Vandals leave their mark on I-75 underpass in Bonita Springs

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. – Vandals have been busy in Bonita springs, they have struck once again under I-75 at the Imperial River and left their mark.

Since February the area has been hit over and over again. After crews from the Florida Department of Transportation go and clean it, more obscene drawings show up each time.

Coming from Estero, the Bonita Nature Place is the perfect walking spot for Chester Patterson. 

“South Florida has a lot of trails and preserves. I just like to mix it up,” Patterson said. 

But this secluded spot has a secret. It’s a place that’s become a kind of canvas. Over the past 5 months, the underside of I-75 as it crosses over the river has been spraypainted again and again. 

Often the messages are obscene or vulgar, and while FDOT usually covers them up once notified, it’s kept happening, which means cleanup crews keep having to come back at a cost to taxpayers. 

On Wednesday, FDOT said it constitutes a crime: Destruction of Public Property, and despite 3 consecutive tags, so far no one has been caught. 

“It’s just a bunch of kids screwing around anyways, if they want to paint it they are going to slip in here anyways,” Patterson said. 

And while its up to the State of Florida to clean it up quickly, keeping it clean is the real challenge. 

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