DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS, Fla. — Were you late to work Monday? It was the first morning commute since the Caloosahatchee Bridge closure, and people say they’re they’re already dealing with more traffic.
Fox 4’s Austin Schargorodski reached out to FDOT to see what it learned in day one of the closure, and what it’s going to do to try to manage that traffic going forward.
On Monday morning, cars were stealing coming over the Edison bridge on US-41 as a detour. For thirty years, the Athenian Restaurant in North Fort Myers has seen everything on that road through their big, street facing windows.
Faye Tsovolos is a hostess there and said Monday was a bit different.
“You see a lot of backup towards the light to get on Pondella - that leftmost lane” said Tsovolos.
Tsovolos said a lot of her customers are talking about that traffic when they come in.
“We waited in the median to make a turn for five minutes,” said Nancy Palmer and Michael Klobnock, a North Fort Myers couple as they arrived at the Athenian Restaurant.
So, Tsovolos explained that the extra traffic has her concerned about safety, saying, “We’ve already seen a lot of accidents over the years. I know a few of our customers have gotten into fender benders trying to get in here as well.”
Despite the expected congestion in areas like Pondella Road, FDOT’s communications director, Janella Newsome, said things are off to a smooth start.
“Whenever there’s a shift or traffic pattern change, on average it usually takes the public about two weeks to get it down. So, for this to be the first day I think it went rather smoothly,” said Newsome.
Newsome said her teams worked with Lee County all morning to keep traffic moving.
“Lee County is monitoring all of the various traffic signals. I just got a report today that Lee County has made at least 80 adjustments this morning - just today - to have a better control of the flow of traffic,” Newsome explained.
Newsome said traffic signal timing will continue to be adjusted in the areas that need it. In the days ahead, Nancy Palmer said she hopes everyone continues to drive safely.
“It’s gonna’ take a bit more patience. I just want people to be careful and know that they’re gonna’ get there, but get there safe.”
