Estero Boulevard Improvement Project reaches completion after 7 years

The day many have waited for is finally here: The Estero Boulevard Improvement Project is done, after seven years of nonstop construction. Local residents and business owners expressed their hopes for the finished project.

People living on Estero Boulevard in Fort Myers Beach say if you saw the place before, it looked like an old beach town. But this $80 million project brought sidewalks to both sides of the boulevard as well as trolley stops, and community members say they’re happy construction on the project that started in 2015 is finally done.

On-road bike lanes and improved drainage are some of the other features that came out of the construction project. People who live on Estero Boulevard say the heavy construction presence impacted where they could go and how long it would take. Some even say their friends stopped visiting because of how congested the area became due to construction.
And although they’re happy the boulevard is completed and it looks a lot better, they know it’s only a matter of time until there’s more construction in the area.

“They have the places for the water to drain off now, which, you know is amazing here, because years ago we would have a big rainstorm and be driving through a lake to get to the south end of the island, so it’s nice,” said Kevin Crone. “It’s really improved and the middle lane is great.”

“At least now it looks much better, and we’re real happy that at least that’s done,” said Melvin Whitwer. “But it’s really never done here; they’re going to work on the bridge on this end and make it really bad for us next year, and of course, they’re doing Margaritaville down the other way, downtown.”

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