If you’ve ever sat in that backup at Alico Road at 7:45 on a school morning, you’ve probably asked yourself how much worse this is going to get. As a local Estero REALTOR, the question I hear most about Kingston isn’t about floor plans. It’s “What is all this growth going to do to my drive?” I live in Estero, right in the Corkscrew Corridor, and I drive this road just about every day. So I dug through Lee County’s traffic counts, the long-range road plan and the latest construction updates. Here’s the real story: what’s being built, what’s funded and what isn’t. Part of it is fact and part of it is my own opinion, and I’ll be clear about which is which.

The numbers: where Corkscrew Road traffic is headed

Lee County counts traffic on Corkscrew Road every year. The measure is called AADT, which just means the average number of vehicles that pass a spot on a typical day. The busiest stretch is right around I-75, but the growth is headed east of 75. The county’s own design plans for the stretch from Bella Terra to Alico project traffic there to more than double by 2045, reaching about 34,500 vehicles a day. That’s a county projection, not a guarantee. You can find the county’s counts in its traffic count reports.

Here’s what most people don’t realize: much of east Corkscrew Road used to be two lanes. On a two-lane road you can’t pass, so one slow truck or one school bus puts a whole line of cars behind it. That’s why it can feel worse than the numbers.

Why Corkscrew Road backs up on school days

A lot of that 7:45 a.m. traffic is school. Commuters, buses and drop-offs all head west at the same time, and it all flips back east in the afternoon. From working with buyers in the area, many of the current public school options for students who live along Corkscrew Road are to the west. Pinewoods Elementary sits west of many of the popular eastern Corkscrew Corridor communities people commute from, and schools like Three Oaks Elementary, Three Oaks Middle and Estero High are west of I-75. That’s the same direction most commuters drive, so on school days, school trips stack right on top of the regular commute. You’ve probably noticed summer feels different on Corkscrew Road. That’s my observation, not a traffic study.

What’s being built right now

Corkscrew Road widening, Phase I. The stretch from Ben Hill Griffin Parkway east to Bella Terra finished in 2024. It’s six lanes near Ben Hill Griffin, transitioning to four lanes heading east.

Phase II, Bella Terra to Alico. This is the section under construction now: about three and a half miles, taking Corkscrew Road from two lanes to four. It upgrades the signal at Alico Road, swapping the old lights hanging from wires for new mast arms, and adds lighting, a sidewalk and a shared-use path. Construction started in early 2024. It was supposed to wrap up in late 2026, but recent reports point to spring 2027 because of utility relocation work. The eastbound lanes are already carrying traffic while the westbound side gets finished. Lee County posts weekly progress in its Road Watch reports, which put the cost at about $27 million.

Along Kingston’s frontage. Further east, in front of Kingston, the developer is widening Corkscrew Road to four lanes, two each way, and a new signal is planned at Corkscrew Road and Kingston Village Parkway. The eastbound lanes are already open while the westbound side is finished, according to Estero Today’s October 2026 update.

Kingston Village Parkway to SR 82. Kingston Village Parkway is under construction as a new north-south connector from Corkscrew Road up to State Road 82, with a signal at SR 82. The latest public update says winter 2027 into 2028. That matters, because it gives drivers in Kingston a way out to the north without using Corkscrew Road at all. Dates like this can slip, and I’ll keep you posted.

Corkscrew Road and SR 82. FDOT has a widening project near that intersection with an estimated completion of spring 2027, per FDOT’s SWFL Roads RoadWatch.

That’s real progress, but almost all of the county work stops at Alico.

What isn’t funded: Phase III east of Alico

People keep asking me about phase three: widening Corkscrew Road past Alico to Verdana Village. The Lee County MPO, the agency that sets our long-range road plan, adopted its 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan in December 2025. Widening Corkscrew Road from Alico east to Verdana Village is in that plan, but in the 2041–2050 time frame. Kingston sits about three miles east of Verdana Village.

As of right now, there’s no county money to expand Corkscrew Road beyond Alico. In October 2026, Lee County’s DOT director Rob Price said the county won’t start the Phase III design study yet, because there’s no money coming in the next ten years for that widening. That’s normal for long-range plans, and these timelines get revisited as funding changes.

The plan also lists a new east-west road between Ben Hill Griffin and Alico in the 2031–2035 window. And local reporting says an Alico Road extension going east near Green Meadow could start in late 2026 and wrap up around late 2029, which could take some pressure off east Corkscrew Road.

On the money side: Lee County has started a new impact fee study for roads, schools and parks, and local groups say a transportation sales tax could go to voters, possibly in 2028, according to Estero Today. That is not approved. It’s an idea being discussed.

The one thing that works in your favor isn’t a road

Inside Kingston there’s a planned campus for True North Classical Academy, a tuition-free public charter school on about 80 acres off Kingston Village Parkway, with roughly 80,000 square feet of buildings. The school says it’s planned to be walkable and golf-cart accessible. I sat down with the founder recently, and that conversation shaped a lot of my thinking here. You can watch that interview on my YouTube channel.

My local take: any student who lives along the corridor west of Kingston and attends True North drives east in the morning and west in the afternoon. That’s the opposite direction from the commuter rush. Every car that flips is one less car in the westbound line at 7:45. And for students who live inside Kingston, that trip may never touch Corkscrew Road at all.

Two catches on the school

Catch one is timing. According to True North, the Kingston campus opens for the 2028–29 school year starting with kindergarten through 2nd grade, adding grade levels each year after that. Applications for the first year are scheduled to open in June 2027. So this is a gradual shift, not a switch that flips overnight.

Catch two is the big one. It’s a charter school, so admission is by lottery. Fifty percent of the seats go to Kingston residents, and the other fifty percent go to students who live outside Kingston in Lee County’s South Zone. So Kingston residents with students at True North more than likely won’t be adding to today’s morning school traffic on Corkscrew Road. And many students who live in the corridor west of Kingston may choose the Kingston school, which would reverse the traffic pattern for those trips. See my Kingston schools guide for other options. Want the details straight from the source? Watch my interview with the founder of True North Classical Academy.

The honest other side: Kingston adds traffic too

I’m not saying the school fixes traffic. Kingston is planned for up to about 10,000 homes at full build-out, and those households will add trips. Construction traffic is already part of daily life out here. But I think the school takes some of the sting out of the peak hour, in the direction that hurts the most. Learn more on the Kingston master plan page.

What I’d do if I were buying in the Corkscrew Corridor

I’m not going to tell you a community is right or wrong for you. There are a lot of benefits to new construction and the incredible amenities these communities offer. And really, there’s no escaping traffic in Southwest Florida. It’s even more congested closer to the Gulf, west of I-75. Here’s what I’d do:

  • Think about your lifestyle. If you’ll be commuting for work, where would that be? If you have students in the household, where would they go to school, and at what times would you be driving them? Factor that into your decision. Test-drive the route on a school day around 7:00–8:30 a.m. and 2:30–5:30 p.m., not on a Sunday afternoon.
  • Know whether peak traffic even affects you. Many people don’t commute. If you work from home, plan on the Kingston school, homeschool (there’s a robust homeschool community in this area) or are retired, the rush hour may barely touch you. Heading out to dinner outside peak times usually isn’t a big deal.
  • Count the airport. This area is only about 20 minutes or so from the airport, which is a huge perk if you travel or commute there. Traffic is everywhere in Southwest Florida, and during peak season, January through April, you’ll feel it even more west of I-75.

My verdict

The next 12 months: some relief is coming. Phase II construction on Corkscrew Road will be wrapping up, which means no more construction traffic on that stretch.

2028 and beyond: I think True North is going to help flip some school-trip traffic, which I believe plays a big part in the traffic along Corkscrew Road.

East of Alico: this is the part that needs the most attention. The widening from Alico to Verdana Village can’t happen fast enough. I really hope the county takes into account all of the development happening east on Corkscrew Road and speeds up that timeline, and the impact fee study could potentially help.

So does Kingston make Corkscrew Road traffic worse? It adds cars, absolutely. But I think the road projects underway now, plus the Kingston school, could really ease some of the current and future traffic on Corkscrew Road. Wondering if Kingston is just too far? I answered that in my video, Is Kingston Too Far?

If you’re thinking about a move to Southwest Florida, whether it’s Kingston or anywhere in the area, I’d love to help you weigh your options. Call or text me anytime at 239-488-5900. For more background, read my guide to what buyers should know about Kingston and the Kingston FAQ, and catch new videos every week on my YouTube channel.

Road and school information is from the linked public sources, local reporting and True North’s published school information as of November 3, 2026, and is subject to change. Traffic views are my personal opinion, not a forecast or guarantee. Equal Housing Opportunity.