Traffic solutions proposed for Del Prado Blvd.

Cape Coral is one of the fastest-growing cities in Southwest Florida, and with that growth comes a lot of traffic. City leaders recognize the problem, and now, they’re trying to fix it.

The city’s Transportation Advisory Board and the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization met Wednesday to review an evacuation route study.

“Oh my God, during commute, you can’t even get over the bridges,” said Sherri Graham. “It takes you forever.”

Sherri Graham lives along Del Prado Boulevard and has seen a lot of people come through the area.

“We’re growing, growing, growing,” she said. “So, something has to be done. I guess.”

That traffic becomes even worse when it’s time to evacuate during a storm.

“It’s backed up,” said Leon Barrows. “People are abandoning cars on the side of the road.”

“We never evacuate,” Graham said. “I think you’re always gonna be stuck to some degree.”

One of the suggestions made during the meeting is to add a Del Prado interchange to I-75.

“It would have to be a straight shot, so everyone could just go with no lights,” Graham said.

Without any improvements, CDM Smith says Lee County evacuation times are at 73 hours.

Cape Coral evacuation times are at 67 hours.

“How do you get around all of that, except for just to do a straight shot to the freeway or 41,” said Graham.

If this interchange is approved, evacuation times will decrease by about 13 hours.

“I don’t know if it’s worth the expense,” said Barrows.

The final findings from the evacuation study will be presented to the Transportation Commission for future discussion.

Once the Transportation Commission makes a decision, they could initiate a project development and environmental study.

This study would estimate the cost, scope, and feasibility of the project.