Daniels Parkway near Interstate 75 is becoming construction alley.
The state began construction Monday on a diverging diamond interchange at the I-75 exit ramps on Daniels. It will be similar, but not exactly like the interchange built at Colonial Boulevard and I-75.
The construction is converging with work Lee County is doing less than a half mile west at Daniels and Fiddlesticks Boulevard that is part of the Three Oaks Parkway extension project. The state and county projects are expected to be finished around the summer of 2028.
The diverging diamond interchange project begins at the entrance of the Daniels rest area to the east and ends at Danport Boulevard to the west.
The goal is to reduce delays on Daniels, reduce the number of conflict points to improve safety and to accommodate the growing traffic volume.
“Right now, you have a conventional diamond interchange,” said FDOT Construction Project Manager Jesten Abraham. “We’re changing that to divergent and what that does is you’re reducing the number of conflict points where there could be intersections. … “You’re also allowing a lot more traffic to flow through with less amount of stuff.”
The difference between the Colonial interchange and Daniels will be Colonial has a bigger footprint and two continuous flow intersections to the east and the west, past the entrance ramps.
Construction is going to be done in phases. Phases one and two, which began Monday, will include widening the north side of Daniels, begin ramp widenings, make drainage improvements and begin construction of ponds.
Phases three and four are scheduled to begin in late 2026 with finishing the widening of the north side of Daniels and the reconstructed ramps and beginning to widen the south side of Daniels.
Phases five and six are scheduled for the fall of 2027. They include completing the south side widening of Daniels, resurfacing eastbound Daniels, finishing ramp construction and rebuilding medians.
The final two phases are scheduled for spring 2028 with channelizing the traffic islands, installing signage and completing the signal system.
The project is expected to cost around $43 million.
About 55,000 cars pass through Daniels near the interchange daily, according to FDOT statistics, and is a route people living in Gateway and Lehigh Acres use to reach the interstate and farther west to U.S. 41.
The construction brought about 70 curious residents to Thursday’s informal informational meeting at Riverside Church; another 184 listened to a virtual meeting.
Charles Sheeley and his wife Deborah Holm stopped by with some questions. They live in Eagle Ridge, off of Daniels, between Six Mile Parkway and the interstate.
“If you’re coming at four o’clock it could take you in season 20 minutes to get to the interstate,” Charles Sheeley said.
Holm has to take Daniels to the interstate to get to I-75 to go to work in Naples. She wanted to know if the interchange was going to be like the one at Colonial because she thought it was confusing.
Brian Bollas, community outreach manager for FDOT, said once people get used to a diverging diamond, they love how the traffic flows. Many of the people who attended the meeting complimented how Colonial traffic now flows.
Some drivers who attended the workshop asked questions about the Three Oaks/Fiddlesticks project, unaware that it was separate from the state project. FDOT officials referred questions to the county DOT.
When necessary, lane closures on I-75 will happen between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. and between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. on Daniels Parkway. The contractor will not close any lanes starting three hours before a spring training game, during the game, or for three hours after a game.
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