Florida State Road 31

State Road 31 (SR 31) is a state highway in Southwest Florida in Lee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties. It is about 36 miles (58 kilometers) long. The entire roadway is two lanes wide, even near Fort Myers. The highway crosses the Caloosahatchee River via the Wilson Pigott Bridge, a small drawbridge, a mile north of the southern terminus. The northern terminus is with an intersection of SR 70 near Arcadia. The southern terminus is with an intersection of SR 80 near Fort Myers Shores. The route is home to G. Pierce Wood Memorial Hospital, replacing the old De Soto Aircraft Field.

State Road 31
Route information
Maintained by FDOT
Length36.357 mi[1] (58.511 km)
Existed1945–present
Major junctions
South end SR 80 near Fort Myers Shores
North end SR 70 near Arcadia
Location
CountiesLee, Charlotte, DeSoto
Highway system
← SR 30E→ SR 33

History

Originally designated State Road 2, the route was redesignated State Road 31 in 1945 as part of a statewide renumbering.[2][3]

Prior to the construction of the Wilson Pigott Bridge in 1960, State Road 31 crossed the Caloosahatchee River about three miles farther east of the current bridge. Just north of Fort Myers Shores, it travelled east along North River Road (then-State Road 78) and crossed the river on a swing bridge into Olga, where it continued to State Road 80 along what is today Olga Drive.[4] The current route south of North River Road carried State Road 78 at the time.

In 2006, Cameratta Properties purchased 5,860 acres (24 km2) of land along SR 31 in DeSoto County for a master-planned community that upon completion will add approximately 17,000 homes and 500,000 square feet (50,000 m2) of retail and office space. The entity formed to Babcock Ranch.

Former Naples segment

Prior to the 1980s, State Road 31 was a discontinuous route with an additional segment in Naples. This segment has since been turned over to county control (CR 31) and is known as Airport-Pulling Road.[5]

Major intersections
CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
LeeFort Myers Shores0.0000.000 SR 80 (Palm Beach Boulevard) – LaBelle, Fort Myers
Caloosahatchee River (Okeechobee Waterway)1.041.67Wilson Pigott Bridge
​1.4072.264 SR 78 west (Bayshore Road) – Lee Civic Center
​2.6704.297 CR 78 east (North River Road) – Caloosahatchee Regional Park, W.P. Franklin Campground
CharlotteBermont16.99027.343 CR 74 – Palmdale, Punta Gorda
DeSoto​25.54141.104 CR 763 west
​31.89351.327 CR 760A west
​34.10254.882 CR 760 east
​36.35758.511 SR 70 – Arcadia, Okeechobee
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. "Lee Middle, 1936". Florida Center for Instructional Technology. University of South Florida. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  3. "East Desoto, 1936". Florida Center for Instructional Technology. University of South Florida. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  4. "North Olga Community Plan" (PDF). Lee County, Florida. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  5. "Marco Island and Naples". AA Roads. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
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