What you need to know about the Caloosahatchee Bridge closure

The Florida Department of Transportation has made the decision to close the Caloosahatchee Bridge for 10 weeks while crews work on the bridge. Here’s what you need to know.

• READ MORE: FDOT discusses plan to close Caloosahatchee Bridge for construction

One important thing to note is while this bridge will be closed for 10 weeks, the project won’t be done in 10 weeks.

When the bridge reopens on Aug. 11 there will still be periodic lane closures.

However, because the bridge is closing for 10 weeks, those closures will become shorter and fewer.

This closure does pose many questions, especially since the bridge is a hurricane evacuation route.

According to the city, the bridge will open up one lane in case of any storm as long as the contractor is notified within 24 hours.

As for how this will affect your school commute, the city said no matter what, this bridge will reopen by the time school starts for the fall.

The project’s estimated completion date is December 2024.

Then there’s the question of EMS, Will they have to be rerouted?

WINK News asked Mayor Kevin Anderson that question, and he said it won’t be a problem.

“The Edison Bridge is not that far from the Caloosahatchee Bridge. You have EMS stations on both sides of the river,” said Anderson. “I don’t know how many times there are going to be lights and sirens over the bridge northbound to respond to a call. Either way, they’ll still be able to get over the river. It’ll just add a few minutes.”

WINK News reporter Amy Galo reached out to the North Fort Myers and Cape Coral fire departments.

North Fort Myers said it won’t be a problem, and Cape Coral said this won’t affect them as they don’t travel over the bridge.