It’s unclear what will help or hurt with the bottleneck traffic mess at the base of the bridge, which really kicked into high gear when the state started construction in front of Crescent Park and shut down the straight shot off the island on Estero Boulevard. This traffic light has been out-of-service since Hurricane Ian.
Mayor Dan Allers has been working with Lee County Commissioner David Mulicka to get an answer on when that light may come back to life. Here’s what Lee County D.O.T. Deputy Director Rob Price told Mulicka. “We have been coordinating with FEMA on repairs to the signal. Since this section of Estero Boulevard is not a federal aid highway, we coordinate with FEMA instead of the Federal Highway Administration. We recently received their approval to move forward with repairs to the signal. We have been working with a designer to make some resiliency adjustments to the signal infrastructure. Of most significance is an attempt to elevate the signal cabinet several feet so that it will not be as susceptible to storm surge flooding from smaller storm events. This will include stairs to access the cabinet for maintenance purposes. We are finalizing that plan and will be filing the request to initiate the project to Procurement in the next two weeks. We would expect to open bids in the next 2-3 months and bring the construction contract to the Board directly after Procurement is completed with due diligence. My best guess is that we would be under construction sometime this Summer.”
In other words….It’s gonna be awhile.
So Why is there NO sheriff directing traffic and pedestrians “In Season” ?? That is the REAL question. It is a REAL safety Issue!
Speaking of traffic lights, why do we no longer have alternating lights at Prescott for the two lanes headed to the Beach. Not so bad off season but now, it creates chaos, blocked intersection and road rage as those two lanes try to merge before the bridge.
ditto…it was very helpful to prevent accidents and road rage