State Road 777 (SR 777) and County Road 777 (CR 777) are together a 13.5-mile-long (21.7 km) route near Englewood and North Port, Florida, United States. The route is locally known as East Dearborn Street in Englewood and River Road from Englewood north to Interstate 75 (I-75). The route is county controlled south of the Tamiami Trail (US Highway 41, US 41), and is SR 777 from there north to I-75.
  State Road 777 and County Road 777 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SR 777 in red, and CR 777 in blue | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by FDOT and Sarasota County Public Works | ||||
| Length | 13.5 mi[1][2] (21.7 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  SR 776 in Englewood | |||
 US 41 in North Port | ||||
| North end |  I-75 near North Port | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Florida | |||
| County | Sarasota | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Route description
editCounty Road 777
editCR 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.[2]
State Road 777
editSR 777 begins at an intersection with US 41, carrying River Road as a six-lane divided highway. The road passes through some homes and narrows to a two-lane undivided highway before approaching Blue Heron Park and intersecting West Villages Parkway. The state road heads northwest through some developments, crossing Center Road, Jelks Preserve, and Venice Avenue. After crossing Venice Avenue, it becomes a four-lane divided highway. SR 777 reaches its northern terminus at the interchange with I-75. The road's end of pavement is just north of the interchange, south of Curry Creek.[1][3]
History
editThe 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).[4]
The state 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.[5] 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.[6]
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).[7][8] The portion of SR 777 north of US 41 was transferred to the county some time in the 1950s. The southern portion from US 41 to SR 775 was transferred to the county some time 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.[9]
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.[10] 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.[11][12]
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.[13] 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.[14]
Future
editIn August 2021, FDOT awarded a contract with Stantec and de Moya Group to widen River Road from US 41 to Interstate 75. The road will be widened to a six-lane divided highway from US 41 to north of Center Road and a four-lane divided highway from north of Center Road to the interstate interchange, with the right-of-way of a six-lane divided highway. Construction began in February 2022, and the road widening is projected to be finished by mid-2025.[15][16]
Major intersections
editThe entire highway is in Sarasota County.
| Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Englewood | 0.0 | 0.0 | SR 776 (Indiana Avenue) | ||
| | 1.0 | 1.6 | Pine Street | southern terminus | |
| North Port | 7.7 0.0 | 12.4 0.0 | US 41 (Tamiami Trail) – CoolToday Park | CR 777 becomes SR 777 | |
| 1.7 | 2.7 | West Villages Parkway | North Port city limits are located in the middle of right of way | ||
| | 3.2 | 5.1 | Center Road | ||
| 4.8 | 7.7 | Venice Avenue | |||
| 5.6 | 9.0 | I-75 – Tampa, Naples | I-75 exit 191, northern terminus | ||
| 5.8 | 9.3 | End of pavement | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
References
edit- ^ a b c "Straight Line Diagram of Road Inventory". Florida Department of Transportation. April 5, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
- ^ a b "County Road 777" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ "Overview of State Road 777" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Kimel, Earle (August 26, 2021). "Contract awarded for long-awaited River Road widening between I-75 and U.S. 41". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
- ^ "445059-1 SR 777 River Road from US 41 to I-75". SWFLRoads. Florida Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 28, 2024.