Contact: Saeed Kazemi, Lee County Department of Transportation

(941) 479-8503

DANIELS ROAD EXTENSION TO CONNECT LEHIGH TO SOUTH LEE

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 1, 2000) – Lee County has started construction on a 3.25-mile road extension that will open up Lehigh Acres to south Lee County, including important access to Southwest Florida International Airport and Florida Gulf Coast University.

The $6.5-million Daniels Road Extension will connect Daniels Parkway where it now ends just south of the Gateway Community to State Road 82 and Gunnery Road in Lehigh Acres. The four-lane divided extension is scheduled to be completed by November.

“This road opens east Lee County to south Lee County, the airport and university,” Saeed Kazemi, the county’s project manager for the construction, recently told The News-Press. “This is the missing link in the corridor.”

George Sanders Inc. and Land Trust #5018 donated the property for the project to the County. Because of this generous gift, the cost will be greatly reduced and the road will be completed much sooner.

The connector should make Lehigh Acres more accessible to FGCU students seeking housing. In addition, the extension will positively affect Lehigh’s Westgate Industrial Park, making it more accessible to the airport for air shipping and providing another access to Interstate 75.

The groundbreaking also culminates two years of discussions and negotiations with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to get construction permits. The county’s firm stance ultimately saved taxpayers $1.3 million in costs associated with the permitting.