Stretching 148 miles (238 km) across the Florida peninsula, State Road 70 (SR 70) spans five Florida counties and straddles the northern boundaries of two more. Its western terminus is at US 41 (14th Street West) south of Bradenton (Manatee County); its eastern terminus is an intersection of Virginia Avenue and South Fourth Street (U.S. Route 1/SR 5) in Fort Pierce (St. Lucie County).
 State Road 70 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SR 70 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by FDOT | ||||
| Length | 148.034 mi[1] (238.238 km) | |||
| Existed | 1945 renumbering (definition)–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  US 41 near Bradenton | |||
 I-75 near Bradenton US 17 in Arcadia US 27 near Lake Placid  US 98 / US 441 in Okeechobee Florida's Turnpike in Fort Pierce I-95 in Fort Pierce | ||||
| East end |  US 1 in Fort Pierce | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Florida | |||
| Counties | Manatee, DeSoto, Highlands, Okeechobee, St. Lucie | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Route description
editManatee County
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SR 70 begins in Manatee County just south of Bradenton city limits at an intersection with US 41 (Tamiami Trail). From its terminus, it heads east along 53rd Avenue West as a four-lane undivided road. It expands to a six-lane divided road at 15th Street (301 Boulevard). As it continues through the community of Oneco, it crosses the Seminole Gulf Railway's Sarasota Division and Bowles Creek before coming to an intersection with US 301.
Beyond US 301, SR 70 continues east as it leaves the Bradenton area, crossing the Braden River and coming to an interchange with Interstate 75. SR 70 remains a six lane road beyond Interstate 75 as it runs along the north side of Lakewood Ranch. At Lorraine Road, SR 70 becomes a two-lane undivided road and turns southeast. It passes through Verna, Parmalee, Myakka City, and Edgeville before leaving Manatee County and entering Desoto County.[2]
Desoto and Highlands counties
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In Desoto County, SR 70 passes through Pine Level as it gets closer to Arcadia. SR 70 enters Arcadia along West Oak Street, and it crosses the Peace River and the Seminole Gulf Railway's Fort Myers Division. Near Lake Katherine, SR 70 splits into two one-way streets with eastbound lanes running along Magnolia Street and westbound lanes running along Hickory Street through Arcadia's historic downtown. It intersects with US 17 in Downtown Arcadia, which also runs along two one-way streets. Less than a mile east of US 17, the eastbound and westbound lanes of SR 70 reunite and the route continues east along East Oak Street. Right after leaving Arcadia city limits, SR 70 intersects with SR 31 and is reduced back to two lanes as it heads due east. It enters Highlands County 16 miles later.
In Highlands County, SR 70 continues due east for another 12 miles. It then enters the community of Childs just south of Lake Placid. It crosses the South Central Florida Express railroad before coming to an intersection with US 27 in Bairs Den. Beyond US 27, SR 70 passes Bear Hollow and continues its due east trajectory. After another 10 miles, SR 70 turns northeast and passes though Brighton and turns back east. After another 7 miles, SR 70 crosses the Kissimmee River and enters Okeechobee County.[2]
Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties
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In Okeechobee County, SR 70 continues east another 8 miles and comes to an intersection with US 98 (part of the historic Conners Highway) just outside of Okeechobee. SR 70 and US 98 then run east concurrently along Park Street into Okeechobee city limits. US 98 splits off and continues south less than a mile later while SR 70 continues east with four lanes out of the city. It crosses CSX's Auburndale Subdivision and passes the Okeechobee fairgrounds just outside of the city. SR 70 then runs northeast as a four-lane highway for another 9 miles before crossing into St. Lucie County.
SR 70 is known as Okeechobee Road in St. Lucie County and it continues winding through the rural areas in the western part of the county. As it gets closer to the east coast, it passes the St. Lucie County fairgrounds near Port St. Lucie. On the outskirts of Fort Pierce, SR 70 has interchanges with Florida's Turnpike and Interstate 95 which are less than a mile apart. As it enters Fort Pierce city limits, SR 70 turns east on Virginia Avenue and continues another 2.5 miles to its eastern terminus at US 1.[2]
Spur in Bradenton
editSR 70 has a short spur in Oneco that connects the highway with Bradenton. This three-mile spur runs north from Oneco along 15th Street to SR 64 (Manatee Avenue) in Bradenton. This spur was signed as SR 70 until 2018, but it is still under state maintenance.[citation needed]
History
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The present route of SR 70 was added to the state highway system in the 1920s with three separate designations. From Bradenton to Parkton (just southeast of Edgeville), it was part of SR 18A (which also continued west of Bradenton to Anna Maria Island via Cortez Road). From Parkton to US 27 in Childs, it was designated SR 18 (which also continued west from Parkton to Old Miakka and Sarasota).[3][4] From Childs to Fort Pierce, it was designated as SR 8.[5][6] East of Lakewood Ranch, the route closely paralleled the route of the East and West Coast Railway, which existed from 1915 to 1934 between Bradenton and Arcadia.[7]
The full cross-peninsular route from US 41 in Bradenton to US 1 in Fort Pierce was redesignated SR 70 in 1945 as a result of the 1945 Florida state road renumbering.
Prior to the 1960s, SR 70 entered Arcadia from the west on a historic Luten arch bridge over the Peace River. This historic arch bridge was built in 1925 by the Luten Bridge Company.[8] From this bridge, SR 70 ran along Magnolia Street, then turned south at Lee Avenue for a block, then east on Oak Street though historic Downtown Arcadia and further east.[9] In 1961, a new four-lane bridge carrying SR 70 over the Peace River in Arcadia opened.[10] Around the same time, SR 70 was split into its current one-way street routing through Arcadia.[11] The original arch bridge is still in use as a pedestrian bridge connecting DeSoto Veterans Memorial Park and Morgan Park and it was rehabilitated in 2020.[12]
Major intersections
edit| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manatee | | 0.000 | 0.000 |  US 41 (14th Street West / SR 45) – Airport | |
| Oneco | 1.761 | 2.834 | 15th Street East | Former US 301 | |
| | 2.762 | 4.445 |  US 301 (SR 683) | ||
| | 7.19 | 11.57 | I-75 (SR 93) – Tampa, Naples | I-75 exit 217 | |
| | 17.328 | 27.887 |   CR 675 north – Zolfo Springs, Parrish | ||
| Myakka City | 26.907 | 43.303 | Singletary Road / Myakka-Wauchula Road | ||
| DeSoto | | 44.838 | 72.160 |  CR 661A north | |
| | 45.901 | 73.870 |  CR 661 north – Ona | ||
| | 46.163 | 74.292 |   SR 72 west – Sarasota | ||
| Peace River | Bridge over the Peace River | ||||
| Arcadia | 48.064 | 77.352 |  US 17 south (DeSoto Avenue / SR 35) – Punta Gorda | ||
| 48.143 | 77.479 |  US 17 north (Brevard Avenue / SR 35) – Zolfo Springs | |||
| | 49.824 | 80.184 |  SR 31 south – Fort Myers | ||
| | 54.867 | 88.300 |   CR 760 west | ||
| Highlands | Childs | 79.858 | 128.519 | Old State Road 8 north | |
| 79.913 | 128.608 | Old State Road 8 south | not actually former SR 8, but rather SR 67 | ||
| Bairs Den | 80.931 | 130.246 | US 27 (SR 25) – Lake Placid, Moore Haven | ||
| Bear Hollow | 83.694 | 134.692 |  CR 29 north | ||
| Brighton | 95.654 | 153.940 |   CR 721 south – Lakeport, Seminole Reservation | ||
| | 98.412 | 158.379 | CR 721 north | ||
| Kissimmee River | 102.84 | 165.50 | Harding Memorial Bridge | ||
| Okeechobee | | 104.224 | 167.732 |  CR 599 north (Northwest 128th Avenue) | |
| | 111.119 | 178.829 | US 98 north (SR 700) – Sebring | west end of US 98 / SR 700 overlap | |
| Okeechobee | 112.290 | 180.713 |  US 98 south / US 441 (Parrott Avenue / SR 15 / SR 700 south) – Orlando, Lake Okeechobee, West Palm Beach, Amtrak | east end of US 98 / SR 700 overlap | |
| | 114.098 | 183.623 |   SR 710 south to Florida's Turnpike – Indiantown | ||
| St. Lucie | | 133.934 | 215.546 |  CR 613 south (Carlton Road) | |
| | 134.330 | 216.183 | CR 613 north (Sneed Road) | ||
| | 136.372 | 219.469 |  CR 609 north (Header Canal Road) | ||
| | 137.144 | 220.712 |   CR 712 east (Midway Road) – County Fairgrounds | ||
| | 137.989 | 222.072 |  CR 609A (Shinn Road) | ||
| | 140.198 | 225.627 | McCarty Road | former SR 712A south | |
| | 140.702 | 226.438 | Eleven Mile Road - Camp Hidden Hammock | former SR 712B south | |
| Fort Pierce | 143.314 | 230.642 |   Florida's Turnpike (SR 91) / SR 713 north (Kings Highway) to US 1 – Airport, Miami, Orlando | Turnpike exit 152 | |
| 144.021 | 231.779 | I-95 (SR 9) – West Palm Beach, Daytona Beach | I-95 exit 129 | ||
| 144.377 | 232.352 |  CR 611 (Jenkins Road) | |||
| 145.432 | 234.050 |  CR 770 east (Okeechobee Road) | |||
| 146.527 | 235.812 |  SR 615 (M.L. King Jr. Boulevard / South 25th Street) | |||
| 147.662 | 237.639 |  CR 605 (Oleander Avenue) | |||
| 148.034 | 238.238 | US 1 (SR 5) | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
- Spur in Bradenton
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manatee | Oneco | 0.000 | 0.000 | 301 Boulevard | former US 301 |
| | 1.600 | 2.575 | US 301 (SR 683) | ||
| Bradenton | 3.030 | 4.876 |   SR 64 (Manatee Avenue East) to I-75 – Beaches, Anna Maria Island | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b c FDOT straight line diagrams Archived March 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, accessed February 2014
- ^ a b c "overview map of State Road 70" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
- ^ "Manatee, 1936" (PDF). Florida Center for Instructional Technology. University of South Florida. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ "East Desoto, 1936" (PDF). Florida Center for Instructional Technology. University of South Florida. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ "South Okeechobee, 1936" (PDF). Florida Center for Instructional Technology. University of South Florida. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "St. Lucie, 1936" (PDF). Florida Center for Instructional Technology. University of South Florida. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Boom time rail branches, Manatee and Sarasota Counties". Tampa Bay Trainw. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ "The Historic Highway Bridges of Florida" (PDF). Florida Department of Transportation Environmental Management Office. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Arcadia, Nocatee map (1957)". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Important Link". Sarasota Journal. 12 December 1961. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Arcadia map (1978)". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Arcadia Bridge". Historic Bridges. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
External links
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Media related to Florida State Road 70 at Wikimedia Commons