Florida State Road 78

State Road 78
Route information
Maintained by FDOT
Length:	72.017 mi[1] (115.900 km)
Section 1
Length:	19 mi (31 km)
West end:	CR 765 / CR 884 in Cape Coral
East end:	SR 31 near Fort Myers Shores
Section 2
Length:	15 mi[1] (24 km)
West end:	SR 29 near LaBelle
East end:	US 27 near Moore Haven
Section 3
Length:	34 mi[1] (55 km)
South end:	US 27 near Moore Haven
North end:	US 98 in Okeechobee
Highway system
Florida State Highway System Interstate US SR Former Pre-1945 Toll ← SR 77 SR 79 →

State Road 78 (SR 78) is the Florida Department of Transportation designation of the highway that historically extended from Pine Island Center on the Gulf Coast of Florida to the northern tip of Lake Okeechobee. In the 1980s, two segments of the route were removed from state maintenance to county maintenance (and the road designations were changed to reflect the action). More recently, SR 78 signs were removed from the four-mile-long stretch of US 27/SR 25 that was once a concurrency. All three sections are signed east–west, even though the easternmost section is actually a north–south route.

Route description

Western section

The current western terminus of the westernmost piece of SR 78 is in northwest Cape Coral at an intersection with CR 884 (Veteran's Parkway) to the south and CR 765 (Burnt Store Road) to the north. Known as Pine Island Road, it travels east from its terminus through northern Cape Coral toward North Fort Myers, Florida, where it intersects U.S. Highway 41. SR 78 becomes Bayshore Road in North Fort Myers at its intersection with U.S. 41's Business Route (which is part of an earlier alignment of the Tamiami Trail). Bayshore Road continues east paralleling the north shore of the Caloosahatchee River. It intersects with Interstate 75 shortly before terminating at State Road 31 near the Lee County Civic Center.

Central section

The 14-mile-long central east–west section of SR 78 extends from SR 29 four miles (6 km) northeast of North LaBelle to an intersection with US 27/SR 25 midway between Citrus Center and Moore Haven. In between is the town of Ortona. The central section of SR 78 is entirely within a part of Glades County dedicated to the growth of foliage house plants.

Okeechobee (eastern) section

The 34-mile-long easternmost section of State Road 78 (SR 78) is signed east–west, even though the bulk of the road is north–south. This stretch follows the western and northern edge of the Lake Okeechobee wetlands. The southern (“western”) terminus of this segment is an intersection with US 27/SR 25 near Moore Haven. Motorists driving “east” (actually north) on SR 78, travel through Sportsman Village before visiting the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation and Buckhead Ridge before reaching the northern (“eastern”) terminus, an intersection with US 98 (SR 700)-US 441 (SR 15) near Eagle Bay in the northern tip of Lake Okeechobee, roughly three miles to the south of Okeechobee.

History

In the late 1970s, FDOT started to put into motion a sequence of events that ultimately resulted in the removal of dozens of miles of roadway from the State maintenance list to county maintenance. Entire State Roads disappeared as their FDOT designations were replaced by County Road signage, while other State Roads had only parts become County Roads (usually with no change in the numbering).

In the 1970s, State Road 78 extended from Pine Island Center, near Pine Island Sound on the Gulf Coast to the northernmost part of Lake Okeechobee. In the 1980s, two sections were transitioned to county maintenance:

• The westernmost six miles (from Pine Island Center to Cape Coral), also known as Northwest Pine Island Road, became County Road 78. It runs from CR 767 (Stringfellow Road) on Pine Island east over the Matlacha Bridge onto the mainland in northwest Cape Coral, where it connect to SR 78.

• North River Road (22 miles of zigzagging road along the north bank of the Caloosahatchee River from SR 31 near Babcock Ranch to SR 29 near LaBelle) was also converted to County Road 78. Brief concurrencies with both SR 31 and SR 29 were also removed.

CR 78A

County Road 78A is a spur road off of State Road 78 between Cape Coral and North Fort Myers locally known as Pondella Road. It provides a quicker way for motorists traveling east on CR 78 to access Downtown Fort Myers. The road was known as SR 78A before 1980.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1][3]	km	Destinations	Notes
Lee	Pine Island Center	0.000	0.000	CR 767 (Stringfellow Road) – St. James, Bokeelia	Western terminus of CR 78
	Matlacha	3.500	5.633	Matlacha Bridge over Matlacha Pass
	Cape Coral	5.467	8.798	CR 765 north (Burnt Store Road) / CR 884 east (Veterans Parkway)	CR 78 becomes SR 78
		12.061	19.410	CR 867A (Del Prado Boulevard)
		12.361	19.893	CR 78A east (Pondella Road)
	North Fort Myers	14.741	23.723	US 41 (North Cleveland Avenue / SR 45)
		15.858	25.521	US 41 Bus. (North Tamiami Trail / SR 739) – Punta Gorda, Fort Myers
	Bayshore	21.12	33.99	I-75 (SR 93) – Tampa, Naples
		24.404 0.00	39.274 0.00	SR 31 to SR 80	SR 78 becomes CR 78
	Alva	10.20	16.42	Broadway Street	To SR 80
Hendry		18.30	29.45	Fort Denaud Bridge Way (CR 78A west)
		23.50	37.82	Old CR 78 east to SR 29 south – LaBelle
Glades		24.20 0.000	38.95 0.000	SR 29 – Palmdale, LaBelle	CR 78 becomes SR 78
	Ortona	5.933	9.548	CR 78A south (Ortona Road)
		14.858	23.912	US 27 north (SR 25) – Palmdale	Western terminus of concurrency with US 27
		18.839	30.318	US 27 south (SR 25) – Moore Haven	Eastern terminus of concurrency with US 27
	Lakeport	28.589	46.010	CR 74 west (Old Lakeport Road)
		29.556	47.566	CR 721 north
		31.651	50.937	CR 721 south
		32.104	51.666	CR 721 north – Seminole Reservation
	Buckhead Ridge	45.967	73.977	CR 78B south (Access Road)
Kissimmee River		48.36	77.83	Bridge
Okeechobee		53.080	85.424	US 98 (SR 15) / US 441 (SR 700) – West Palm Beach, Okeechobee	Eastern terminus of SR 78
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Route transition

References

External links

• Florida Route Log (SR 78)