Collier $1.4 billion short to build roads out east

Collier County is $1.4 billion short of the money it needs to build what staff believes is an adequate road network east of Collier Boulevard.

The ideal future road-building plan would cost $3.94 billion, but county government is about $1.4 billion short in projected revenue to have enough money to do that level of work.

A county transportation staff report shows that the “status quo” level of projected spending will mean failure for the road network in Golden Gate Estates before it is built out in 2050, when a million residents are expected to call Collier home.

Some Golden Gate Estates residents don’t believe the situation is so dire.

They argue that staff meant just what it said to county commissioners at a May 24 meeting when a “premium” road network was outlined — that it’s the “premium” brand. However, staff now says the “premium” network actually is the road grid that will be necessary to handle projected growth in the Estates.

At the May 24 workshop, commissioners discussed services that will be delivered to the fast-growing area east of Collier Boulevard.

Planners listed three road network options: “status quo,” which shows a grid that is failing under projected funding; “intermediate,” which calls for many new roads but still spells gridlock on some of the major ones; and “premium,” which will address the transportation needs.

The premium option costing $3.94 billion would include overpasses at busy intersections at four locations, road connections with bridges in the Estates and 10 new road alignments.

Don Scott, who heads up the county’s transportation planning division, said the funding shortfall for this option may not be as high as initial estimates. For one, future increases in impact fees weren’t factored into the equation, he said.

“Let’s try to get donations (of right of way). Let’s get grants, and (form) public-private partnerships, also, toll facilities,” he said.

Residents are concerned that a “premium” road network could destroy their bucolic lifestyle.

Belle Meade resident Timothy Nance told commissioners at the workshop that Collier County has a unique area in the rural fringe, and he hoped commissioners acknowledged this in their planning.

He said Estates residents moved there with the idea they would go without some of the services of the urban areas, at least for a while, to live in a peaceful, environmentally sensitive area.

Nance added that residents weren’t necessarily seeking out a rural lifestyle, but of a hybrid between that and a residential one.

“I hope that we don’t take the word like ‘premium services’ to heart,” he said.

Commissioner Jim Coletta said the “premium” road grid that staff laid out, which falls woefully short of projected funding levels, should never have been labeled that.

“There is no ‘premium,’” Coletta said. “Forget those names. Premium is what the county’s standard level is. This was a mistake when it was drawn up (by staff).”

Coletta believes the “status quo” road grid planners laid out doesn’t meet the transportation needs of the area.

“I don’t know why they ever thought when they were doing this report that east of (Collier Boulevard) in Collier County would accept a standard below what Collier County in general considers the norm,” Coletta said.

Gas taxes, a primary source of money for new roads, have been pledged for years to pay for projects in western Collier County.

“We mortgaged our gas taxes to pay for road construction in the western county,” he said. “Now we have to deal with infrastructure needs in the eastern part of the county, and we have to find the revenue sources for it.”

The planning scenario that is chosen by commissioners could have real consequences for those who drive the Estates.

The “status quo” network, which basically is the one the county could develop with its current anticipated funding sources, would cost $2.5 billion.

But if this route is chosen, many major road segments would be in complete gridlock, staff’s report shows.

“You’d have some roads that would fail (at status quo),” Scott said. “If you go ‘status quo,’ we’ll have problems on Immokakee Road going into Immokalee.”

The particular areas of concern include: Immokalee Road from Collier Boulevard to Oil Well Road; Camp Keais Road from Oil Well Road to Immokalee Road; Collier Boulevard in the Interstate 75 to Davis Boulevard area; and Oil Well Road from Randall Boulevard to Camp Keais Road.

The proposed “intermediate” and “premium” road grids would widen parallel roads and build new ones to ease congestion on these segments.

But they come with a hefty price tag.

An “intermediate” network would cost $3.49 billion, with the county’s projections falling $990 million short of being able to pay for it.

Under this scenario, many new road segments would be added, including a Golden Gate Boulevard extension to alleviate congestion on Oil Well and Immokalee roads.

But even if this option is chosen, there still would be failing links along Immokalee Road, Camp Keais Road, Oil Well Road and State Road 82.

The “premium” road network would address all these problems.

Now that this study has been laid out, several steps are being taken to look further at the problem.

Scott said a consultant will be hired to look at land-use scenarios.

The first task would be to determine shortfalls in commercial, retail and industrial uses in the Estates.

More of those types of land use could mean fewer trips on east-west corridors heading into Naples, and a potentially less expensive road network.

Staff also is recommending an environmental screening of the road proposals.