The first segment of SR 56, which stretched from SR 54 to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard (
SR/CR 581), opened on March 28, 2002, after three years of construction. The highway allows a more-direct access to
I-75 north of the northern terminus of
I-275, as opposed to SR 54, which parallelled I-75 for about before meeting at its interchange. The first phase of expansion, from Bruce B. Downs to Meadow Pointe Boulevard, began construction in March 2008 to mark the imminent opening of the
Shops at Wiregrass. On July 31, 2010, after numerous delays, this extension of SR 56 opened for vehicular traffic. An extension to
US 301 in
Zephyrhills was being planned by the
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and has been part of the plan since the highway's conception. The project was previously expected to be completed by the end of 2019, but finally reached US 301 on July 10, 2019. A
diverging diamond interchange with I-75 was initially proposed in May 2018; construction on the revamped interchange began in February 2019 and was completed in 2022. ==Major intersections==