A year-long preliminary study has confirmed what drivers trudging through Estero’s stop-and-go traffic already know. The roads are failing to handle the growing number of cars, trucks and SUVs.
The Johnson Engineering preliminary study showed that two of the five major roads maintained by the county or state are failing. By 2034, all but one of the major roads and one village-maintained street will be failing. Nine of the 15 intersections studied already are failing.
Johnson Engineering did its traffic counts during the peak season and peak a.m. and p.m. hours of February and March 2024.
The study added seven future or newly built projects when figuring traffic growth. For example, it added 281 a.m. trips and 385 p.m. trips for the Estero Crossing apartments and shopping plaza on Corkscrew Road to the numbers.
Project Manager Leah Holmes presented the preliminary findings to Village Council and the public in March. The final study with recommendations is expected to come out by late April.
The two roads considered failing are U.S. 41 within the village limits and Three Oaks Parkway between Corkscrew and Williams roads. The study showed capacity on U.S. 41 is 350 vehicles above the 2,814 volume considered good at peak hours. If no improvements are made, the road will be nearly 650 vehicles more than capacity in 2034. Three Oaks is over capacity by five cars, but by 2034 it will be more than 550 vehicles over capacity.
Corkscrew from Ben Hill Griffin Parkway to Bella Terra, a D road now, will be a failing road by 2034, along with Ben Hill from Corkscrew to Estero Parkway. Williams Road, between Via Coconut Way and Three Oaks Parkway, is the only village-maintained road expected to fail by 2034, over capacity by 357 vehicles.
Making improvements to U.S. 41 and its intersections are limited, Holmes said. The road can’t be widened beyond the current six lanes. The improvements will have to be made by synchronizing traffic signals and other technology.
Some of the intersections with F grades are U.S. 41 at Broadway, Corkscrew and Coconut during morning and afternoon peak driving times, as well as Three Oaks and Corkscrew and Ben Hill and Corkscrew. An intersection gets a flunking grade not by the number of vehicles, but when a person must wait at the traffic signal for more than 80 seconds.
The 850-page study lists some possible improvements for each intersection. Most along U.S. 41 are signal synchronization and timing adjustments. One possible improvement at U.S. 41 and Estero Parkway is removing the left-turn lane into Walmart and lengthening the turn lanes onto Estero Parkway.
The county is working on a feasibility study to widen Corkscrew from U.S. 41 to Ben Hill, which includes widening the Three Oaks Parkway intersection. The intersection had 179 traffic crashes in the past five years, the most in the study, Holmes said.
About 70 residents attended the Engage Estero meeting with Holmes. The audience questioned the accuracy of some of the growth projections with 10,000 homes planned on the eastern portion of Corkscrew Road. The study gave most roads a 1% to 3% annual growth rate. Holmes said a 3% increase was a fair number.
There were as many comments as questions. Some of the complaints mirrored Roy Hyman, who lives in Estero Place.
“We can’t get out of our place from 4 to 5:30 p.m.,” he said.
He also criticized the adding of a light in front of the Lowe’s on Corkscrew and suggested against allowing U–turns at major intersections.
Roads Studied
- Corkscrew Road
- Three Oaks Parkway
- River Ranch Road
- Via Coconut Point/Sandy Lane
- Estero Parkway
- Broadway Avenue
- Williams Road
- Pelican Colony Boulevard
- Ben Hill Griffin Parkway
Signalized intersections studied
- Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and Estero Parkway
- Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and Broadway Avenue
- Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and Corkscrew Road
- Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and Williams Road
- Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and Coconut Road
- Corkscrew Road and Via Coconut Point
- Corkscrew Road and River Ranch Road
- Corkscrew Road and Three Oaks Parkway
- Ben Hill Griffin Parkway and Estero Parkway
- Ben Hill Griffin Parkway and Corkscrew Road
- Ben Hill Griffin Parkway and Everblades Parkway
- Three Oaks Parkway and Coconut Road
- Three Oaks Parkway and Williams Road
- Three Oaks Parkway and Estero Parkway
- Coconut Road and Via Coconut Point
Unsignalized intersection within the study limits
- Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and Pelican Sound Drive
- Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and Pelican Colony Boulevard
- Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and Via Rapallo Drive
- Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and Fountain Lakes Boulevard
- Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and Commons Way
- Ben Hill Griffin Parkway and Tidewater Key Boulevard
- Coconut Road and Walden Center Drive
- Coconut Road and Coconut Shores Drive
- Coconut Road and North Commons Drive
- Coconut Road and Olde Meadowbrook Boulevard
- Coconut Road and Spring Creek Road
- Corkscrew Road and Cypress Shadows Boulevard
- Corkscrew Road and Wildcat Run Road
- Via Coconut Point and Williams Road
- Via Coconut Point and Pelican Colony Boulevard
Future communities included for 2034 estimates
- Estero Crossings
281 a.m. and 385 p.m. peak hour trips
- Estero Entertainment District
777 p.m. peak hour trips
- Marketplace at Coconut Point
289 a.m. and 266 p.m. peak hour trips
- River Creek (Corkscrew Crossing)
424 a.m. and 558 p.m. peak hour trips
- Via Coconut MPD
228 a.m. and 233 p.m. peak hour trips
- Woodfield Village
472 a.m. and 571 p.m. peak hour trips
- Downtown Estero Townhomes
149 a.m. and 195 p.m. peak hour trips
Some Suggestions on intersection fixes
U.S. 41 and Estero Parkway
Close the left turn into Walmart and lengthen the dual left turn lanes on to U.S. 41 to increase capacity and decrease crashes along Estero Parkway.
U.S. 41 and Corkscrew
May benefit from signal phasing improvements in the p.m. peak hour to alleviate the northbound approach delays. Modify westbound approach to a dual left turn and single through lane and removing the split-phase operation will improve intersection delay by approximately 5 to 10 seconds per vehicle and improve the westbound delay by approximately 10 to 20 seconds per vehicle.
U.S. 41 and Coconut Road
May benefit from extending the dual westbound left turn lanes to increase capacity and decrease stacking in the adjacent through lanes on Coconut Road. Eastbound dual left turn lanes should have a single left turn lane onto Coconut Road. Adding a second northbound left turn lane could reduce overall intersection delay by a couple of seconds per vehicle during the peak traffic hours. The installation of a traffic signal at Pelican Colony and U.S. 41 could potentially help alleviate traffic from the intersection.
Corkscrew Road and Three Oaks Parkway
The intersection is within the segment on the Lee County Cost Feasible plan for six-lane widening. These improvements will help to increase capacity and alleviate traffic congestion.
Ben Hill Griffin Parkway and Corkscrew Road
May benefit from signal timing adjustments in the a.m. and p.m. peak hours. Additionally, with the anticipated six-laning of Corkscrew Road, eastbound traffic congestion will be decreased along with delays for the eastbound approach.
