Florida State Road 80
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by FDOT | ||||
| Length: | 124.04 mi[1] (199.62 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1945 renumbering (definition) – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: |   US 41 / SR 45 in Ft. Myers |
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  I-75 / SR 93 near Tice SR 29 in La Belle  US 27 / SR 25 near Moore Haven US 27 / SR 25 in South Bay  US 441 / SR 15 near Belle Glade  US 98 / SR 700 near Belle Glade US 441 / SR 7 near Royal Palm Beach  Turnpike / SR 91 near Palm Beach Farms  I-95 / SR 9 in West Palm Beach  US 1 / SR 805 in West Palm Beach |
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| East end: |  US 98 / SR A1A / SR 700 in Palm Beach |
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| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Lee, Hendry, Palm Beach | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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→Florida State Road 80 (also known as Palm Beach Boulevard in Lee County and Southern Boulevard in Palm Beach County) is a 124.04 miles (199.62 km) route linking US 41 in Fort Myers and Florida State Road A1A in Palm Beach. The road is the northernmost of three linking Southwest Florida to South Florida via the Everglades (Alligator Alley and Tamiami Trail being the other two). Due to increasing traffic, State Road 80 has experienced upgrades and widening in various sections since 2000.
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Route description [edit]
Lee and Hendry Counties [edit]
State Road 80 begins in at an intersection with US 41 (Tamiami Trail) as a pair of two lane, one-way streets weaving through central Ft. Myers until they join at the intersection of Palm Beach Blvd./Seaboard Street as a four lane two way road. From there, it follows the Caloosahatchee River east out of the city, expanding to six lanes east of the Ortiz Avenue intersection. It has an interchange with Interstate 75 as it passes through the eastern suburbs of Ft. Myers before being reduced to four lanes east of SR 31 before leaving Lee County and entering Hendry County. At its county seat, La Belle, it serves as the town's main street and intersects SR 29. After La Belle, it becomes a two-lane highway until a triangle intersection with US 27, where the two roads run concurrently as a four-lane highway as it heads east towards Clewiston and the southern coast of Lake Okeechobee.[2][1]
Palm Beach County [edit]
In Palm Beach County, it serves as a commuter route between South Bay and Belle Glade at the western end, growing suburbs Loxahatchee, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach and county seat West Palm Beach. In South Bay, US 27 heads south towards Miami, following the North New River Canal. Between Belle Glade and Loxahatchee, the roads are surrounded by sugarcane fields, with US 441 and US 98 both joining State Road 80 during this stretch. Lion Country Safari marks the beginning of a rural to urban transition of the road for the remainder of its journey. The road doubles from four to eight lanes in Royal Palm Beach, as the road serves as the border between Royal Palm Beach and Wellington. At the State Road 7 intersection, US 441 turns south towards Miami. The South Florida Fairgrounds and the Cruzan Amphitheater, where the South Florida Fair takes place, are next on the route, just east of SR 7. After passing Florida's Turnpike, it gains two more lanes and becomes an expressway, with diamond interchanges with Jog Road, Haverhill Road and Military Trail. East of Military Trail, it loses a lane in each direction as it straddles the southern end of Palm Beach International Airport, where private aircraft are serviced, with commercial access to the airport available via SR 704A. It then intersects through I-95, becoming a four lane road in several older, high density neighborhoods in West Palm Beach. East of the Florida East Coast railroad bridge crossing, it intersects US 1 and SR 5, reducing to two lanes as it crosses Lake Worth Lagoon on two bridges, and ending on a roundabout with FL A1A in Palm Beach near the Mar-A-Lago estate.[1][2]
History [edit]
The section from 20 Mile Bend to West Palm Beach was opened as Conners Highway on July 4, 1924.
From 1923 to the 1945 renumbering, the road was known as State Road 25, and in the reassignment, the portion from US 41 in Fort Myers east to Palm Beach was transferred over to the new SR 80, with the sections of old SR 25 west of US 41 reassigned to SR 867.[3]
Until 2002, Palm Beach County's Southern Blvd. was a four lane road with a center left-turn lane, causing high gridlock due to the rapidly growing western suburbs of Loxahatchee, Royal Palm Beach and Wellington.[4] The road was known as "Killer 80" due to its high fatality rate.[5] In 2002, after many years of debate, the Florida Department of Transportation embarked on a $78 million project to upgrade and widen Southern Boulevard from I-95 to US 441/SR 7.[4] Between 2003 and 2008, it was transformed into a limited-access highway with freeway-grade diamond interchanges at the most congested intersections, with traffic signals remaining at others.[6][7]
Future [edit]
In Hendry County, a project to improve the intersection between SR 80 and US 27 is underway and is expected to be completed at the end of 2013.[8]
The two bridges crossing Lake Worth Lagoon, built in 1950, are currently in the planning stages for replacement, with construction expected to begin in 2015.[9]
Major junctions [edit]
| County | Location | Mile[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee |
Fort Myers | 0.00 | 0.00 | US 41 / SR 45 (Tamiami Trail) |
Western terminus |
| 0.658 | 1.059 |    US 41 Bus. / SR 739 south (Fowler Street) |
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| 0.896 | 1.442 | US 41 Bus. / SR 739 north (Park Avenue) |
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| 5.69 | 9.16 | I-75 / SR 93 – Naples, Tampa |
Exit 141 (I-75) | ||
| 8.38 | 13.49 |  SR 31 north |
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| Hendry |
La Belle | 29.88 | 48.09 | SR 29 south |
Western end of SR 29 concurrency |
| 29.94 | 48.18 | SR 29 north (North Bridge Street) |
Eastern end of SR 29 concurrency | ||
| 52.24 | 84.07 | US 27 / SR 25 |
Western end of US 27 concurrency | ||
| Palm Beach |
South Bay | 77.20 | 124.24 |  US 27 / SR 25 / SR 880 |
Eastern end of US 27 concurrency; Southern end of SR 880 concurrency |
| Belle Glade |  SR 715 north |
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| SR 15 north / SR 880 east |
Southern end of SR 15 concurrency; Eastern end of SR 880 concurrency | ||||
 SR 717 (Canal Street) |
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| 84.22 | 135.54 | US 441 / SR 15 north |
Western end of US 441 concurrency; Northern end of SR 15 concurrency | ||
| 97.55 | 156.99 | US 98 / SR 700 west |
Western end of US 98 concurrency | ||
| Royal Palm Beach | 113.88 | 183.27 | US 441 south / SR 7 |
Eastern end of US 441 concurrency, diamond interchange | |
| West Palm Beach | 116.11 | 186.86 | Turnpike / SR 91 – Miami, Orlando |
Exit 97 (Florida's Turnpike) | |
| 119.46 | 192.25 |  SR 809 (Military Trail) |
Diamond interchange | ||
| 121.31 | 195.23 |   SR 807 south (Congress Avenue) / SR 704A north (Australian Avenue) |
Commercial Access to Palm Beach International Airport via SR 704A, diamond interchange | ||
| 122.10 | 196.50 | I-95 / SR 9 – Miami, Daytona Beach |
Exit 68 (I-95) | ||
| 123.03 | 198.00 | US 1 / SR 805 (Dixie Highway) |
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| 123.17 | 198.22 |  SR 5 (Olive Avenue) |
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| Lake Worth Lagoon | Crossing | ||||
| Palm Beach | 124.04 | 199.62 | US 98 / SR A1A / SR 700 |
Roundabout with SR A1A, eastern terminus | |
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d Google Inc. (July 8, 2008). Google Earth (4.3.7284.3916) [beta]. Retrieved July 25, 2009. <http://earth.google.com/>
- ^ a b Google Inc. Google Maps – overview map of Florida State Road 80 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Dr+Martin+Luther+King+Blvd&daddr=FL-80+E+to:Southern+Blvd&hl=en&geocode=FeKAlgEdurge-w%3BFXJNmAEdeKcp-ynR_DumKfPbiDEc_3Hc6Z9ZAQ%3BFRIKlwEdGLc6-w&mra=ls&via=1&sll=26.61063,-81.587219&sspn=0.590576,0.883026&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=8. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
- ^ http://www.us-highways.com/of021040.htm Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ^ a b "As County Booms, State's Plans For Widening Roads Often Bust". Miami Herald 15 Feb 1987: 3PBS
- ^ "Four Die in Crash on State Road 80". Miami Herald 23 Apr 1984: 15BR
- ^ Palm Beach FDOT. "Southern Blvd. (SR 80) Projects". Retrieved July 25, 2009.
- ^ Regnier & Associates, Inc. "State Road 80 Expansion". Retrieved July 25, 2009.
- ^ Cella Molnar & Associates, Inc. "State Road 80, US 27". Retrieved July 25, 2009.
- ^ FDOT. "SR 80 (Southern Blvd) Bridges". Retrieved July 25, 2009.
