SR-80 Renamed President Donald J. Trump Highway

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 628 on Tuesday, April 14, designating the full 124-mile stretch of State Road 80 as the "President Donald J. Trump Highway." The highway runs coast-to-coast from its intersection with State Road A1A near West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County to U.S. 41 in downtown Fort Myers in Lee County, according to the bill text from the Florida Senate. SB 628, a comprehensive transportation measure, includes 16 road and facility designations across the state. Among them, the Tallahassee International Airport is now the "Bobby Bowden-Tallahassee International Airport," honoring the late Florida State University football coach. DeSantis highlighted Bowden during the bill-signing ceremony in Tallahassee, per official statements from the governor's office. This statewide naming expands on a July 2025 Palm Beach County Commission vote, which unanimously approved a ceremonial renaming of a four-mile section of Southern Boulevard — between Kirk Road and South Ocean Boulevard — as "President Donald J. Trump Boulevard." That stretch connects Palm Beach International Airport, recently redesignated under HB 919 as the "President Donald J. Trump International Airport," to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. The renaming takes effect July 1 and aligns with Florida's transportation infrastructure boom. The I-4 Ultimate project is 90% complete, promising shorter commutes between Daytona Beach and Tampa, while Brightline high-speed rail now links Miami to Tampa in under two hours. These improvements come as the state posts a 2.8% unemployment rate in April 2026, the lowest in over a decade, fueling job growth in tourism and tech. Local reactions vary along SR-80. In Lee County, WINK News reporters gathered mixed opinions from drivers near the U.S. 41 terminus, with some praising the honor and others questioning the choice amid pressing needs like storm recovery. As a tropical depression brews in the Gulf threatening the West Coast, including Lee County lowlands, these road upgrades aid emergency evacuations and resilience efforts, with the National Guard deployed statewide for spring storm response. Florida Senate records confirm SB 628 passed both chambers in spring 2026 before DeSantis' approval. Motorists will see new signage by late summer, enhancing landmarks for the 20,000 daily users of SR-80 through rural Glades and Hendry counties.