| State: | FL |
| Type: | SR |
| Route: | 31 |
| Map Custom: | yes |
| Maint: | FDOT |
| Length Mi: | 36.357 |
| Length Round: | 3 |
| Established: | 1945 |
| Direction A: | South |
| Terminus A: | near Fort Myers Shores |
| Direction B: | North |
| Terminus B: | near Arcadia |
| Counties: | Lee, Charlotte, DeSoto |
| Previous Type: | SR |
| Previous Route: | 30E |
| Next Type: | SR |
| Next Route: | 33 |
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.
Originally designated State Road 2, the route was redesignated State Road 31 in 1945 as part of a statewide renumbering.[1] [2]
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.[3] The current route south of North River Road carried State Road 78 at the time.
In 2006, Cameratta Properties purchased 5860acres of land along SR 31 in DeSoto County for a master-planned community that upon completion will add approximately 17,000 homes and 500000square feet of retail and office space. The entity formed to Babcock Ranch.
Prior to the 1980s, a north-south route near Naples was designated as a secondary state road with the designation of SR 31.[4] This segment, locally known as Airport-Pulling Road, became (CR 31) when it was turned over to county control in the 1980s.[5]