Naples Standard

Vanderbilt Beach Road Extension Project Kick-off of Construction Public Information Meeting

 Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022

5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Vanderbilt Beach Road Extension Project Kick-off of Construction Public Information Meeting will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 15 at the University of Florida/IFAS Extension Office (Multi-purpose Room), 14700 Immokalee Road, Naples, Florida 34120. The meeting will be held in an open house format. There will be no formal presentation. Attendees may stop by to review the project displays and talk one-on-one with the construction contractor, design consultant and county staff team members.  All interested community members are encouraged to attend to have an opportunity to meet the contractor approved by the Board of County Commissioners at their July 12, 2022, meeting, Sacyr Construction USA, LLC, and get input on the plans for the construction process that is planned to start early this fall.

As an alternative to attending in-person, the meeting displays are planned to be posted on the county’s website at  https://www.colliercountyfl. gov/government/growth-management/divisions/transportation-engineering a few days prior to the meeting. Comments may be sent via email to transportation.management@colliercountyfl.gov. The public comment period will end Sept. 29, 2022.

The improvements include: a new six-lane divided roadway with pedestrian and bicycle facilities extending from the existing Vanderbilt Beach Road east of Collier Boulevard (CR 951) to west of Wilson Boulevard, where it tapers down to a new two-lane roadway from east of Wilson Boulevard to 16th Street NE. Other proposed enhancements include improvements to Massey Street, and to the existing intersections at Weber Boulevard, Danbury Boulevard, and Douglas Road. New signalized intersections are to be built at Wilson Boulevard, 8th Street NE, and 16th Street NE. In addition, plans call for three new canal bridges, stormwater management ponds and relocating the canal (south of Vanderbilt Beach Road) from 31st Street NW to 15th Street NW.

The seven-mile roadway project is one of the biggest Collier County has undertaken and the cost was a bit higher than estimated due to current economic factors. The construction contract is just under $153 million dollars. A large portion of the funding is from the infrastructure sales tax that Collier County voters approved in 2018.  $74 million has been allocated from that source, the remainder is allocated from gas taxes, road impact fees, Water and Wastewater User Fee Capital Funds for the county’s public utilities going in at the same time as the roadway improvements, and then borrowing approximately $27 million. Construction is estimated to take three years with completion planned in the fall of 2025.

The reason for the new roadway is to prepare for future growth in Golden Gate Estates. The new extension is planned to help relieve congestion on other arterial roadways and accommodate future traffic volumes.

Two or more members of the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) may be present and participate at this public information meeting. The subject matter of this meeting may be an item for discussion and action at a future BCC meeting.

Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or other reasonable accommodations to participate in this proceeding, should contact the Collier County Facilities Management Division located at 3335 Tamiami Trail E., Naples, Florida 34112, or 239-252-8380 as soon as possible. Such reasonable accommodations will be provided at no cost to the individual.

For additional information concerning the project, please contact Project Manager Robert White, P.E. at 239-348-1328 or TECM@colliercountyfl.gov. News media inquiries may be directed to Community Liaison Connie Deane at 239-252-8365 or Connie.Deane@colliercountyfl.gov.

 

Original source can be found here.