is a two-lane state highway located east of downtown Quincy. Most of the roadway is within city limits though some portions are in unincorporated parts of Gadsden County. SR 269 runs from US 90/SR 10 and Ralph Strong Road north to East King Street and C&E Farm Road near the Quincy Municipal Airport. SR 12 runs concurrent with the entire length of SR 269. The road heads through forested land, crossing Quincy Creek towards the midpoint of the road, and has no driveways off of it. It is officially designed the Julia Munroe Woodward named for a longtime Quincy resident and philanthropist. The road opened in January 2015 to help remove truck traffic on SR 12's narrow roads through Quincy. Since 2017, it is fully co-signed with SR 12 once the city took over maintenance from FDOT of SR 12 along Madison Street and East King Street.
County Road 12
County Road 12 in Gadsden and Leon Counties is a bi-county extension of SR 12. The route begins three blocks north of the eastern terminus of State Road 12 at US 27 as Fifth Avenue East. Upon leaving the town limits it becomes Fairbanks Ferry Road, where it curves more toward the northeast until it encounters the eastern terminus of CR 12B. Entering Concord, the road intersects CR 157, a bi-county extension of SR 157 in Tallahassee. Further east it serves as the southern terminus of CR 157A. Upon crossing Fairbanks Ferry Bridge over the Ochlockonee River, the northernmost bridge along the river in Florida, the road enters Leon County. Fairbanks Ferry Road ends at CR 155, which it has a brief southbound concurrency with before turning east again. Along this segment, the route serves as the headquarters for WVUP-CD, a Christian television station. In Iamonia, CR 12 divides just before ending at US 319 and has its own median within the median of US 319.
County Road 12A
County Road 12A is a suffixed alternate of State Road 12. It begins at the eastern terminus of SR 12 and ends at CR 157. It may have possibly had a concurrency with CR 157 leading to CR 12 in Concord at one time.
County Road 12B
County Road 12B is another suffixed alternate of State Road 12. It begins at US 27 north of Havana and end at CR 12 west of CR 157 in Concord.
