| State: | FL |
| Type: | SR |
| Route: | 70 |
| Maint: | FDOT |
| Map Custom: | yes |
| Map Notes: | SR 70 highlighted in red |
| Length Mi: | 148.034 |
| Length Round: | 3 |
| Established: | 1945 renumbering (definition) |
| Direction A: | West |
| Terminus A: | near Bradenton |
| Junction: | near Bradenton in Arcadia near Lake Placid in Okeechobee in Fort Pierce in Fort Pierce |
| Direction B: | East |
| Terminus B: | in Fort Pierce |
| Counties: | Manatee, DeSoto, Highlands, Okeechobee, St. Lucie |
| Previous Type: | SR |
| Previous Route: | 69 |
| Next Type: | SR |
| Next Route: | 71 |
Stretching 148miles across the Florida peninsula, State Road 70 (SR 70) spans five Florida counties and straddles the northern boundaries of two more. Its western terminus is at US 41 (14th Street West) south of Bradenton (Manatee County); its eastern terminus is an intersection of Virginia Avenue and South Fourth Street (U.S. Route 1/SR 5) in Fort Pierce (St. Lucie County).
SR 70 begins in Manatee County just south of Bradenton city limits at an intersection with US 41 (Tamiami Trail). From its terminus, it heads east along 53rd Avenue West as a four-lane undivided road. It expands to a six-lane divided road at 15th Street (301 Boulevard). As it continues through the community of Oneco, it crosses the Seminole Gulf Railway's Sarasota Division and Bowles Creek before coming to an intersection with US 301.
Beyond US 301, SR 70 continues east as it leaves the Bradenton area, crossing the Braden River and coming to an interchange with Interstate 75. SR 70 remains a six lane road beyond Interstate 75 as it runs along the north side of Lakewood Ranch. At Lorraine Road, SR 70 becomes a two-lane undivided road and turns southeast. It passes through Verna, Parmalee, Myakka City, and Edgeville before leaving Manatee County and entering Desoto County.
In Desoto County, SR 70 passes through Pine Level as it gets closer to Arcadia. SR 70 enters Arcadia along West Oak Street, and It crosses the Peace River and the Seminole Gulf Railway's Fort Myers Division. Near Lake Katherine, SR 70 splits into two one-way streets with eastbound lanes running along Magnolia Street and westbound lanes running along Hickory Street through Arcadia's historic downtown. It intersects with US 17 in Downtown Arcadia, which also runs along two one-way streets. Less than a mile east of US 17, the eastbound and westbound lanes of SR 70 reunite and the route continues east along East Oak Street. Right after leaving Arcadia city limits, SR 70 intersects with SR 31 and is reduced back to two lanes as it heads due east. It enters Highlands County 16 miles later.
In Highlands County, SR 70 continues due east for another 12 miles. It then enters the comunitiy of Childs just south of Lake Placid. It crosses the South Central Florida Express railroad before coming to an intersection with US 27 in Bairs Den. Beyond US 27, SR 70 passes Bear Hollow and continues its due east trajectory. After another 10 miles, SR 70 turns northeast and passes though Brighton and turns back east. After another 7 miles, SR 70 crosses the Kissimmee River and enters Okeechobee County.
In Okeechobee County, SR 70 cotinues east another 8 miles and comes to an intersection with US 98 (part of the historic Conners Highway) just outside of Okeechobee. SR 70 and US 98 then run east concurrently along Park Street into Okeechobee city limits. US 98 splits off and continues south less than a mile later while SR 70 continues east with four lanes out of the city. It crosses CSX's Auburndale Subdivision and passes the Okeechobee fairgrounds just outside of the city. SR 70 then runs northeast as a four-lane highway for another 9 miles before crossing into St. Lucie County.
SR 70 is known as Okeechobee Road in St. Lucie County and it continues winding through the rural areas in the western part of the county. As it gets closer to the east coast, it passes the St. Lucie County fairgrounds near Port St. Lucie. On the outskirts of Fort Pierce, SR 70 has interchanges with Florida's Turnpike and Interstate 95 which are less than a mile apart. As it enters Fort Pierce city limits, SR 70 turns east on Virginia Avenue and continues another 2.5 miles to its eastern terminus at US 1.
The present route of SR 70 was added to the state highway system in the 1920s with three separate designations. From Bradenton to Parkton (just southeast of Edgeville), it was part of SR 18A (which also continued west of Bradenton to Anna Maria Island via Cortez Road). From Parkton to US 27 in Childs, it was designated SR 18 (which also continued west from Parkton to Old Miakka and Sarasota).[1] [2] From Childs to Fort Pierce, it was designated as SR 8.[3] [4] East of Lakewood Ranch, the route closely paralleled the route of the East and West Coast Railway, which existed from 1915 to 1934 between Bradenton and Arcadia.[5]
The full cross-peninsular route from US 41 in Bradenton to US 1 in Fort Pierce was redesignated SR 70 in 1945 as a result of the 1945 Florida state road renumbering.
Prior to the 1960s, SR 70 entered Arcadia from the west on a historic Luten arch bridge over the Peace River. This historic arch bridge was built in 1925 by the Luten Bridge Company.[6] From this bridge, SR 70 ran along Magnolia Street, then turned south at Lee Avenue for a block, then east on Oak Street though historic Downtown Arcadia and further east.[7] In 1961, a new four-lane bridge carrying SR 70 over the Peace River in Arcadia opened.[8] Around the same time, SR 70 was split into its current one-way street routing through Arcadia.[9] The original arch bridge is still in use as a pedestrian bridge connecting DeSoto Veterans Memorial Park and Morgan Park and it was rehabilitated in 2020.[10]