FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:    Don DeBerry, Lee County Department of Transportation
                (941) 479-8503

TWO NIGHTIME OPENINGS ADDED FOR MATLACHA BRIDGE REPAIRS

FORT MYERS, Fla. (February 7, 2002) - During the nights of Feb. 11, 12, 13 and 14, the contractor repairing the Matlacha Bridge has agreed to allow vehicles to pass at midnight and 2 a.m., according to the Lee County Department of Transportation.

Emergency repairs begin Monday and will continue for up to six weeks. No lanes of traffic will be closed during the day.

However, on Feb. 11, 12, 13 and 14, the bridge will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to allow for repairs that require the drawbridge to be in the "up" position.

Lee DOT is notifying surrounding businesses and restaurants with flyers today that it has worked out scheduled openings with the contractor on those nights at 12 a.m. and 2 a.m.

Also during those nights, the EMS helicopter and an ambulance on each side of the bridge will be kept on standby for transporting medical emergencies.

In December, after an inspection report, Lee DOT posted the Matlacha Bridge for a 15-ton load limit on the recommendation of its consultant. The department is issuing (free) overweight permits for standard load (40-ton) trucks to cross the structure one vehicle at a time at a constant speed of 10 miles per hour. For permit information or questions, please contact Betsy Rowan at 479-8511.

Truckers who cross the Matlacha Bridge and need a free overweight permit can now print one off at the Lee County Department of Transportation's web page http://www.lee-county.com/publicworks/DOTitle.htm. The completed permit applications can be faxed to 479-8520 or mailed to Lee County Department of Transportation, 3rd Floor, 1500 Monroe Street, Fort Myers, FL, 33901.

The department also is in the process of preparing a scope of services to advertise for a design consultant to evaluate and prepare a design/rehabilitation plan for the structure that will address long-range concerns.

Lee County's Transportation Department plans, builds, expands and maintains county roads, bridges, ditches and landscaping in the unincorporated areas of Lee County. It also maintains the county traffic signal system and operates the toll facilities on the Midpoint Memorial, Cape Coral and Sanibel Causeway bridges. It employs 374 and has an annual operating budget of $32.9 million.