A Naples business owner is raising concerns that recent road repairs by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) have worsened flooding on his street after his motor business’s parking lot was inundated with water.
Robert Weissenborn, who owns Naples Armature Works, described seeing 2.5 feet of water outside his business this week. “It never flooded that bad. Ever,” he said.
Watch Robert’s story here — do you think the repair is to blame?
“Something’s wrong:” Businessman says stormwater fix flooded downtown Naples
Inches of water pooled in front of his business, flowing into the parking and hitting the side of the building as cars drove by.
Weissenborn’s family has owned Naples Armature Works for more than 60 years, and he says this type of flooding—from a non-hurricane event—is not normal. “I’ve been looking out that window for probably the better part of 45 years,” he added.
He believes that new buildings in the area have reduced the number of fields that used to absorb water, leading to more runoff ending up on the street.