A Cape Coral veteran’s driveway continues to sink after a contractor withdrew from a city-approved repair plan, leaving the homeowner struggling with mobility and awaiting a solution.
CAPE CORAL, Fla. —
A Cape Coral veteran’s driveway has been sinking for over 15 months, and the issue remains unresolved after a contractor backed out of a city-approved plan to fix the road in front of his home.
Homeowner Jack Johnson, a disabled veteran, expressed his frustration with the delays. “I don’t know what’s taking them so long. You know, the money was approved. They’ve got plenty of people bidding on it. I know that they’re going to take the lowest bidder, you know, but they told me October 5th. This is the 12th,” Johnson said.
The Johnsons have done everything they can to stabilize their driveway, but the situation has worsened. Footage from May 2026 shows the driveway’s significant drop, with still water pooling around it. The deteriorating condition has made it nearly impossible for Johnson to navigate.
In response to Johnson’s story, Lee Builders Care offered to help repair the driveway. “They told me that they would take care of the rest of the driveway and it wouldn’t cost me nothing, which is great, because that would if if I had to pay for that, it would’ve depleted my savings completely,” Johnson said.
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The city had initially selected Helicon to stabilize the road using 12 grout injections placed 40 feet below the surface. However, Helicon later declined to proceed with the project.
In a statement, the city said, “Helicon declined to proceed. The City solicited quotes from additional firms, with responses due October 6. Staff will work to finalize a contract and schedule repairs as quickly as possible. City continues to monitor the site weekly.”
Joseph Van Gaalen, a professor of geology at Florida SouthWestern State College, explained how the grout injections are typically used. “Those types of things, that injection is used, places like highways. A lot of times you’re seeing construction like highway, on ramp, off ramp where there’s, there’s some incline. It maybe settles not quite the way they had intended or something like that. They’ll use those and they’re fairly stable,” Van Gaalen said.
Adding to the challenges, Johnson recently underwent a hip replacement three weeks ago, making it even more difficult for him to navigate the driveway.
For now, Johnson said he’s simply hoping the long-awaited repairs finally move forward.
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