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Florida State Road 70

Route map:
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State Road 70 marker
State Road 70
Map
SR 70 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by FDOT
Length148.034 mi[1] (238.238 km)
Existed1945 renumbering (definition)–present
Major junctions
West end US 41 near Bradenton
Major intersections 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
CountryUnited States
StateFlorida
CountiesManatee, DeSoto, Highlands, Okeechobee, St. Lucie
Highway system
← SR 69→ SR 71

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).

Route description

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Manatee County

[edit]
SR 70 in Oneco

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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SR 70 near the Desoto/Highlands County line

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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Interstate 95 exit onto SR 70 in St. Lucie County.

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

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SR 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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Former SR 70 Luten arch bridge over Peace River in Arcadia in 2020.

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

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CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Manatee​0.0000.000 US 41 (14th Street West / SR 45) – Airport
Oneco1.7612.83415th Street EastFormer US 301
​2.7624.445 US 301 (SR 683)
​7.1911.57 I-75 (SR 93) – Tampa, NaplesI-75 exit 217
​17.32827.887
 CR 675 north – Zolfo Springs, Parrish
Myakka City26.90743.303Singletary Road / Myakka-Wauchula Road
DeSoto​44.83872.160
 CR 661A north
​45.90173.870
 CR 661 north – Ona
​46.16374.292
 SR 72 west – Sarasota
Peace RiverBridge over the Peace River
Arcadia48.06477.352
 US 17 south (DeSoto Avenue / SR 35) – Punta Gorda
48.14377.479
 US 17 north (Brevard Avenue / SR 35) – Zolfo Springs
​49.82480.184
 SR 31 south – Fort Myers
​54.86788.300
 CR 760 west
HighlandsChilds79.858128.519Old State Road 8 north
79.913128.608Old State Road 8 southnot actually former SR 8, but rather SR 67
Bairs Den80.931130.246 US 27 (SR 25) – Lake Placid, Moore Haven
Bear Hollow83.694134.692
 CR 29 north
Brighton95.654153.940
 CR 721 south – Lakeport, Seminole Reservation
​98.412158.379
 CR 721 north
Kissimmee River102.84165.50Harding Memorial Bridge
Okeechobee​104.224167.732
 CR 599 north (Northwest 128th Avenue)
​111.119178.829
 US 98 north (SR 700) – Sebring		west end of US 98 / SR 700 overlap
Okeechobee112.290180.713
 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
​114.098183.623

 SR 710 south to Florida's Turnpike – Indiantown
St. Lucie​133.934215.546
 CR 613 south (Carlton Road)
​134.330216.183
 CR 613 north (Sneed Road)
​136.372219.469
 CR 609 north (Header Canal Road)
​137.144220.712
 CR 712 east (Midway Road) – County Fairgrounds
​137.989222.072 CR 609A (Shinn Road)
​140.198225.627McCarty Roadformer SR 712A south
​140.702226.438Eleven Mile Road - Camp Hidden Hammockformer SR 712B south
Fort Pierce143.314230.642

 Florida's Turnpike (SR 91) / SR 713 north (Kings Highway) to US 1 – Airport, Miami, Orlando		Turnpike exit 152
144.021231.779 I-95 (SR 9) – West Palm Beach, Daytona BeachI-95 exit 129
144.377232.352 CR 611 (Jenkins Road)
145.432234.050
 CR 770 east (Okeechobee Road)
146.527235.812 SR 615 (M.L. King Jr. Boulevard / South 25th Street)
147.662237.639 CR 605 (Oleander Avenue)
148.034238.238 US 1 (SR 5)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi


Spur in Bradenton
CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
ManateeOneco0.0000.000301 Boulevardformer US 301
​1.6002.575 US 301 (SR 683)
Bradenton3.0304.876
 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

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  1. ^ a b c FDOT straight line diagrams Archived March 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, accessed February 2014
  2. ^ a b c "overview map of State Road 70" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  3. ^ "Manatee, 1936" (PDF). Florida Center for Instructional Technology. University of South Florida. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  4. ^ "East Desoto, 1936" (PDF). Florida Center for Instructional Technology. University of South Florida. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  5. ^ "South Okeechobee, 1936" (PDF). Florida Center for Instructional Technology. University of South Florida. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  6. ^ "St. Lucie, 1936" (PDF). Florida Center for Instructional Technology. University of South Florida. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Boom time rail branches, Manatee and Sarasota Counties". Tampa Bay Trainw. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  8. ^ "The Historic Highway Bridges of Florida" (PDF). Florida Department of Transportation Environmental Management Office. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Arcadia, Nocatee map (1957)". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Important Link". Sarasota Journal. 12 December 1961. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Arcadia map (1978)". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Arcadia Bridge". Historic Bridges. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
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