$52.7M Colonial Boulevard Project Runs Behind, Expected to End April 2025

The big roadwork project at Colonial Boulevard and Six Mile Cypress in Lee County will now go until April 2025, state transportation officials say. The four-year-plus timeline comes from COVID-19 delays, supply shortages, and storm cleanup work.

The main focus is building a new continuous flow intersection. Workers are replacing temporary traffic lights with permanent ones while finishing construction at The Forum intersection. These updates will change how cars move through this packed area.

Right now, drivers on Ortiz Avenue and Six Mile Cypress Parkway can only turn right onto Colonial Boulevard. Left turns are still blocked off while work continues.

"This is the most insane thing that I've ever been through,” Tamara Thompkins-McKeeman, a frequent driver down the 3.1-mile-long project, told Wink News. “All these people trying to go, and then you have people screaming at each other, flipping everybody off, like, oh my God, how's anybody ever going to be able to get anywhere on time?”

Juan Carrillo, the senior project engineer, explains that drivers heading west on Colonial need to use Rolfes Road to turn left onto Six Mile Cypress. This temporary setup helps reduce backups.

When the new intersection opens, drivers will need to learn new traffic patterns. Officials say to check your route before driving since familiar ways through the area might change.