SR 31 expansion update: What SWFL drivers can expect before spring 2027

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — More than two years after construction began, work continues on the nearly five-mile State Road 31 project.

Crews are building a new four-lane road from State Road 78, also known as Bayshore Road, to Horseshoe Road and Lake Babcock Drive. The new road is being built east of the State Road 31 drivers use today.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic with slow-moving vehicles is a daily sight for drivers on State Road 31. The Florida Department of Transportation has been working on the new four-lane road to help with congestion on 31. FDOT tells WINK News that the project is 59% complete.

"With all the construction and everything they're doing, you know, if you're gonna leave and go in town towards Fort Myers or Cape Coral, you just have to leave before 7 o'clock in the morning and get on the road before the traffic. Otherwise, like, just wait till 9 o'clock," Daniel Caldas said.

Drivers like Brittany Johnson have to leave early to make it anywhere on time.

"Most of the time it's you have to consider at least 30 minutes extra worth of time to like your normal drive just in case because if there's an accident or anything you're just going to be late," Johnson said.

One change drivers can already see is at Lake Babcock Drive. The new roundabout recently opened, giving drivers access to Lake Babcock Drive again.

Elsewhere on the project, crews are pouring curb, building the road base, installing street lighting and shared-use paths, and working on intersections.

"As long as it improves what's happening with traffic, I think everyone will be ecstatic. But we'll just have to see how it all plans out when people get to more roundabouts out on the main road," Johnson said.

Drivers will see traffic shifts soon. Starting in October, eastbound and westbound traffic at North River Road will shift for intersection work.

There will also be a shift on Saw Palmetto Parkway with a temporary signal to help drivers get in and out of Babcock Ranch. In mid-October, crews plan several nights of work to temporarily widen State Road 31 from Cypress Parkway to Lake Babcock Drive.

FDOT says drivers are expected to begin using the new four-lane road in spring 2027.

SR 31 expansion update: What SWFL drivers can expect before spring 2027

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