LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — Lee County commissioners are spending $1.7 million to repave some roads in Lehigh Acres. The problem is some areas are not on the list of roads set to be resurfaced, which has neighbors frustrated.
On June 7, Jackie Palmer showed us two giant potholes on Williams Avenue between Seventh and Eighth. They were patched up, but Palmer didn't expect it to be there for long.
"I know it’s not going to last. It will not last the whole rainy season," Palmer said.
They didn't. On August 30, Palmer said the holes doubled in size, and county workers came out the next day to patch them up again. Unlike last time, she didn't call Lee County to come fix the holes.
"They're just going to come out and patch it again," Palmer said.
When we asked Lee County what roads are set to be repaved, County spokesperson Betsy Clayton provided a list. In it, the list shows a little more than 40,000 feet of roadway expected to be resurfaced. $1.7 million, approved by County commissioners on Tuesday, will foot the bill. It's already in the budget to do so.
However, Palmer's road is not on the list.
"Why? Why? I mean, you've gotten complaints," she explained. "You’re expanding parks and putting in 100 gas stations that we don’t need. Let’s put that money towards fixing the roads so people want to come to Lehigh."
Clayton said residents can ask for their road to be repaved through an online request called a Request For Action (RFA).
"Lee County DOT will inspect the road, give it a rating and place it on the Lehigh Acres paving waiting list," Clayton said in an e-mail to Fox 4. "Roads are prioritized for paving with other Lehigh road requests.”
Palmer says she's tired of hearing the sound of trucks going over the potholes and says it sounds like a crash.
"It's getting frustrating," she said. "Is it [the pothole] going to pop up again in a month? I don't know."
Clayton says there's $5 million in the budget to resurface roads in Lehigh Acres alone. This particular project is expected to start in November.
Below is a list of roads scheduled for repairs in Lehigh Acres this fall.
| 3FY22A Lehigh Arterials/Collectors |
| STREET | TO | FROM | LENGTH | WIDTH |
| JOEL BLVD | PALM BEACH BLVD | EDWARDS DR | 6800 | 22 |
| LEELAND HGTS BLVD | NORTH AVE | ARKANSAS RD | 8800 | 53 |
| RICHMOND AVE N | SCHOOLSIDE DR | LEELAND HGTS BLVD | 1225 | 35 |
| PARKDALE BLVD | SR 82 | HOMESTEAD RD S | 8430 | 20 |
