Many drivers frustrated over Caloosahatchee Bridge construction

The start of a massive construction project for the Caloosahatchee Bridge, which some people don’t even want to happen, began on Monday.

With the start of the construction on Monday, the start of headaches for people who go over the Caloosahatchee Bridge will soon follow.

Crews closed the bridge Sunday night to start the two-year project, and on Monday night crews will reduce traffic to one lane for the next few nights.

It may seem like nothing has been done because traffic is going the way it normally would, but when WINK News spoke to the Florida Department of Transportation, they said they closed the bridge Sunday, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Southbound lanes were closed around 10 p.m., while northbound lanes closed at 10:45 p.m., then the northbound on-ramp at 11 p.m.

Crews worked on the removal of overhead signs and repairs to existing lights on the bridge, but the overnight hours are not the only time work will be done, and people are not excited about that.

The Calosahatchee Bridge is busy just about every hour of the day.

However, the plan for crews to work on the bridge in the near future is to reduce it to one lane in both directions.

It’s an idea that Marie Guliami and her husband are not too fond of.

“They need to come up with another plan,” said Guliami.

It’s all part of phase one of the construction plan for the Calosahatchee Sidewalk Project.

FDOT told WINK News that Monday night crews are planning on placing a temporary barrier wall starting on the southbound side and as they place that barrier, that’s when you will start seeing traffic inching along, possibly at a total stop, and drive times increasing.

That’s when the bridge will be reduced to one lane in each direction.

“It’s going to take them forever,” said Guliami.

However, FDOT says the project was needed and that they are going to work as quickly as they can.

“People were risking their lives literally to cross that bridge, either on foot or by using their bikes,” said Janella Newsome, the director of public information for FDOT, “and again, there’s no sidewalk there, there’s no barrier for them, and can you imagine trying to cross that bridge, either on foot or on a bike, with cars passing by at about 45 miles per hour?”

While Guliami and her husband agree with the plan, they just know they will avoid the bridge during construction.

“Go a different way, I guess,” said Guliami.

When the project is finished, FDOT hopes it will improve pedestrian safety. The plan is to modify the existing bridge to accommodate an eight-foot sidewalk on the west side of the southbound bridge.

Construction on the bridge isn’t going to be completed until the Spring of 2026.