Construction set to begin on Ortiz Avenue

Reporter: Elizabeth Biro
Published: Updated:

This year, Lee County Commissioners approved a project that will add more lanes to Ortiz Avenue.

Construction on Ortiz Avenue begins on Monday.

“I wish they would just get one project done before they start another project because it’s a mess down here…” said one motorist.

At the south end of Ortiz Avenue is the headache of all construction and driver headaches: Six-mile Cypress and Colonial’s diverging diamond.

“Yeah, it’s going to get worse,” said another driver.

Most hours of the day, you can expect to see traffic, quick changing lights and construction cones at this intersection. It’s a completely separate project from Lee County’s work on Ortiz Avenue, but they go hand in hand.

“With the widening projects, obviously, it’s to increase capacity,” said Jennifer Dorning, Public Information Consultant for the Ortiz Avenue Widening Project. “We have a lot more vehicles now than we did when this road was first built, so that’s one of the biggest things with this project.”

FDOT’s Jennifer Dorning knows while Ortiz is just a one-lane road at times, it has a big job.

It’s a bridge between two major roads, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Colonial boulevards, and a relief road for the interstate.

“If there’s an accident on I-75, and if it is backed up, a lot of times, people will get off at the exit right before or right after,” said Dorning, “One thing that’s unique about the county is we tend to use I-75 as a local road, so actually having those local roads that support that movement is really important for our traveling public.”

As work begins, drivers can expect to see signage and crews preparing the roads.

In the coming weeks to month, drivers will begin to see the real activity; contractors will start at the north end or MLK side.

“And what they’re looking at doing is actually building the lanes without really affecting traffic and then shifting traffic over and then building the other side,” said Dorning.

The other part of the project is drainage and stormwater management improvements.

The goal is to complete all improvements by the spring of 2026.

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