Heavy traffic on Alico Road in South Lee County has created tortuous travel conditions for years- but ongoing efforts to widen the road should help- eventually. For now, construction related lane closures continue to aggravate drivers.

Starting at 6:00 this morning the section of Alico Road from Three Oaks Parkway to Indy road will close down to one lane in either direction; transportation officials warn drivers to expect delays. The closure is to allow for final paving and is expected to take ten days to complete. Once construction is finished, the road will offer six lanes from Dusty Road east to Three Oaks Parkway- a distance of 2.8 miles. This project cost $13.2 million and experienced its share of delays: from bad weather to battles over whether or not to remove railroad tracks. Lee County went to court in an effort to have them removed, but lost their legal battle. Instead, they paid around $1 million to improve the railroad crossing. More road improvements are in the area’s future: Sometime between July of this year and June next year, Alico Road will be widened from Dusty Road west to U.S. 41. The state also plans to reconfigure the interchange at I-75 and Alico Road; that project should be finished by next spring or summer.