I75 From Naples to Ft. Lauderdale (Miami, Fort Lauderdale: condo, home, living)

[jpicard]

Anyone doing this commute that can tell me how good or bad it is? Light or heavy traffic during morning or evening commute? Sun glare?

Google maps has it about an hour and half from collier blvd. Is that about right? thx

[tommy-105]

I used to work with guys that did it. They used to say it was an hour and a half.

I can see how the sunrise might be an real issue if your heading east on "Alligator Alley" that time of day. It was pretty intense when I was heading south on I-75 in the early morning.

[RMD3819]

An hour and a half is about right from toll booth to toll booth.

Keep in mind the interchanges at either end will have heavy traffic at rush hour and you need to factor that in.

An accident spells doom for commute times, even if it is on the opposite side of where you are traveling.

[elliswyatt]

Originally Posted by tommy-105

I used to work with guys that did it. They used to say it was an hour and a half.

I can see how the sunrise might be an real issue if your heading east on "Alligator Alley" that time of day. It was pretty intense when I was heading south on I-75 in the early morning.

You've got that right. I commuted to Deerfield Beach for a while (but just came home for the weekends). The sunrise could be unrelenting. I remember for a lot of the drive the sun would be too low for my visor to block any of it. Very fatiguing at times.

If you do make the commute, get a radar detector. Collier Co sets up some wicked speed traps right at the Collier line (in the middle of nowhere)- they'll get a motorcycle cop up on an access road bridge and he can ping people from miles away! (I'm not a huge speeder, but 75-78 on Alligator Alley with sparse traffic is a pretty safe speed, IMO).

[compelled to reply]

An hour and a half is about right, and the glare is KILLER. Also, watch out for the cops on both sides of the county line. Traffic is light on the alley, in fact, it's very easy to speed and speed traps are common. However, if you enter I-595 at peak hours to head into downtown Ft. Lauderdale (you will probably have to), delays are not uncommon, which could tack on an extra 15 minutes on an average day and up to an hour if there are accidents. Also keep in mind that wildfires often shut down the Alley through the dry season, meaning you would have to loop all the way south into Miami and take Highway 41 and head back up to Ft. Lauderdale.

If possible, I would just live on the other side of the alley. The I-75 corridor suburbs in southwestern Broward County aren't that different from a lot of Naples, just younger population and further from the coast. You could fall asleep in the passenger seat on Pine Ridge Road in Naples and wake up on Miramar Parkway and you probably wouldn't know where you were until you look for a street sign (or head further south or east lol). You can get anything from a small condo in Pembroke Pines to acreage in Southwest Ranches, and the cost of living is similar.

[BigMunch]

Good info !!!

[justNancy]

This is all good info, but I'll add my 2 cents here. I had several relatives living on the east coast, so I traveled frequently across Alligator Alley. I also went to the Fort Lauderdale & WPB airports to pickup family. Averaged 2 hours, so 90 minutes from Collier Blvd sounds about right. I traveled from Bonita Beach to I-75 and then from exit 116 to Naples down I-75. But, just like RMD3819 wrote, one accident can change everything. I don't know if it was the weather or an accident (probably both) but a couple of times it took me an extra hour to reach Sawgrass.

I'll never forget the time I flew to Costa Rica from Miami. I was on my way to the Miami airport when I glanced at my speedometer and saw I was traveling at a speed of 110mph!! It was only a Hyundai Sonata, but those Michelin tires it came with were great. Of course I don't condone travleing at that speed, and I usually don't go over the limit, but it's so easy to do on Alligator Alley when there's no traffic around. Last 2 times I drove across I-75 was very early in the morning. (for funerals) I remember the sun rising and don't recall fighting the glare too much, but I'm sure every morning is different. I found it to be a lot worse on the way back. It's a very pretty route, however.

Compelled to reply made a very good suggestion. I was on Alligator Alley when it started to pour one night. I prayed I could find a safe place to pull over, but I couldn't see a thing. No cell phone service and I was in the middle of nowhere. After that I bought 2 of those Rain-X Latitude wiper blades but I try not to travel on it alone late at night.

Here's an article from April during the dry season (or brush fire season as many call it)

[URL="http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/apr/24/alligator-alley-closed-its-long-delays-us-41-miami/"]With Alligator Alley closed, it's long delays on U.S. 41 from Miami to Naples » Naples Daily News[/URL]

As I wrote above, it's very pretty. Found this on youtube showing the sunrise one morning on Alligator Alley. Cool.

[URL]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VlPSxUQjys&feature=related[/URL]

Here's one of a brush fire, but I honestly never saw anything like this. It's once of my favorite routes. Just very long between exits and very dark when there's no moon to guide you.

[URL]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqGeBhtbS38&feature=related[/URL]

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqGeBhtbS38&feature=related"]
[/URL]

[twobums]

Excellent point Nancy about losing cell phone service on Alligator Alley ~ kinda lonely feeling to be out there with out access. I have AT&T and lose service for about a third of the trip.

[jpicard]

Good information. thx. Looks like something I would not want to do every day.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by twobums

I have AT&T and lose service for about a third of the trip.

I also have AT&T.

I should never come back to threads on which I've posted. I just noticed a lot of typos. Is there a pill for that?