Collier road board suggests referendum on new Marco bridge

The future of mainland access to Marco Island could come down to a vote by its residents.

Collier County’s Metropolitan Planning Organization board voted Friday to hold off on the second phase of a study analyzing the use of tolls to build a new bridge.

In the meantime, board members said, they hope the Marco Island City Council will discuss adding a referendum to November’s ballot to determine whether residents want a new bridge at all, and how they would pay for it.

Marco Island City Council voted June 2 to proceed with the second phase of the study, following review of a report on the first phase, which incorporated phone surveys, focus groups and a cursory assessment of the revenues available through a toll on the bridge.

“However, this did not mean we consent to tolling the bridge,” said Marco Island City Council Chairman Bill Trotter, who also is a member of the MPO board.

On behalf of the City Council, he said county government should explore other funding options, particularly if Alligator Alley is leased to a private entity.

“We should look at, if the Alligator Alley leasing goes forward — and certainly, we’re not supporting that — but we should look at using the funds to build the Jolley Bridge,” Trotter said.

But there was some question among audience members about how pressing the need is for a new bridge.

“There is no congestion,” Marco Island resident Fay Biles said. “The congestion has been vastly overrated as far as I’m concerned. This is a state bridge. Why is the MPO, the county, worried about funding this bridge? It should be a state issue.”

The MPO is a countywide transportation planning agency that includes members from county government and cities in Collier County,

The bridge has a rating of 70, assigned in 2007 following an inspection two years before that found the rating to be 81. Ratings are assigned out of 100, with 50 generally regarded as the threshold at which replacement should be seriously considered.

The first phase of the two-part study, conducted by Cambridge Systematics Inc., for $356,000, concluded that traffic would continue increasing to the point where the bridge is at full capacity for almost every daylight hour during the 2015 peak season.

“If the bridge is in good shape, but you want to add capacity to the other end, why would you want to replace something that’s working?” asked Collier County Commission Chairman Tom Henning, a member of the MPO board.

Planner Brandy Otero responded that the need for repairs could cause the closure of one or both lanes, diverting traffic to the Goodland Bridge, the only other route off the island. That bridge is rated at 45, “not a viable option,” Otero said.

Designs for a new two-span, four-lane bridge onto the island could be reassessed, depending on the outcome of a possible referendum on Marco.

The report said the life of the current bridge could be extended another 40 years with significant work, and that time might be bought with the addition of a new span.

However, Florida Department of Transportation District Secretary Stan Cann said a cost-benefit analysis showed that total replacement would be more prudent than large-scale repairs.

Current estimates quote a $55 million cost for the demolition of the old bridge and the construction of the two new spans. Henning and Trotter both expressed support for the idea of saving some of the construction costs by building a new bridge, but extending the life of the old one and holding off on replacing it.

“If this is going to benefit Marco Island and they want to take control of the bridge, they need to come up with a referendum and a way to pay for the bridge,” Commissioner Frank Halas said. “If they don’t want tolls, they have to come up with some other way of funding it.”

Trotter said he would take the suggestion back to the Marco Island City Council, and the MPO board agreed to hold off on approving the second phase of the study until after it reconvenes again in September.

“Everyone says if you want the will of the people, you have to have a referendum,” Biles said after the meeting. “I’m certainly glad they postponed (the second phase of the study).”