With the snip of a ribbon Monday morning, Southwest Florida drivers were gifted a new route to traverse Lee and Collier counties.
When rush hour or a crash causes backups and blockages on I-75 or along U.S. 41, drivers can now get from Radio Road in Collier to Daniels Parkway in Lee via Three Oaks Parkway, Imperial Parkway and Livingston Road.
The connecting leg, Three Oaks Parkway extension, was the missing link in that route that was opened after a construction period of several years.
"This is great because this road's going to be a workaround. When there's a crash on I-75, you can hop off and drive this route all the way down to Naples and avoid the accident. It's going to be one of those roads that the locals just really love so they can work around the traffic. it's no secret that when rush hour hits, I-75 becomes a parking lot. This will be an opportunity for you to work around I-75 and get on a road that's actually flowing. It's no secret that when rush hour hits, I-75 becomes a parking lot. This will be an opportunity for you to work around I-75 and get on a road that's actually flowing."
That was Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman at Monday's ribbon-cutting opening the new route.
"This is a road that actually has been one of our number one priorities for over the last decade. And it took a long time to actually get the design finished and to save up enough money to build this road," he said. "But once we got under construction, the construction actually finished about 18 months ahead of schedule."
Lee Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass also commented on that lengthy start to finish period: "This started back in 1998. So think back to all the county commissioners, all the county staff that's retired since then, have worked on this project for the last 28 years. We got it because the first one was a little bit flawed. People don't know, the original project went through fiddlesticks. So we moved it over."
Additional work will continue in the area in the wake of the opening, but the new portion of Three Oaks Parkway is useable. Final completion is scheduled for early 2027.
The extension works in tandem with other projects. Daniels Parkway has already seen construction, having been widened to eight lanes from Danport Boulevard to Appaloosa Lane/Powers Court. These lanes will be opened to traffic after final paving and stripping.
Lee County plans to improve the intersection of Daniels Parkway and Three Oaks Parkway/Palomino Lane in the future.
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