Funding has been OK’d for Lehigh’s next wave of road improvements.

On Tuesday, April 21, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners approved a $1.9 million contract for resurfacing and other improvements to Lehigh Acres roads. This contract is part of a $5 million annual commitment for this budget year.

Commissioner Frank Mann, whose district includes Lehigh Acres, said the county’s $5 million-per-year commitment for the last three years is a significant step forward to improving Lehigh’s neighborhood streets.

“This is a great thing and part of the Commission’s iron-clad commitment to do right by Lehigh residents. We have fought for quite a few years to get this through, and it’s finally done. Finally we got the commitment to do it right,” Mann said.

The contract is part of a $5 million per-year budget that was approved three years ago by Lee County commissioners.

“Now with the $5 million annual commitment, we can finally start getting work done on the resurfacing of the roads in Lehigh. The $1.9 million will cover the resurfacing of 83 different residential roads. Plus, add this to the $20 million spent in the Homestead Road widening project, which is getting close to completion. Things are really starting to move along,” Mann said.

The road work contract went to Community Asphalt Corp., and includes the resurfacing, installing of drainage culvert pipes, sodding, and striping for all approved local roads.

“The majority of the county’s roads resurfacing money is going to Lehigh Acres this year,” Mann said.

Lee County took over the responsibility of improving the roadways in Lehigh Acres after the former development corporation went into bankruptcy. Lehigh Acres Development Corporation put in roads complete with water and sewers during the areas early development. After they went bankrupt and those who took it over went bankrupt, it was turned over to the county.

Over the years, many shell roads in the area have decayed. Other residential roads never reached completion.

“The county took over a bunch of sub-standard roads about 20 years ago after Lehigh Cooperation went under. They were unable to keep up with the roadways, so we had to step in and take them over,” Mann said.

Mann also credits the less stringent laws and state standards to roadways back when Lehigh Acres was developed.

Presently, Lee County Department of Transportation maintains about 1,500 miles of paved roads in Lehigh Acres. Each year, certain roads in Lehigh Acres are ranked and selected for paving based on resident requests, road conditions and the number of residences on the road. Paving is paid through Growth Increment Funds, and this program is for neighborhood streets, not arterial or collector roads.

For more information about the Lee County Department of Transportation, visit www.leegov.com/dot.