Our traffic crisis: Relief coming for I-75 commuters traveling between Fort Myers, Naples

Note to readers: This is another installment of our seasonal traffic column called “Bumper to Bumper”. We realize there’s a traffic crisis in Southwest Florida, and the mission of this column is to share important information to help you get around and to listen to you − your frustrations and solutions.

The only thing missing from the gift Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered on Tuesday was some colorful wrapping and a big bow.

Yes, just in time for the holidays the governor posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) that a widening project on one of the busiest stretches of Interstate 75 between Fort Myers and Naples will start in 2026. That’s one year earlier than originally planned.

If you are one of the thousands who commute to and from Fort Myers and Naples every day for work, you know just how big of a deal this is. Even if you are not a commuter, you only have to watch the morning traffic report on TV to see what a nightmare of I-75 is. Every. Single. Day.

When finished, the widening should reduce travel times by 47%, the X post pointed out.

More: Bumper to Bumper: Naples reader puts a positive spin on SWFL’s traffic crisis

Fort Myers, Naples I-75 widening project: What to know

According to the project description:

• 18.5 miles of I-75 will be widened from Golden Gate Parkway to Corkscrew Road

• One lane will be added in each direction with auxiliary lanes, increasing the roadway from 6 to 8 lanes.

• The project is part of the Florida Department of Transportation’s Moving Florida Forward infrastructure initiative.

• Funding: $578 million

According to the governor’s post, other benefits will include:

• Enhanced safety and quality of life for communities

• Increased efficiency of traffic operations

• Reduced travel times in the event of emergency evacuations

Fort Myers, Naples I-75 widening project: What they are saying

Here are some of the comments attached to the governor’s post on X:

Cyber Rebel said: I used to commute from Naples (Golden Gate Estates) to Fort Myers for work – daily for years. I hated that drive, 70 miles round trip. This project is actually worthwhile! Another win for working Floridians.

Marshall Rapp said: Please make dedicated merging lanes. Traffic is caused by people not merging at interstate speeds.

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Bernardo Portovino said: Lowering the speed limit also would help. 70 is too fast for an area with a high population of older people. That stretch of road is treacherous.

Troy Stephens said: 600 million for 1 extra lane?!?! You’ve got a huge fan here, but something about that seems extremely off. Just a gut check.

Remington said: Adding lanes is a waste of money and a fool‘s gambit. It’ll never reduce congestion because it simply makes more people want to use the road. If you want to reduce congestion, you need to take cars off of the road and that means other forms of public transit between and in cities.

Suze said: This SWFL resident says thank you!

SWFL traffic crisis: Share you opinion about this news

What do you think? Will this solve the problem for this stretch of road or is there more work to be done? Send an email anytime to mbickel@gannett.com. It can be about this news or it can be anything on your mind when it comes to our traffic crisis. In the future, look for specific topics we will post that you can share your comments on. Please put SWFL Traffic in the subject line.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: FDOT to widen I-75 between Fort Myers and Naples starting in 2026

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