Bay Street and Hendry Street back open downtown Fort Myers

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Luminary Hotel rendering

A bit of relief downtown, as the traffic nightmare is alleviated.

Bay Street and Hendry Street closed by the Luminary Hotel projects in Fort Myers are now open Monday after being shut down longer than anyone expected. Edwards Drive along the Caloosahatchee River is still closed down.

Businesses are ready for the open roads to bring passerby customers back to their storefronts.

“When they had that little one-way street, all of this blocked off, all of those businesses suffered,” said Manager Jeff Delbagno of Social House. “So hopefully this will bring back people especially foot traffic.”

According to the city, the hotel’s construction pushed back the original closure of 90 days to 6 months.

This caused confusion for drivers and took away a lot of valuable parking spots.

“When you come downtown, you expect to be able to get around and experience the different restaurants and bars and venues,” Tom Guess said.

Guess is happy with the end to construction near the hotel.

“Think it’s easier now when we’re able to come downtown and enjoy easy access to the bars and restaurants we like to attend,” Guess said.

Luminary Hotel is expected to up in early 2020.

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