Buckingham potholes create a safety hazard for drivers

BUCKINGHAM, Fla. — Large potholes at the intersection of Buckingham Road and Loring Way have become a safety hazard for drivers.

The deteriorating road conditions have prompted drivers to take dangerous evasive actions, with some crossing into the wrong lane to navigate around the worst sections of pavement.

Buckingham potholes force drivers into oncoming traffic, raising safety concerns

"Somebody's going to get hurt over there," said Joseph Dommenick, who lives in Riverhall.

Keilamarie Brooks, who drives through the area daily to pick up her daughter from Riverdale High School, shares those concerns.

"It is a safety concern. It depends on how much time you have to get across and making sure that you don't hit the pothole," Brooks said.

The potholes have left drivers frustrated about the lack of repairs.

Van driving through potholes — The sound of cars scraping through the potholes is common at the intersection of Buckingham Road and Loring Way.

"I don't know why they haven't been fixed yet," Brooks said.

"They should've been fixed a long time ago," Dommenick said.

Fox 4's Allie Kaiser contacted Lee County on Thursday, and code violation records indicate that the county mailed a violation notice on Friday to 14401 Palm Beach Blvd., an AutoZone location.

Lee County responded to questions about the intersection with this statement:

"The potholes pictured are on Loring Way, which is a non-county maintained road. Lee DOT does not maintain the tie-ins or connections from privately maintained or non-county maintained roadways (just like it doesn’t maintain residential driveways).

Lee County Code Enforcement is working a violation against the Auto Zone property owner and has received assurances that the situation will be abated quickly. The property owner is responsible for repairing the pothole area."

AutoZone has not responded to requests for comment.

Cars using the wrong lanes — Cars have to move into the middle of the lane to avoid potholes, which causes traffic safety concerns.

Brooks said she'll continue to drive carefully through the area until repairs are made.

"I try to be careful whenever I have to go there," Brooks said.

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