MIAMI – On any given day, traffic in Brickell can be a headache for drivers -- now imagine what it's like without traffic signals.
That is what drivers are experiencing along a stretch of Brickell Avenue nearly two weeks after Hurricane Irma left its mark on South Florida.
Traffic lights along the stretch of Brickell Avenue from Southeast Fifth to Southeast 15th streets have been without power since Irma struck earlier this month.
"It's pretty bad," Alex Fernandez, a frustrated driver, said. "The traffic sucks right now. The signals are down, and no one really treats it (like) a four-way stop. It's kind of like a free-for-all."
Other drivers agree.
"It's a headache," Geminie Callwood, a frustrated driver, said. "I live in Miami Gardens and it takes me at least two-and-a-half hours to get to work instead of the hour it normally takes and then getting back home is even worse."
There is yellow police tape to prevent drivers from turning in certain directions and stop signs at intersections while the lights are out.
"We're aware and are working on it," Florida Power & Light spokesman Peter Robbins told Local 10 News in an email Thursday.
FPL restored power to businesses in the area less than a week after the storm.
Much of Brickell was underwater at the height of Irma because of the storm surge from nearby Biscayne Bay.
A few traffic lights along Coral Way are still out, and the piles of debris on the road aren't making things easier, either.
"Some of the debris is on one of the lanes, so if you drive at night and you don't have enough light, you can very easily drive into the pile of debris," Laurie Kaufman, a driver, said.