Cape Coral intersections cause driver confusion, wrong-way traffic

Updates to roads in Cape Coral have confused drivers recently after the city changed the lanes at two busy intersections.

Drivers going the wrong way down roads in Cape have forced police to come out to intersections at least three times in the last three days.

Construction crews were even forced to put up barricades to try and stop people from driving into oncoming traffic.

Wednesday night, Sierra Szalay’s typical drive home was far from the norm. Her dash cam captured the moment she made her usual left turn off Andalusia Boulevard. Except, this time, she turned right into oncoming traffic.

“Had no idea, and there I go,” Szalay said. “I went and like, ‘Oh, my God.’ The guy flagged down the lights flash at the same time, and I was already across the median because I had my kid in the car.”

This happened at the intersection of Andalusia and Tropicana Parkway. Construction in the area closed the westbound lanes of Tropicana in July 2018.

So for the last year and a half, drivers have shared one side of the road until this week.

“I am responsible as well for my driving, but how are we supposed to know that there’s a major change without even a sign,” Szalay said.

And she’s not the only confused driver. Other drivers we spoke to admitted to catching themselves before traveling the wrong way down the road.

“I caught myself driving the wrong way, and I realized once I was turning onto the street that this was open,” said.

Cape Coral Police Department confirmed it got calls to get to this intersection because of cars going the wrong way. Police say this is also an issue at the Tropicana intersection with Santa Barbara Boulevard.

After multiple worried calls from drivers, construction workers put up barricades.

After we spoke to the city, a staff inspector was sent to the intersection to see for himself what is happening. For now, the barricades seem to be mitigating further driver confusion.

But Szalay thinks it’s a little too late.

“As soon as I saw what I did wrong, I corrected it as quickly as I could. But when is it gonna be enough?” Szalay said. “When somebody already has a major accident and kills a kid or kills somebody else?”