LEE COUNTY, Fla. — The Cape Coral Bridge replacement project will not only involve building a new bridge, but planners are deciding what changes will happen along a 2.1-mile stretch from McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers to Del Prado Boulevard in Cape Coral. 

“I can understand they need a bridge, but I don’t want to see it impact me,” said Dan Bernard. 

Bernard lives in the Caloosa Yacht and Racquet Club along College Parkway.  

A Project Development Study is considering two designs that will impact access to Bernard’s neighborhood and Magnolia Pointe, which also borders the approach to the bridge. 

The main decision crews are up against is where to put a U-turn for access into the riverfront communities. Both plans will ditch the light into the Caloosa Yacht and Racquet Club, something Bernard and his wife said needs to go. 

“You get really tired of waiting and nobody’s coming,” said Karen Bernard. 

Option 1 calls for a U-turn that juts out into the Caloosahatchee River. But for those who have a dock in Magnolia Pointe, the U-turn road, they will be right up against it. Option 2 will reconstruct the toll plaza, raise the road and put a toll plaza underneath. 

The bridge itself will be rebuilt largely in the footprint of the existing bridge while maintaining four lanes of traffic at all times. The newer eastbound lanes will be modified to accommodate four-lane traffic. That will allow the demolition of the westbound span and construction of the new westbound span. Then all four lanes will switch to use the new structure while the eastbound span is worked on. 

A spokesperson for Lee County said both options will stay within the DOT right-of-way. 

You have three weeks to submit a public comment.

Construction is set to begin in 2026.