Next steps for $185M Cape Coral bridge renovation

County leaders are accelerating a project upgrading the Cape Coral Bridge potentially costing $185 million. The goal of these bridge upgrades are to reduce traffic crossing the bridge.

Randy Cerchie is the Lee County Director of the Department of Transportation. He says “we know we ultimately have to replace the westbound span and widen the eastbound span. So given those parameters, we fall into what you see today.”

County commissioners got a look at renderings during a workshop meeting on Tuesday. A snapshot of where the bridge project stands 40 days into a four-year design. This is a priority project for county leaders and there’s a lot of work to do.

Pushed up by two years, they’re planning to start construction in December 2026 and finish in January 2030.

“Walking into this meeting,” Kevin Ruane, a Lee County Commissioner says. “I wasn’t looking to hear we’re going to be able to move significant period of time. That to me tells the taxpayers tells the residents we’re addressing their needs.

Commissioners were able to learn more about some of the proposed elements such as the pedestrian bridge over Cape Coral Pkwy.

Commissioner Brian Hamman asks, “How much use are we getting on the sidewalks already and how many people we’re anticipating will use that?”

One concern WINK News viewers express is how the upgraded bridge will impact traffic. Director Cerchie says, “We’ll try to maintain as many lanes as we have now during construction. Any of the big closures, we’ll do at night.”

Next up for the bridge project is stakeholder input hearing from the city of Cape Coral and the people.