TRANSPORTATION

This Interchange Modification Report (IMR) documents the need for improvements at the I- 75 and SR 884 (Colonial Boulevard) interchange in the City of Fort Myers in Lee County, Florida. Along I-75, the study limits extend from north of I-75 at Daniels Parkway interchange to south of I-75 at SR 82 (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard) interchange. The interchange of I-75 and SR 82 is approximately 1.54 miles north of Colonial Boulevard and, the interchange of I-75 at Daniels Parkway is approximately 4.59 miles south of Colonial Boulevard. Along Colonial Boulevard, the project limits extend from approximately ¼ mile west of Ortiz Avenue to approximately ¼ mile east of Dynasty Drive. The need for interchange improvements was identified in the 2040 Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) Multi-Modal Unfunded Needs Plan, the Collier & Lee Counties 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), and Lee County 2035 Highway Needs Plan. The study interchange of I-75 and Colonial Boulevard will need improvements to accommodate future traffic growth in the vicinity of the interchange and to enhance overall safety, capacity and emergency evacuation within the county.

The Type 2 Categorical Exclusion approved by FHWA on 12/30/2002 as a part of the I-75 PD&E Study from South of Bonita Beach Road to North of SR 78 and the System Interchange Modification Report (SIMR) approved on 8/8/2008 recommended reconfiguring the interchange to a Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI). Implementing the SIMR preferred alternative would require replacement of the recently reconstructed I-75 bridges over Colonial Boulevard.

An Interchange Operational Analysis Report (IOAR) was approved by FHWA on 7/20/2009 to accommodate the widening of the bridges over Colonial Boulevard as part of FDOT’s widening of the I-75 mainline to six lanes in 2011. Shortly thereafter, Lee County widened Colonial Boulevard to six lanes in 2012. In order to salvage the newly widened I-75 bridges, FHWA recommended a reassessment of the interchange.