Lee County DOT signal installation may affect nighttime traffic on Fort Myers Beach

Jun 7, 2023 3 min read

The Lee County Department of Transportation (DOT) asks motorists to use caution on Estero Boulevard at Crescent Street just south of the Matanzas Pass Bridge as a contractor works to install a traffic signal this summer.

The signal installation is part of a longtime plan to help address congestion in the vicinity of the bridge on Fort Myers Beach. Lee DOT has been working closely with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), which is planning improvements to San Carlos Boulevard and Estero Boulevard. These plans include reconfiguration the traffic flow at the foot of the bridge and construction of two traffic signals. They will be at the intersections of Estero Boulevard and Fifth Street and at San Carlos Boulevard and Main Street. For additional information about FDOT’s project, visit swflroads.com/project/433726-2.

Once all signals are installed, DOT will ensure coordinated timing between signals to help traffic flow, including a signal that the Town of Fort Myers Beach previously installed at the intersection of Old San Carlos Boulevard and Fifth Street.

The pedestrian crosswalks that are part of the signalized intersections will enhance safety and complement the pedestrian overpass that is part of Margaritaville, which is located between the FDOT and Lee DOT signal projects.

For Lee DOT’s signal at Crescent Street, the Board of County Commissioners approved a contract award at a regularly scheduled meeting on April 19, 2022. The contract timing was set up prior to Hurricane Ian to ensure project work would begin after the 2023 tourist season. Construction is scheduled to start the week of June 12, and completion is expected by September.

Initial work will include the installation of the foundations for the signal poles, which will require detouring the northbound off-island traffic from Estero Boulevard to Crescent Street. This part of the project is scheduled for Tuesday, June 13, and Thursday, June 14. Detours will be posted, with traffic flow altered 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Flaggers will be on-site. For the remaining stages of construction, minimal traffic impacts are anticipated. Any future lane closures will be intermittent and/or scheduled at night.

The contractor will take measures to ensure that lighting used on the project site for nighttime work will be directed away from the beach to comply with sea turtle nesting season regulations. The work is weather-dependent. For updates, follow the project on Lee DOT’s Roadwatch at leegov.com/dot/roadwatchupdate.

Lee County DOT information is available at leegov.com/dot.

To receive updates from Lee County Government, sign up for the newsletter HERE. Follow Lee County Government on Facebook.

Source: Lee County Government