{{short description|State highway in Florida, United States}} {{Use American English|date=March 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}} {{Infobox road |state=FL |type=SR |route=681 |map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=290|frame-lat=27.1703|frame-long=-82.4586|zoom=12|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map_data/Wikipedia_KML/Florida_State_Road_681}}}} |map_custom=yes |map_notes=SR 681 highlighted in red |alternate_name=Venice Connector / US 41 Connector |maint=FDOT |established= 1980<ref name="SHT"/> |length_mi=4.142 |length_round=3 |length_ref=<ref name=FDOT/> |direction_a=South |terminus_a={{jct|state=FL|US|41}} in Nokomis |direction_b=North |terminus_b={{jct|state=FL|I|75}} near Sarasota |counties=Sarasota |browse={{fl browse|previous_type=SR|previous_route=679|route=SR 681|next_type=SR|next_route=682}} }} '''State Road 681''' ('''SR 681'''), also known as the '''Venice Connector''',<ref name="FDOT"/> is a {{convert|4|mile|km|adj=mid|-long|spell=in}} spur of Interstate 75 (SR 93) near Nokomis, Florida. The road operated as the southern terminus of the expressway in the early 1980s before Interstate 75 extended south to Naples.<ref name="SHT">{{cite web| url=http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20070608/proposed-village-project-for-sarasota-passes-crucial-planning-vote |title=Proposed village project for Sarasota passes crucial planning vote |last1=Sword |first1=Doug |website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |date=June 8, 2007 |access-date=September 13, 2018}}</ref>
==Route description== SR 681 begins at an interchange with US 41/SR 45 in Nokomis, heading north as a four-lane freeway. The road passes through developments, coming to a bridge over the Legacy Trail, a rail trail. 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/SR 93 at an interchange.<ref name="FDOT">{{cite web|title=Straight Line Diagram of Road Inventory|publisher=Florida Department of Transportation|url=http://www2.dot.state.fl.us/Straight-linesOnlineGIS/blank.aspx?docId=29718|date=November 15, 2017|accessdate=January 23, 2019}}</ref><ref name="google">{{google maps| url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/27.147259,-82.462522/27.200771,-82.439722/@27.1740169,-82.4670384,7752m/am=t/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!4m4!1m1!4e1!1m1!4e1?hl=en |title=Overview of State Road 681 |access-date=September 11, 2018}}</ref>
==History== State Road 681 opened to traffic in 1980 when segments of Interstate 75 between Tampa and Naples were still under construction. At the time, it served as the southern terminus of Interstate 75. An access management plan, coordinated between Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Sarasota County, for SR 681 was adopted in December 2005 to establish access points along the limited-access road, 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/LK/20051130/news/605248067/SH/ |last1=Sword |first1=Doug |title=Road plan could clog State Road 681 |website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |date=November 30, 2005 |access-date=March 28, 2018}}</ref>
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 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.<ref name="Honore">{{cite web |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/article/LK/20160422/news/605206485/SH |last1=Kimel |first1=Earle |title=Honore Avenue extension opens to traffic |website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |date=April 22, 2016 |access-date=September 4, 2021 |archive-date=September 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905011603/https://www.heraldtribune.com/article/LK/20160422/news/605206485/SH |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Major intersections== {{jcttop|state=FL|county=Sarasota|length_ref=<ref name="FDOT"/>}} {{FLint |location=Nokomis |mile=0.000 |road={{jct|state=FL|US|41|name1=SR 45|city1=Osprey|city2=Venice|location3=Gulf Beaches}} |notes=interchange }} {{jctbridge|old |location=none |mile=1.448 |mile2=1.531 |length_ref= |bridge=Legacy Trail underpass }} {{FLint |location=none |mile=2.709 |road=Honore Avenue |notes= }} {{FLint |location=none |mile=4.142 |road={{jct|state=FL|I|75|dir1=north|name1=SR 93|city1=Tampa}} |notes=I-75 exit 200 }} {{Jctbtm}}
==References== {{Attached KML|display=inline,title}} {{reflist}}
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