Fort Myers police are issuing numerous tickets to drivers speeding through the new diverging diamond exchange at Colonial Boulevard, which is still a construction zone.
Gulf Coast News reporter Elyse Chengery rode along with Fort Myers Police Department (FMPD) to show how to navigate the diamond safely.
"So he's going to get another and because this is going to be his third speeding citation, and he's inside of a construction zone, he's going to get the enhancement for it," said Officer Ryan Hernandez-Beiner of the Fort Myers Police Department.
A driver was caught going 52 mph in a 35 mph construction zone, resulting in a ticket costing more than $400 and adding four points to the driver's license.
We sat shotgun with Officer Hernandez-Beiner as he pulled over speeding drivers in the diverging diamond area. Police have seen an increase in speedsters here.
"Everybody wants to get somewhere. We all want to get there in one piece. So if we just pay attention while we're in this section from Forum Boulevard to Winkler Avenue," said Hernandez-Beiner.
As these officers try to prevent crashes from happening, Hernandez-Beiner shared a personal story.
"I can't have somebody else die in a frickin construction zone because one of my first cases as a traffic homicide investigator, I worked was the, this guy came out of a strip club off of Colonial, and he hit a construction worker inside of a construction zone, and he killed him," he said.
A driver nearly hit the same officer we were with as he was trying to pull someone over, all caught on dashcam, showing just how dangerous the roads can be.
Ticket after ticket was issued today, mostly for speeding, and officers also witnessed people blocking the box.
"Next thing you know, that light is red and someone's trying to get through and you're impeding traffic. It's $163 fine and three points on your driver's license here in the city of Fort Myers for blocking the intersection," said Hernandez-Beiner.
Chengery rode along with Officer Hernandez-Beiner last year and noted that he takes all this personally.
"So I did grow up around in the city of Fort Myers. My father was a police officer in the city of Fort Myers. I've always been around here. I've seen how bad it was, and I've seen how well we've been able to manage it and how well we've been able to enforce certain things to make it safer for the community," said Hernandez-Beiner.
"It makes me really happy to be able to come out here every day and do my job," he said.
"All right, please just start slow down while you're in here. I mean, be safe," said Hernandez-Beiner.
Just within four hours Wednesday, officers stopped 33 vehicles and gave out 18 citations.