FDOT working to alleviate congestion along busy Fort Myers interchange

The Florida Department of Transportation has a new plan to ease traffic troubles in a well-traveled area of Fort Myers.

The interchange between I-75 and Corkscrew Road around Miromar Outlets gives plenty of drivers headaches. Anyone who has driven through the area knows how busy it can get. But not FDOT has a plan to fix it.

“Well, the mornings are hard, because you get the commuter traffic off of Corkscrew,” said driver Lily Broslovsky.

FDOT has plans to add turning lanes for people getting on the interstate to alleviate the congestion. They’ll also extend on-ramps to make it safer for drivers to merge.

But drivers aren’t the only ones put in dangerous situations by the interchange. Pedestrians are also at risk.

“As a pedestrian, sure, I worry from time to time. Someone not paying attention, texting, petting their animal in the car. That sort of thing,” said Cory Stone.

And while people using these roads are glad to see progress, they’re skeptical about how much the project will help.

“The roads are the way they are and to redo them would be a major project. They’ve got their hands full,” said Broslovsky.

The project is still in the design phase. On Friday, FDOT said they’re also looking at the traffic signals in the area to see if they can improve the timing so drivers get some relief in the short term.

FDOT says construction starts in the summer of 2019 and will finish by 2020.