page_title: Legacy Trail (Florida)
section_title: History of the trail
hierarchical_section_title: Legacy Trail (Florida) / History of the trail
caption_attribution_description: English: Legacy Trail Overpass in Venice
context_page_description: The Legacy Trail is a 12.5-mile multi-use recreational trail in Sarasota County, Florida located between Sarasota near Palmer Ranch and Venice. The rail trail is a portion of a former Seminole Gulf Railway corridor. The land was purchased by the county in 2004 and formally opened to the public on March 28, 2008.
context_section_description: The railroad line was originally built in 1911 as part of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad's extension to Venice. The railroad line provided passenger service to Venice until 1971. The railroad line was integral to Venice's history and benefited the city's economy. The railroad was used by cadets and faculty of the Kentucky Military Institute for winter classes from 1933 to 1970, transported patients to Fred H. Albee's Florida Medical Center from 1932 to 1942, transported goods and servicemen to Venice Army Air Field during World War II, and used by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which was headquartered in Venice from 1959 to 1992. The circus was the last consistent service the rail line carried.
  Due to decreased demand for service and the heavily deteriorated condition of the tracks and bridges, CSX Transportation (Seaboard's successor) and Seminole Gulf Railway, who had been leasing the line from CSX since 1987, came to an agreement with Sarasota County to abandon the railroad line south of Palmer Ranch. In return, Sarasota County, in conjunction with The Trust for Public Land, purchased and acquired the right of way in December 2004 for $11.75 million to use as a public recreational trail. The Legacy Trail opened to the public on March 28, 2008.
  In 2011, a pedestrian overpass was built to carry the trail over the Venice Bypass, a major six-lane highway. Prior to the overpass's construction, trail users had to use a crosswalk at an adjacent intersection. The $3.1 million overpass is 18 feet (5.5 m) tall, spans 900 feet (270 m), and was built with federal stimulus funding. Another pedestrian overpass constructed by FDOT over Laurel Road started construction in November 2017 and was completed in late 2018.
caption: Overpass over U.S. 41 Bypass Route in Venice
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