Hanson Street Ext. from Shoemaker Blvd. to Ortiz Ave. set to open

The Hanson Street Extension will soon open, extending the road east to connect with Ortiz Avenue at a new roundabout.

The road cuts through the middle of Fort Myers city-owned Eastwood Golf Course.

Andy Gundell was born and raised in Fort Myers and knows the roads well. He’s an assistant golf pro at the golf course. “Colonial Boulevard for anybody that lives and works here year-round knows that is not the easiest light to get through.”

For many people, it’s frustrating to go through the intersection that connects Ortiz Ave. and Six Mile Mile Cypress Boulevard at Colonial Blvd. Many complain that the green light is far too short.

“It’ll take you three or four lights like this to go through in the afternoon and I don’t wanna sit there that long,”said Terry Pigeon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hanson Street Ext. is just north of that intersection and connects Veronica Shoemaker Boulevard to Ortiz Ave.

It will wrap up by the end of the year.

The goal is to alleviate traffic on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Maria Vargas thinks it’s terrific, “for us, yes, I’m very happy!” But in the future, it could push more traffic to the busy Colonial intersection.

New apartment complexes, hotels, and a Top Golf are under construction or permitting in that area, potentially pushing in more traffic.

“The lights last like five seconds,” Vargas said about the Colonial intersection. “It’s so, so short, so you can take like 20 minutes or something like that.”

Technology at the Lee County Traffic Operations Center monitors the intersection in real-time, which allows staff to make adjustments to the timing of the lights.

Locals are still hopeful the Hanson Street Ext. relieves some traffic and some wait time at Colonial.

In order for the Hanson Street Ext. to be completed, the city previously redesigned part of the Eastwood Golf Course as part of Phase I. Eastwood Golf Course was closed May through Oct. 31, 2017.

Improvements were made to the front nine holes to accommodate the roadway project.

Through Eastwood Golf Course, the road will be raised to allow golf cart traffic to pass on the cart path through a tunnel.

The Hansen Street intersections at both Shoemaker Blvd. and Ortiz Ave. will have roundabouts connecting the roads.

Hansen Street will also have 6-foot sidewalks and 7-foot bike lanes and the total project construction cost was $22.4 million.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Dec. 9 at 10 a.m.

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