FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is looking to add a sidewalk on the Caloosahatchee Bridge. To get a look at what it will take, FDOT will enforce intermittent lane closures from August 10-12.
The area near North Shore Park gets a lot of foot traffic heading to downtown Fort Myers. Currently, anyone walking or biking on the bridge has to do so next to cars.
"They’ll be taking all kinds of measurements for length of the bridge, thickness of the bridge," said Patricia Pichette, spokesperson for FDOT. "Everything they’re going to need to try and accommodate that 8 foot sidewalk."
She said it will go on the west side of the southbound lanes of the bridge. FDOT said the bridge wouldn't be widened, but instead the sidewalk would be added to the side of it.
"It’ll make it a safer trip for them and that’s the whole point," Pichette said.
She added that none of the major bridges in Southwest Florida, including Edison, Mid-Point and Cape Coral, have a sidewalk.
"We design new roads with that in mind, but we also go back and look at the roads we have right now and say 'Ok, what can we do?'" Pichette explained. "Where are the problem areas and where are the potential problem areas and try to get there before they become problem areas?"
The Cape Coral Bridge is also looking to add in a sidewalk with the new design.
For the Caloosahatchee, Pichette said there's only so much space to work with, so the project likely won't be done until 2026.
Surveyors will also look at the traffic impact when construction does start, which Pichette said is the next step.
The lane closures over the weekend will happen between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., so delays are expected.
