Estero residents left frustrated after FDOT skips I-75 expansion meeting

ESTERO, Fla. (WINK) — A community meeting about traffic left neighbors with more questions than answers about the I-75 expansion and its impact on their homes.

• RELATED: FDOT to expand I-75 to 10 lanes from southern Lee County into Collier County

Residents living near I-75 packed a room to hear about construction, traffic and the highway expansion. For neighbors in the Copperleaf community, the concern goes beyond a road getting bigger; it's about whether their homes could get louder, lose their value, and make life less peaceful.

From the outside, it looked like a routine community meeting. Inside, it felt much more personal.

An entire slide of the presentation was dedicated to the Florida Department of Transportation, talking to everyone, but it was skipped.

"The Florida Department of Transportation will not be here today," an official said, prompting groans from the crowd.

Instead, the focus shifted to what a larger highway might sound like for people living near it, especially in the Copperleaf community. As questions started one after another, one of the biggest concerns was about a gap in the community's sound protection.

"Was a sound survey done in that area to decide why there would be a gap in the sound?" one resident asked. "Having the small gap for two communities in the world just seems unwarranted."

Engage Estero said this report is about protecting the quality of life in Estero. WINK News called and emailed FDOT to ask why the agency didn't show up, but has not yet heard back.