State Road 681 (SR 681), also known as the Venice Connector, is a

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...

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 ...

( SR 93) near

Nokomis, Florida Nokomis is an unincorporated town along the Gulf Coast of Florida, United States, located south of Osprey and just north of Venice. The town has access to the coast through Nokomis Public Beach and Casey Key. The town's population was 3,167 at t ...

. The road operated as the southern terminus of the

expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...

in the early 1980s before Interstate 75 extended south to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Route description

SR 681 begins at an interchange with

US 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, ...

/ SR 45 in

Nokomis Nokomis is the name of Nanabozho's grandmother in the Ojibwe traditional stories and was the name of Hiawatha's grandmother in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, ''The Song of Hiawatha'', which is a re-telling of the Nanabozho stories. Nokomis is ...

, heading north as a four-lane

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

. The road passes through developments, coming to a bridge over the Legacy Trail, a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

. The freeway heads northeast coming to an at-grade signalized intersection with Honore Avenue. A short distance later, SR 681 merges onto the northbound direction of

I-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 St ...

/ SR 93 at an interchange.

History

State Road 681 opened to traffic in 1980 when segments of

between

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

and

were still under construction. At the time, it served as the southern terminus of Interstate 75. An

access management Access management, also known as access control, when used in the context of traffic and traffic engineering, generally refers to the regulation of interchanges, intersections, driveways and median openings to a roadway. Its objectives are to en ...

plan, coordinated between

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 ...

(FDOT) and

Sarasota County Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton, FL m ...

, for SR 681 was adopted in December 2005 to establish access points along the

limited-access road A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...

, reclassifying the road as a "modified limited access" road. The access management plan established the planned locations of at-grade intersections along SR 681 for future growth adjacent to the highway. In April 2016, the final phase of Sarasota County's Honore Avenue extension was completed. The project extended Honore Avenue from SR 681 to Laurel Road, providing signalized intersections at both limits. This also made Honore Avenue the first contiguous road to run from

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

north to the Sarasota County line since 1982 when State Road 681 was constructed. Previously, US 41 and I-75 were the only continuous north-south thoroughfares linking Venice and Sarasota.

Major intersections

References

{{reflist 681 681