Lehigh Acres neighbors welcome road resurfacing project

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — Several neighborhood roads in central Lehigh Acres are set to be resurfaced after Lee County commissioners approved nearly $408,000 for the project.

The work will focus on portions of five residential streets:

• Desoto Avenue (between West 6th Street and West 7th Street)
• Willard Avenue (from Lincoln Boulevard to just north of West 7th Street)
• Henry Avenue (from West 5th Street to just north of West 7th Street)
• Edison Avenue (from just south of West 5th Street to just north of West 7th Street)
• Cortez Avenue (from Lincoln Boulevard to West 6th Street, and from West 7th Street to the end of pavement)

The project involves grinding down the existing pavement and laying a new layer of asphalt, a full resurfacing rather than temporary pothole repairs.

Neighbors who live along these streets say the roads aren’t falling apart, but the wear adds up over time.

“They are certainly a little narrow,” said Brian Erickson, who lives along Cortez Avenue. “Sometimes when you have to get over to the side, if there’s a chunk missing in the road there, that can mess with your vehicle pretty good.”

Erickson said potholes and patchwork repairs haven’t held up in the past.

“Usually when they patch a pothole, it seems like another pothole comes back right in that same area within a week or two,” he said.

Other residents say traffic, especially heavy vehicles, has played a role in wearing the roads down.

“It’s a lot of the commercial stuff, the dump trucks and stuff like that. It’s tearing up the roads,” said Mike Smith, who lives near Edison Avenue.

Smith added that while the roads aren’t terrible, the resurfacing is still welcome.

“It’s nice to have them repaved again,” he said. “Our street here isn’t horrible just some small items.”

Beyond driving, neighbors say smoother pavement will make a difference for kids who use the streets every day.

“Having smooth roads for the kids, scooters, roller blades, it’s going to make it a lot nicer than the really bumpy stuff we’ve got right now,” Erickson said.

The county says roads in Lehigh Acres are selected based on condition and nearby growth, with grouping nearby streets helping stretch limited funding. About $5 million a year is budgeted for resurfacing roads across Lehigh Acres.

Construction has not started yet, and the county has not announced a specific start date.