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The lakes within Lakes Park were man-made and are remnants of a rock mine that once operated on the site. The rock mine was operated by West Coast Rock Co. and began operations in 1956. In 1958, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad built a spur from their line along the Ten Mile Canal to serve the mine.[1] The Atlantic Coast Line’s rail spur, which ran along the present route of Six Mile Cypress Parkway, was built on the right of way of their former rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad‘s Punta Rassa Subdivision, which passed through the site from 1926 to 1952. The mine operated until the 1960s.
CR 777 begins in central Englewood at an intersection with SR 776 (Indiana Avenue). From its terminus, East Dearborn Street is a four-lane divided highway running east though Englewood. The road also runs west of SR 776 as West Dearborn Street, a local road.
Just outside of Englewood at Pine Street, East Dearborn Street becomes River Road and turns northeast as a two-lane road. Near the Myakka State Forest, River Road turns north paralleling the Myakka River and enters North Port. River Road then comes to an intersection with US 41 (Tamiami Trail), where CR 777 becomes SR 777.[1]
The road has been shown on Florida’s official transportation maps (formerly known as road maps) as far back as 1917. On the 1917 State Road Department (SRD) Map, the state road spanned Englewood to present-day North Port. The road was a portion of “Road Number 12” as designated by the State Road Department, a precursor to Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).[2]
The road from Englewood to North Port at present-day Playmore Road was an early alignment of the Tamiami Trail (US 41) along with Englewood Road (via Old Englewood Road) to the northwest. The current route of US 41 from North Port to South Venice was built in the 1930s, bypassing Englewood.[3] The route was then designated SR 311, which served as a loop of US 41 spanning from Englewood to North Port and back northwest to Venice.[4]
After the 1945 Florida State Road renumbering, the route was designated SR 777, which spanned from SR 775 in Englewood to US 41 in North Port, then northwest paralleling the Myakka River to Venice Avenue (known then as Venice Farm Road).[5][6] The portion of SR 777 north of US 41 was transferred to the county sometime in the 1950s. The southern portion from US 41 to SR 775 was transferred to the county sometime between 1978 and 1979. In the early 1960s, the southern end of SR 777 was truncated by a quarter of a mile when SR 775 (now SR 776) was realigned along Indiana Avenue.[7]
Interstate 75 opened through Sarasota County in 1981. As part of the highway, River Road was extended from Venice Avenue north to connect with the new freeway.[8] The Florida Department of Transportation also built a rest area for I-75 on the northeast corner of the interchange with River Road extending a short distance north to provide access. This rest area was closed and abandoned in 1990 and remnants of it remain today.[9][10]
In 2018, Sarasota County accepted the state’s $40 million offer to swap responsibility for several roads (i.e. road swap) in exchange for the state to perform major improvements on River Road, one of the county’s main thoroughfares and vital evacuation routes.[11] FDOT handed over the responsibility of a portion of SR 758, known locally as Siesta Drive and Midnight Pass Road, west of US 41. The county will be responsible for ongoing maintenance of those roadways, although the state would still maintain the bridges to Siesta Key. The road transfer was completed in September 2020.[12]
Major intersections
[edit]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
cr 777was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Florida State Road Department (1917). Road map, State of Florida (Map). Tallahassee: Florida State Road Department. OCLC 38450161. Retrieved July 30, 2021 – via State Library of Florida.
- ^ “Englewood History”. Lemon Bay Historical Society. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ Florida State Road Department (1940). Official state road map of Florida (Map). Tallahassee: Florida State Road Department. OCLC 38569932. Retrieved July 30, 2021 – via State Library of Florida.
- ^ Florida Department of Transportation. “Florida Official Transportation Map Archive”. Florida Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ “County’s Plan Joins National Road System”. Sarasota Journal. 30 December 1964. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ Cortes, Josephine (2 September 1961). “Two New Roads To Be Turned Over To State”. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ “Interstate 75”. AA Roads. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ Jim, Sams (19 March 1990). “Rest Area May Tap County Water”. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ “Interstate 75 North – North Port to Sarasota”. AA Roads. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ Rodriguez, Nicole (May 22, 2018). “Sarasota County accepts state deal to widen, improve River Road”. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ Hackney, Rachel Brown (July 16, 2020). “Final formal step taken by County Commission to effect its assumption of authority over Siesta Key roads, beginning in September”. The Sarasota News Leader. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ “Straight Line Diagram of Road Inventory”. Florida Department of Transportation. April 5, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
Proposed rail trail in Southwest Florida
| Bonita Estero Rail Trail | |
|---|---|
 Seminole Gulf Railway tracks in Downtown Bonita Springs, where BERT is planned to be built |
|
| Length | 14.9 mi (24.0 km) |
| Location | Estero and Bonita Springs, Florida, United States |
| Use | Cycling, Walking, Hiking, Jogging |
| Season | Year round |
| Surface | Asphalt |
 |
|
The Bonita Estero Rail Trail (BERT) is a proposed shared-use linear park rail trail in southern Lee County, Florida. The trail is planned to run along a 14.9-mile disused segment of the Seminole Gulf Railway though the City of Bonita Springs, the Village of Estero, and the unincorporated community of San Carlos Park. When complete, BERT is planned to be a segment of the Florida Gulf Coast Trail, a planned collection of trails extending from Tampa to Naples.[1][2] The Trust for Public Land is currently working with Seminole Gulf Railway to purchase corridor for BERT. Once the corridor is purchased, the trail will likely take five years to construct.[3]
The Bonita Estero Rail Trail is planned to begin at Bonita Beach Road in Bonita Springs. From here, it will run north along the right of way of the Seminole Gulf Railway. It will run along the rail corridor though Downtown Bonita Springs and central Estero. North of Estero, the trail will pass through the community of San Carlos Park. The trail is planned to terminate just north of San Carlos Park at Alico Road, where the rail line is still active.[4]
At Alico Road, the trail will connect with the existing bike path along Michael G. Rippe Parkway, which will provide a connection to the John Yarbrough Linear Park further north.
From Bonita Beach Road, the rail corridor continues south another two miles into Collier County.[4] A future extension of BERT south along the rail corridor is being considered to connect it with Collier County’s proposed Paradise Coast Trail.[5]
The segment of the railroad was originally built in 1925 by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad as an extension of their Lakeland—Fort Myers Line to Naples. The Atlantic Coast Line eventually became CSX Transportation though various mergers, who then sold the rail line to Seminole Gulf in 1987.[6] While not officially abandoned, the rail line south of Alico Road has been out of service since 2008.[7]
In 2022, a local advocacy group named “Friends of Bonita Estero Rail Trail” was created to advocate for converting the rail corridor to a trail.[8]
In early 2024, Seminole Gulf Railway agreed to sell the line south of Alico Road to the Trust for Public Land (TPL) for $82 million to be used for BERT. The TPL is currently seeking funding for the purchase.[7]
Other
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division Timetable (1967)
North Colonial Linear Park[1][2]
SCL Tampa Division 1968 ETT[1]
BNA old Concourse D [1]
DEN Rare partial round trip [2]
1952 Charlotte County Aerial Images [3]
