Florida State Road 82


State Road 82 is a 29-mile-long east-west highway serving northern Lee and Collier County, Florida. The western terminus is an intersection with Cleveland Avenue in Fort Myers; the eastern terminus is an intersection with SR 29 midway between Immokalee and Felda.

Route description

West of Interstate 75, State Road 82 is a divided residential/commuter road. Within the city of Fort Myers, it is known as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Near Lehigh Acres, SR 82 intersects Daniels Parkway and Gunnery Road at a continuous-flow intersection. East of this intersection, SR 82 loses its median and becomes a two-lane agricultural road as it crosses the southwest Florida farmlands and wetlands, a part of Big Cypress Swamp and the western edge of the Everglades drainage system. Though, it briefly becomes a four-lane divided roadway again in its short segment in Hendry County.
Motorists continuing past the western terminus of State Road 82 travel along McGregor Boulevard. Other State Roads within a few blocks of the western terminus include SR 80 and SR 739-Business US 41 to the east.

History

The route was designated State Road 184 until 1945, when it was changed to State Road 82 as part of a state-wide renumbering.
Until the 1980s, SR 82 was an "interrupted" state road, for there was concurrently a Fort Lauderdale street with SR 82 signage. As part of a statewide renumbering, Davie Boulevard's SR 82 signage was replaced with signs showing its current designation, SR 736.
Prior to 1991, SR 82 was known as Anderson Avenue within Fort Myers before being changed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Anderson Avenue was named for Dr. Richard Anderson, who is believed to be the first physician to set up a practice and drug store in Fort Myers.

Future

The two-lane undivided section between Lehigh Acres and Immokalee has been notorious for many fatal high-speed crashes. The Florida Department of Transportation is gradually widening the remaining two-lane undivided segments. Construction to widen SR 82 from Colonial/Lee Boulevard to Shawnee Road to six lanes was completed in 2019. This project upgraded the Daniels Parkway/Gunnery Road intersection to Florida's first continuous-flow intersection, which was opened July 9, 2019. Construction to widen the road from Shawnee Road to the Lee/Hendry County Line to four lanes is also underway.

Major intersections