| The Collier County Transportation Engineering Division is nearing completion of Phase I of the Veterans Memorial Boulevard Improvements Project. The extension widened the existing Veterans Memorial Boulevard starting east of Livingston Road and extended it 1.75 miles to the new Aubrey Rogers High School in time for the opening of the brand-new high school on Aug. 10, 2023. This project was fast-tracked as a “Design-Build” project to meet the schedule of the new high school.
The four-lane, median-divided roadway has eleven-foot travel lanes (two lanes in each direction), a raised median, five-foot-wide on-street bike lanes, a six-foot concrete sidewalk on the south side, and a 10-foot concrete pathway on the north side. Two new signalized intersections have been installed, one at the Veterans Memorial Elementary School and one at the new high school. Both were activated in early August before the two schools opened for this term. The traffic signal at the intersection of Livingston Road and Veterans Memorial Boulevard was also upgraded. In addition, the project includes roadway lighting and stormwater management ponds (wet and dry detention).
A noise study found that noise barrier walls are warranted for the Imperial Golf Estates community and the Landmark Planned Unit Development (PUD) for noise mitigation. Once a notice to proceed on that project is issued, the construction of the new wall is expected to take about five months to complete. A noise barrier wall for the Landmark PUD is planned to be constructed as part of Veterans Memorial Boulevard Improvements Phase II.
The total cost of Phase I of the project is approximately $12.6 million, which includes design, construction, and the noise barrier wall for Imperial Golf Estates. There was also a separate contract for the Construction, Engineering, and Inspection (CEI) of Phase I of the project, which is approximately $1.19 million.
Phase II will extend the roadway from the new Aubrey Rogers High School west to US 41. That phase is currently in the planning stage, which includes evaluating the final roadway configuration, environmental studies, and analyzing potential stormwater pond sites.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is completing a Project Development and Environmental (PD&E) Study within the Old 41 corridor from Bonita Beach Road in Lee County to US 41 in Collier County and will use elements of the Veterans Memorial Boulevard Phase II expansion to determine that corridor’s final configuration.
Design for Phase II is currently planned to begin in FY 2024 and is expected to take approximately two years to complete. During the design phase, permitting will be handled with the various permitting agencies, including the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), FDOT, and Seminole Gulf Railway to construct a railroad crossing. Right-of-way will also need to be acquired for pond sites to manage stormwater from the roadway. Plus, the project will be required to address permit requirements and mitigation associated with impacts to conservation lands abutting this roadway project.
Once the design is completed for Phase II, it will be forwarded through a competitive bidding process. The lowest responsive bid will be provided to the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) for their approval. If approved by the BCC, that bidder (roadway construction company) will be contracted to handle the construction phase, which is expected to take approximately two years to complete. Therefore, we anticipate completion of the project and opening Phase II to traffic in FY 2028. Once Phase II is constructed, Veterans Memorial Boulevard will connect Livingston Road to US 41 as a parallel segment to Immokalee Road, which will assist travelers with an alternate route in North Naples, thus helping to relieve congestion and improve capacity and safety. |
