10 day bridge closure leads to extra hour long commute for drivers

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — The Wilson Pigott Bridge, a crucial piece of infrastructure for the community to get to Babcock Ranch and Fort Myers, shut down Monday morning for a 10-day closure as the Florida Department of Transportation replaces deteriorating grids on the bridge.

Wilson Pigott Bridge shuts down for repairs, expect major detours

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)— The Wilson Pigott Bridge will close for 10 days as crews install a new grid deck.

Over 16,000 cars pass over the bridge daily, but since November, that traffic has been restricted by 22%. Large trucks have been restricted because of the deterioration of the grids.

"It's one of those necessary evils because we're doing something to keep this community even safer by removing this old grid deck and then installing the new one. It is necessary, and I think the community will be very happy, you know, once this work is completed," said Janelle Newsome, public information director for FDOT District 1.

The 10-day closure will replace the grids at the top of the bridge and reinstall stronger, safer grids so trucks can once again use the bridge. Thousands of drivers are now backed up onto a small detour road along Bayshore Road.

Drivers said the detour can add over an hour to their commute.

Frank Morelli drove from Sarasota to get lunch with his daughter. His GPS hadn't accounted for the closure, and after already driving for over an hour, he was frustrated to find out his only option was the miles-long wait along Bayshore Road.

"Now I'm turning around and gonna join four miles of bumper to bumper traffic," Morelli said, joking lunch might turn into dinner." "Which was supposed to be a nice, relaxing day, but I am just a little perturbed right now."

Trucks and other oversized vehicles have had to drive the detour for months. Lazaro, owner of Laz Trucking, said when the bridge restrictions were first put in place in November, his commute was 20 to 25 minutes longer.

With the full closure, his commute was an extra hour on Monday morning.

"Since November, it's been pretty hectic," Lazaro said. "Today it was pretty bad. And I know there were at least two accidents right here on this road."

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Other roads in the area also have weight restrictions, so Lazaro and other drivers are stuck in the massive backups.

"There are a lot of limitations, especially for the truckers, because they have to take this route. There's no other route," he said.

Lazaro and other drivers are now counting down the days for the bridge's reopening.

"I can't wait for that. Yeah. That's gonna change everything around here," Lazaro said.

The Lee County Department of Transportation and FDOT have been working together to adjust the intersection times along Bayshore Road to try to alleviate the traffic. For the rest of the closure, FDOT is advising drivers to leave an extra hour early to account for the traffic.