Plans unveiled for Immokalee, Logan road projects

The work on the Immokalee Road widening project from Interstate 75 to just east of Collier Boulevard is scheduled to begin next month and be completed by August 2008, according to plans unveiled Thursday.

A two-lane extension of Logan Boulevard is set to begin this month from Vanderbilt Beach Road to Immokalee Road, with completion a year from now.

Both major road projects were featured in the same public workshop at North Naples Baptist Church. Residents talked to county staff and looked over plans for a widening project along Immokalee Road and a northward extension of Logan Boulevard.

The congested segment of Immokalee Road is being widened from four lanes to six lanes, while the Logan Boulevard project is just one of many along a path that is scheduled to take it up to Bonita Beach Road. The money for this phase is being fronted by G. L. Homes as part of a developers’ contribution agreement with Collier County.

Dale Bathon, the county’s project manager, said the $8.5 million from the developer is helping the county push the project ahead faster than it would have without the contribution.

Residents who attended the workshop had positive comments about both projects, with one major exception: They don’t want the traffic signal removed at the intersection of Immokalee Road and Oakes Boulevard.

A group huddled around county staff to hear their thoughts and make their feelings known.

According to a handout at the meeting, officials are considering removing the Oakes Boulevard traffic signal as part of the Immokalee Road widening project, and offering other access points for residents in the area to get onto the road.

County transportation staff says there is a string of traffic lights along that segment of Immokalee Road that could slow traffic down, and removing one could help the flow. They also said the verdict is still out whether the Oakes signal is the one that will be chosen. But talk of pulling out that signal didn’t sit well with several residents who made their feelings known at the workshop.

Bill Malefyt was among them. He and his wife live in Huntington Lakes, and they frequently use the Oakes traffic signal to get onto Immokalee Road.

County officials say they will have an answer whether the light will be removed in a couple of months.

“It (removing the light) will make it harder to get in and out of our community,” Malefyt said.

According to the county’s plans, the traffic signal on Immokalee Road at Tarpon Bay/Northbrooke Drive will be upgraded, and the existing signal at Collier Boulevard is scheduled to be reconstructed.

Malefyt also said he is concerned that it is slated to take two years to finish the widening project. He said the construction zone will make it difficult to maneuver in the area.

“What scares me whenever they say two years (to finish a project): It turns out to be three,” he said.