Authority chairman looks to county for loan

Southwest Florida Expressway Authority Chairman Bill Barton will be in the Lee County Commission chambers this morning with his hand out.

Barton, retired CEO of Wilson-Miller engineering, doesn't want $775,000 for himself. He's asking Lee commissioners to match what their Collier counterparts said they'd do: lend the money to the new authority.

The new authority has had two monthly meetings now and is straight ahead toward adding four toll lanes to Interstate 75. Board members are adamant the four extra lanes should be added to the state's widening of the interstate to six lanes, even if it means delaying the state project. The state's widening project is set to begin in 2007.

"We got a pretty positive reaction from Collier County," said Dave Loveland, the head of planning for the Lee County Department of Transportation.

The authority board has estimated it will take $2 million to carry it through until next July. Federal and state grants and loans will be sought to help bridge the gap. The authority says the county money would be repaid out of future excess toll revenues.

At the authority's second meeting recently, Barton said he expects to go to commissioners for money both this year and next year. If estimates are correct and the toll lanes cost $1 billion — although more recent estimates adjusted for inflation peg that cost at closer to $1.8 billion — the annual operating budget of $1.5 million would be less than a tenth of 1 percent of the cost.

Part of the county money would go for a detailed traffic and revenue study needed to justify bonding future toll proceeds to pay for the work. Barton said it will be the end of 2007 before the authority will know how it will proceed.

Lee County commissioners discussed the loan during their own budget workshop last week. Assistant County Manager Pete Winton said commissioners seemed willing to make the loan from general fund reserves, property taxes not already earmarked for another purpose.

State officials — district transportation secretary Stan Cann is an authority board member — have said a delay of plans to widen the road to six lanes isn't an option.

"We're going to continue the I-75 design and build," FDOT spokeswoman Debbie Tower said. "We need six lanes on 75 now."

Changing the project to 10 lanes would mean changing the design and finding more money, all of which would push back construction, Tower said.

"Continuing to progress means starting the six-laning probably next May," she said. "We do know there's 10 lanes in our future, but we need to stay focused on the six-laning."

Barton will speak to Lee County commissioners at 9:30 a.m. today. Commission meetings are conducted at the Old Lee County Courthouse in downtown Fort Myers.

Money from the two counties would be available to the authority after October 1.