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In 2005, the Daily News asked readers what life was like driving Immokalee Road every day. We received hundreds of responses from residents who said they were fed up with it taking an hour to travel just a few miles, and felt forgotten by county government. We caught up with a few of those folks to see what a difference a few years and two to four extra lanes makes:

*****

Laurie Fricker was a school bus attendant in 2005, sometimes stuck on Immokalee Road for two hours with antsy children.

What she said then:

“I sing to them, I do homework with them, I try to keep them busy. A lot fall asleep,” she said. “Last week, the traffic was so heavy we had to go nine miles out of the way to pick up children.”

What she’s saying now:

“I hated it so much that I never took a route out there again,” Fricker said. “It’s a pleasure now. Some of the lights are not timed properly, but other than that it’s great.”

*****

While Laura May is happy with the completed construction, she said Golden Gate Estates residents are still holding their breath until Collier Boulevard construction and the Interstate 75 interchange are finished. May was working just seven miles from home in 2005, driving from 24th Avenue Northeast, off Randall Boulevard, to the intersection of Immokalee Road and Collier Boulevard.

What she said then:

“Some days it takes me 50 minutes to one hour, and this is before they finish the Valencia Lakes development,” she said. “The traffic is horrendous. It doesn’t matter what time of day you drive it.”

What she’s saying now:

“Now it’s 10 minutes, tops,” she said. “It’s made a huge difference.”

*****

Phyllis Litka’s son started attending Palmetto Ridge High School just as construction was commencing at the east end of Immokalee Road, and she said the maddening experience of battling rude drivers every morning is all but a distant memory now.

What she said then:

“Many people give us the finger with children in the car,” she said. “It’s bad, bad.”

What she’s saying now:

“Of course, I’m ecstatic, because I drive it every day,” Litka said. “I remember, when they opened up one of the lanes, there were a bunch of workers out there. We beeped and gave them the thumbs up. It was a different finger this time.”