Florida State Road 78

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 eastwest, even though the easternmost section is actually a northsouth route.

State Road 78 marker

State Road 78

SR 78 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by FDOT
Length72.017 mi[1] (115.900 km)
Section 1
Length19 mi (31 km)
West end CR 765 / CR 884 in Cape Coral
East end SR 31 near Fort Myers Shores
Section 2
Length15 mi[1] (24 km)
West end SR 29 near LaBelle
East end US 27 near Moore Haven
Section 3
Length34 mi[1] (55 km)
South end US 27 near Moore Haven
North end US 98 / US 441 in Okeechobee
Location
CountryUnited States
StateFlorida
CountiesLee, Hendry, Glades, Okeechobee
Highway system
SR 77 SR 79

Route description

Western section

The current western terminus of the westernmost piece of SR 78 is in northwest Cape Coral at an intersection with Stringfellow Rd beginning at “Pine Island Center”. 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. Route 41. SR 78 becomes Bayshore Road in North Fort Myers at its intersection with U.S. Route 41 Business (which is part of an earlier alignment of US 41 and 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

SR 78 between La Belle and Moore Haven.

The 14-mile-long central eastwest 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 eastwest, even though the bulk of the road is northsouth. 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

County Road 78 marker

County Road 78

LocationPine Island Center-Cape Coral, North Fort Myers-Alva
Existed1980–present

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.

County Road 78A

County Road 78A marker

County Road 78A

LocationCape Coral-North Fort Myers
Length3.6 mi[2] (5.8 km)
Existed1980–present

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

CountyLocationmi[1][3]kmDestinationsNotes
LeePine Island Center0.0000.000 CR 767 (Stringfellow Road) St. James, BokeeliaWestern terminus
Matlacha3.5005.633Matlacha Bridge over Matlacha Pass
Cape Coral5.4678.798

CR 765 north (Burnt Store Road) / CR 884 east (Veterans Parkway)
CR 78 becomes SR 78
12.06119.410 CR 867A (Del Prado Boulevard)
12.36119.893
CR 78A east (Pondella Road)
Western terminus of CR 78A
North Fort Myers14.74123.723 US 41 (North Cleveland Avenue / SR 45)
15.85825.521
US 41 Bus. (North Tamiami Trail / SR 739) Punta Gorda, Fort Myers
Bayshore21.1233.99 I-75 (SR 93) Tampa, NaplesExit 143 (I-75)
24.404
0.00
39.274
0.00

SR 31 to SR 80
SR 78 becomes CR 78
Alva10.2016.42Broadway StreetTo SR 80
Hendry18.3029.45Fort Denaud Bridge Way (CR 78A west)
23.5037.82


CR Old 78 east to SR 29 south LaBelle
Western terminus of CR Old 78
Glades24.20
0.000
38.95
0.000
SR 29 Palmdale, LaBelleCR 78 becomes SR 78
Ortona5.9339.548
CR 78A south (Ortona Road)
Northern terminus of CR 78A
14.85823.912
US 27 north (SR 25) Palmdale
Western end of US 27/SR 25 concurrency
18.83930.318
US 27 south (SR 25) Moore Haven
Eastern end of US 27/SR 25 concurrency
Lakeport28.58946.010
CR 74 west (Old Lakeport Road)
Eastern terminus of CR 74
29.55647.566
CR 721 north
31.65150.937
CR 721 south
32.10451.666
CR 721 north Seminole Reservation
Buckhead Ridge45.96773.977
CR 78B south (Access Road)
Kissimmee River48.3677.83Bridge
Okeechobee53.08085.424 US 98 (SR 15) / US 441 (SR 700) West Palm Beach, OkeechobeeEastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. FDOT straight line diagrams Archived March 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, accessed February 2014
  2. Google (February 2, 2014). "CR 78A" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  3. Google Maps distance
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