State Road 29 (SR 29) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

that runs north–south through

Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally ...

. A rural road, it runs mostly through uninhabited farmland in its northern half, and along wetlands in its southern half.

Route description

State Road 29 begins at an intersection with

U.S. Route 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...

(

Tamiami Trail The Tamiami Trail () is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90). The north� ...

) in the small community of Carnestown, located just 4 miles north of Everglades City. From there, it travels north along the western edge of the

Big Cypress National Preserve Big Cypress National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in South Florida, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Miami on the Atlantic coastal plain. The Big Cypress, along with Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, becam ...

and the eastern edge of the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Forest, which the road borders until it reaches

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

(Alligator Alley) at Miles City. FL 29 Curve (6243487146)

North of I-75, State Road 29 borders the

Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge The Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System, located in southwestern Florida, twenty miles east of Naples, in the upper segment of the Fakahatchee Strand of the Big Cypress Swamp. ...

to the west and continues to border the Big Cypress National Preserve up to a point just south of Sunniland. SR 29 turns west briefly and back north through the city of

Immokalee (your home) , nickname = , settlement_type = Census-designated place , motto = , image_skyline = File:Immokalee-Zocalo Plaza 2018.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption ...

, a small farming town with large migrant populations. Just north of Immokalee, SR 29 intersects with State Road 82, which travels west to

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

. SR 29 continues due north through more agricultural areas until it reaches the city of LaBelle, where it runs through the city center and intersects State Road 80, a transpeninsular route connecting Fort Myers and West Palm Beach. After crossing the

Caloosahatchee River The Caloosahatchee River is a river on the southwest Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 18, 2011 It dr ...

on a small drawbridge, SR 29 turns northeast and continues to its northern terminus at an intersection with

US 27 U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I-69) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. F ...

(unsigned SR 25), just south of

Palmdale Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On Aug ...

History

State Road 29 was extended from Immokalee to Everglades City in the 1920s around the same time as the construction of the

. Its construction was championed by

Barron Collier Barron Gift Collier (March 23, 1873 – March 13, 1939) was an American advertising entrepreneur who became the largest landowner and developer in the U.S. state of Florida, as well as the owner of a chain of hotels, bus lines, several banks, and ...

as a land connection to Everglades City (the county seat of

Collier County Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from E ...

at the time). The route was designated State Road 164 until 1945, when it was changed to State Road 29 as part of a statewide renumbering. State Road 29 was extended from Everglades City to Chokoloskee in 1956 upon the completion of a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

across Chokoloskee Bay South of Immokalee, SR 29 ran alongside the now-abandoned

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...

Haines City Branch The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Haines City Branch was a railroad line running from their main line in Haines City, Florida south through southern Central Florida. The line notably ran through Lake Wales, Avon Park, Sebring, and Immokalee an ...

from Harrisburg (just south of

) to Everglades City, which was also built in the 1920s. Part of this line was once the

Deep Lake Railroad Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), ...

, which was once owned by Barron Collier. The railroad was removed from Sunniland south to Everglades City in 1957, and the rest of it was removed in the 1980s. Before the

Florida Department of Transportation The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of t ...

removed a large number of State Roads from its list for state control and maintenance, SR 29 continued south through the towns of

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

, Copeland, and then meeting Everglades City just outside the

Everglades National Park Everglades National Park is an American national park that protects the southern twenty percent of the original Everglades in Florida. The park is the largest tropical wilderness in the United States and the largest wilderness of any kind east ...

. Now designated County Road 29 north of Everglades City and County Road 29A south of it, the historic southern terminus of SR 29 is in

Chokoloskee Chokoloskee is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located at the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands in Collier County, Florida, United States. The population was 359 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Naples, Florida, Na ...

, on Chokoloskee Island within the National Park. When plans were made to upgrade Alligator Alley to carry Interstate 75 in 1973, State Road 29 was not initially planned to have an interchange with the freeway due to environmental concerns. This decision was reversed in 1989 during construction of I-75 and interchange ramps were included after steps were taken to protect the endangered Florida panther.

Related routes

LaBelle truck route

State Road 29 Truck is a truck detour along South Bridge Street. It begins at the northwest corner of LaBelle Airport south of the southeast corner of SR 29 and CR 80A. SR 29 Truck also intersects CR 80A, and runs along the east side of SR 29 until it reaches SR 80 near the

Old Hendry County Courthouse The Old Hendry County Courthouse (constructed in 1926) is a historic courthouse in LaBelle, Florida, located at the corner of Bridge Street and Hickpochee Avenue. It was designed in the Mediterranean Revival-Mission Revival styles by architec ...

Collier County

County Road 29A is a route bypassing

Immokalee (your home) , nickname = , settlement_type = Census-designated place , motto = , image_skyline = File:Immokalee-Zocalo Plaza 2018.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption ...

to the northeast. It runs mostly southeast to northwest, and is named New Market Road. County Road 29A begins as New Market Road East, as a straight south to north road until it approaches a local fire station on the northeast corner of an access road to Immokalee Airport, and curves to the northwest. The road serves as the headquarters for the Immokalee State Farmer's Market. At Charlotte Street New Market Road East becomes New Market Road West. The straight northwestern to southeastern pattern continues until it curves to the west and approaches the terminus at SR 29 and Westclox Road north of the city, but not before a northbound turning ramp forks off to the right.

Hendry County

County Road 29A is a short, former segment of State Road 29 in LaBelle. It runs north along North Main Street from the SR 29-80 multiplex at the Hendry County Courthouse to Park Avenue, where it turns east terminating a block later at Bridge Street(SR 29) at the foot of the drawbridge over

Major intersections

References

External links

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Florida Route Log (SR 29)
029 029 029 029