FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FORT MYERS, Fla. (June 14, 2000) – Lee County will officially dedicate the recently completed 3.4-mile Del Prado Boulevard Extension in North Fort Myers Thursday (June 15), opening up another economic corridor within the community.
The $3.5-million, two-lane Extension runs west-to-east from U.S. 41 to Slater Road (connecting into Mellow Drive before it intersects Slater Road). It took seven months to complete and came in $500,000 under budget. An $85,000, two-mile-long sidewalk also is planned along a portion of the road.
The ribbon cutting ceremony will be at 9 a.m. on the north side of the extension one mile east of U.S. 41.
The Extension will act as a reliever road, helping reduce traffic congestion in North Fort Myers by taking motorists off State Road 78 (Pine Island/Bayshore Road) and U.S. 41 North (by providing an alternate route to Interstate 75 by way of Rich Road and Pritchett Parkway). It will serve the residents of Suncoast Estates, who can use Barbie Lane to access the Extension. And it also should act as a significant “bridge” for economic expansion in North Fort Myers and a connection to the City of Cape Coral.
Additionally, the Florida Department of Transportation is considering the creation of a new interchange where the Del Prado Boulevard Extension will eventually turn north (prior to meeting Mellow Drive) and Intersect I-75 near Nalle Grade Road. This would serve as a valuable hurricane evacuation route for the citizens of North Fort Myers and Cape Coral.