Florida State Road 82

State Road 82
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
SR 82 highlighted in black
Route information
Maintained by FDOT
Length	29.884 mi[1] (48.094 km)
Existed	June 11, 1945 (1945-06-11)–present
Major junctions
West end	US 41 / SR 867 in Fort Myers
Major intersections	I-75 in Fort Myers
East end	SR 29 near Immokalee
Highway system
Florida State Highway System Interstate US SR Former Pre-1945 Toll Scenic ← SR 81 → SR 83

State Road 82 (SR 82) is a 29-mile-long east–west highway serving northern Lee and Collier County, Florida (and "clipping" the southwest corner of Hendry County). The western terminus is an intersection with Cleveland Avenue (US 41-SR 45, part of the Tamiami Trail) in Fort Myers; the eastern terminus is an intersection with SR 29 midway between Immokalee and Felda.

Route description[]

State Road 82 begins in Downtown Fort Myers at US 41. Motorists continuing past the western terminus of SR 82 travel along McGregor Boulevard (SR 867). Other State Roads within a few blocks of the western terminus include SR 80 (western terminus located two blocks to the north) and SR 739-Business US 41 one-half mile (0.80 km) to the east.

Between Business US 41 (SR 739) and Interstate 75 (SR 93), SR 82 is a divided residential/commuter road. Within the city of Fort Myers, it is known as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

After intersecting Interstate 75, it continues east and passes close to Lehigh Acres. SR 82 intersects Daniels Parkway and Gunnery Road at a continuous-flow intersection near Lehigh Acres. As it continues east, it crosses the southwest Florida farmlands and wetlands, a part of Big Cypress Swamp and the western edge of the Everglades drainage system. After clipping the southwest corner of Hendry County, SR 82 enters Collier County and it loses its median and becomes a two-lane agricultural road before coming to an end at State Road 29 just north of Immokalee.

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.^[2]

Until the 1980s, SR 82 was an "interrupted" state road, for there was concurrently a Fort Lauderdale street (Davie Boulevard) 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.^[3]

Much of the highway east of Lehigh Acres was upgraded and widened to a multi-lane divided highway in the late 2010s and early 2020s. The continuous-flow intersection (CFI) at the Daniels Parkway/Gunnery Road intersection was the first CFI built in Florida, which became fully operational on July 9, 2019.^[4][5]

Future[]

The Florida Department of Transportation is planning to widen the remaining undivided two-lane segment in Collier County. Construction is underway to widen SR 82 to four lanes from Gator Slough Lane to the terminus at SR 29. This project also included converting the SR 29 intersection to a roundabout.^[6] Widening for the remaining segment from the Collier County line to Gator Slough lane is currently being designed with construction slated to begin in 2023.^[7]

Major intersections[]

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Lee	Fort Myers	0.000	0.000	McGregor Boulevard to US 41
		0.200	0.322	US 41 Bus. west (Monroe Street) to US 41	Monroe Street is inventoried as part of SR 82[8]
		0.645	1.038	SR 739 south (Fowler Street)	temporary southern terminus of US 41 Bus. south
		0.756	1.217	US 41 Bus. north (Evans Avenue / SR 739) – North Fort Myers
		3.826	6.157	CR 865 (Ortiz Avenue)
		4.400	7.081	I-75 – Tampa, Naples	Exit 138 on I-75
		6.874	11.063	CR 884 (Lee Boulevard / Colonial Boulevard) to I-75 – Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers
	Lehigh Acres	11.123	17.901	Gunnery Road / Daniels Parkway (CR 876) to I-75 – Airport	Continuous-flow intersection
Collier	​	24.521	39.463	CR 850 south (Corkscrew Road)	Northern terminus of CR 850
	​	29.884	48.094	SR 29 – LaBelle, Immokalee, Everglades
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References[]

External links[]

Route map:

• Florida Route Log (SR 82)