WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 3-mile stretch of Flagler Drive through downtown West Palm Beach has become a traffic nightmare for drivers navigating major closures, including the ones from the upcoming Palm Beach International Boat Show.
WATCH BELOW: Flagler Drive closures cause traffic delays in West Palm Beach
Commuter Melissa Kajeejit said what usually would take 15 minutes to get to work is now taking nearly an hour to detours stretching well beyond downtown.
WPTV drove the area to see the detours firsthand. Starting at 45th Street and heading south on Flagler Drive, the first closure was in Northwood at 36th Street. Another closure at 34th Street forced a detour before I found another closure at Curry Park, then a detour at Pine Street, ending at the manhole construction at Flagler Drive and Lakeside Court.
Kajeejit lives north of 45th Street and reached out to WPTV's Joel Lopez for answers about the construction.
In the email she said:
"I tried doing some research to see how long this stretch of Flagler would be closed and couldn’t find anything. Are you able to do some digging??"
Lopez met with Kajeejit who said she drives through Flagler at least six times a day and she showed the issue to us in person.
"I reached out to you, because I didn't hear about this manhole and I didn't know how long it was going to take to get repaired, so I assumed that it was just gonna go to the end of the summer time," she said.
When asked about how she would describe navigating through downtown West Palm Beach through the detours, Kajeejit said it was complete confusion.
"Chaotic," she said. "Essentially everything is under construction right now."
Another driver, Teri, got caught at the closure at Flagler Drive and Lakeside Court while headed to the hospital.
"I'm going crazy there's detours everywhere," Teri said after getting stuck and having to make U-turns at four detours. Teri was driving to the hospital for an appointment.
"We really just need to know and be aware for everyone that lives in the area," Kajeejit said.
I took these concerns to the city and learned last Friday's flooding damaged the manhole, prompting the road closure for repairs.
Below is a statement from the city:
"Due to the significant rain event on Friday, a manhole along Flagler Drive was damaged, necessitating a full closure of Flagler Drive at South Lakeside Court. The roadway has been closed for the public’s safety while repairs are underway. Flagler Drive is anticipated to reopen by early next week."
Farther south, all around downtown, additional closures due to the Palm Beach International Boat Show are expected to remain in place into the first week of April.
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