FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Amy Davies, Lee County Department of Transportation
              (239) 479-8589

CAUSEWAY TRAFFIC PLAN FINE-TUNED/CARS ALLOWED IN EARLY MORNING

FORT MYERS, Fla. (February 13, 2003) - Based on further analysis and discussions with its consulting engineers, Lee County's Department of Transportation will allow cars to cross the Sanibel Causeway nightly between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. when permitted overweight trucks with essential cargo are being allowed across one at a time at a speed not to exceed 10 mph.

The cars can come across the causeway the opposite direction from which the trucks are traveling; having a car and overweight truck together on a bridge at any one time will not be a problem.

In addition, overweight truck crossings to and from Sanibel will alternate during those hours depending on the length of the truck queue on either end.

Lee County DOT is hoping the new plan will allow cars to wait as little as 15 minutes but no longer than an hour to cross at any given time.

VEHICULAR TRAFFIC WILL BE REQUIRED TO CROSS AT NO MORE THAN 10 MPH.

The county modified the initial plan after this morning's trial run and also because of concerns about arrivals to Sanibel from late night, or delayed, flights and service industry employees departing the island late at night and in the early morning hours.

Twelve overweight trucks crossed the causeway this morning and more than 50 permits have been issued (many businesses have several trucks).

Also, all trucks crossing still will be required to get weighed at the weigh station on the middle causeway island.

The county has set up a hotline for getting general information about the plan and lodging complaints or suggestions. It is 335-2852.

The county will be conducting a "higher structure" inspection of the "C" span that will require one lane of the bridge to be closed Feb. 16 (Sunday) from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The county still is working on a plan for allowing other overweight commercial vehicles, primarily related to the construction industry, to cross the causeway. That plan will be announced once it is finalized. Once those trucks are allowed in the early morning hours, the wait to allow vehicular traffic across the causeway could lengthen to more than one hour.