PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — WPTV is helping you navigate a Port St. Lucie road closure, as part of a project we've been following since 2020.
Our team went to the city to get an update on the Floresta Drive Improvement Project, after a new stretch of road was closed today for construction.
WATCH WPTV'S COVERAGE BELOW:
There’s a lot of dirt outside Dominick Gambale’s home in Port St Lucie.
“They’re doing a lot of construction,” said Gambale.
Under Phase Three of the project, southeast Calmoso Drive is now closed up to southeast Evergreen Terrace.
Port St Lucie
Port St. Lucie set to widen, add sidewalks to Floresta Drive
“Every time they close off another block, it's just a different way to find how to get out,” said Gambale.
The closure will last until next year and Gambale said he’s already seeing more traffic.
“This block really doesn't get a lot of traffic, I would say 30 to 40 cars a day, but now it's like 400 to 500,” added Gambale.
Another neighbor, Samuel Gaspard, said he’s been living next to the construction for nearly 6 months.
“It may look like it's a problem at the moment, while they're going through it,” said Gaspard.
Annoying now, but he said it’ll be worth it.
“Especially for the kids that's going up and down the neighborhood on bikes,” said Gaspard. “They'll have sidewalks, we get a lot of school kids coming through here.”
The project started back in 2020, with two phases already completed from Southbend Boulevard to Crosstown Parkway.
Scott Samples with the City of Port St. Lucie said this miles-long project will enhance the two-lane road—adding landscaping, lighting, sidewalks and bicycle lanes.
“It's really designed to be made, to be safe, to be efficient, to help traffic flow better,” said Samples.
While the closures can be annoying for neighbors, the city said they're necessary.
“By closing the road, it should help us to get it done a little quicker, a little more efficiently and safer for everybody involved,” said Samples.
