Photo by qr
Quentin Roux Staff Teodoro Velasquez of Vila & Sons landscaping helps with the median beautification work now taking place on Collier Boulevard between Fiddler's Creek and Marco Island.
MARCO ISLAND — They may not all be on-time, but many upgrades to Marco Island’s entryway are anticipated to come around Christmas.
The expansion of the 951 boat ramp parking area, median upgrades along Collier Boulevard and improvements to the Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge add up to an approximate $30 million investment in Southern Collier County.
Marco City Councilman and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) member Bill Trotter says all levels of government are giving back to the area.
“I think it shows how much support we’re getting from the county, MPO and the state to make investments to benefit Marco Island. It benefits everyone. The more attractive you make the area, the more it helps real estate, businesses, travelers and therefore residents— the whole nine yards.”
Project updates ...
Marco’s Jolley Bridge
The maintenance project on the existing span of the Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge to Marco is well underway and is projected to be complete on-time in mid-December.
The project is to clean and paint the steel, as well as to coat the rails, on the existing bridge, said Florida Department of Transportation spokeswoman Debbie Tower, who serves District 1 including Lee and Collier counties.
The original bridge, built in 1969, will be for northbound traffic headed to the mainland and is expected to last about another 20 years with maintenance, said Tower.
The new span, paid for by federal stimulus dollars, will be for southbound traffic to the Island and construction is anticipated to begin in January, Tower reported.
FDOT awarded a contract in September to the design-build team, which includes Johnson Brothers and FIGG, for the new two-lane span to be built parallel to the existing two-lane span.
The firms gave the lowest bid at about $25.5 million and it was the only bid under the $28.3 million budget. As a stimulus project, it must be complete by March 2012.
The approximate $300,000 remaining was not enough to replace the existing fishing piers, which were reportedly destroyed by storms with not enough funding to pay for an estimated $1.3 million replacement project, Tower said.
The leftover money was returned to the MPO and used for another bridge project in Naples.
The most significant portion of the Jolley Bridge design is the planning of the approaches to Collier Boulevard, Tower said. More details are anticipated at a public information open house yet to be scheduled, she added.
“We want to have a productive meeting, one that gives the community good information about the specific start date, schedule, approach to construction, etc.
“Right now we’re developing materials and illustrations for the public meeting and holding internal meetings with the design/build team about the schedule and construction activities.”
The new span, which will be nearest to the Marco Island Yacht Club, will be about 20 feet to the west of the existing span and will have wider shoulders and an 8-foot sidewalk, Tower reported.
Landscape improvements near the Jolley Bridge are part of the new span construction project and will pick up where the current Collier Boulevard median improvements stop.
Collier Boulevard median improvements
Irrigation, additional plants and trees are to help with safety and aesthetics along the State Road 951 corridor between Marco Island and Naples.
The medians on this stretch were very dry leading to a small brush fire near Isles of Capri late this summer. The fire was extinguished by Isles of Capri firefighters without injury.
The $441,000 cost for the project, paid for through the Federal Highway Administration, may prevent such occurrences.
Improvements along SR-951 between Isles of Capri Boulevard and the Jolley Bridge are causing intermittent lane closures in both directions and will continue between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. through Wednesday.
Collier County Transportation Services spokeswoman Connie Deane reported that the ongoing 951 boat ramp project is delaying portions of the median landscaping project.
The landscape improvement project was scheduled to be complete Dec. 31 and the affect of the other project’s delay on a new estimated completion date is not yet known, said Landscape Operations Manager Pam Lulich.
“We anticipate a delay and project extension due to the boat ramp turn lane. We are waiting for the turn lane to be permitted and installed.”
There are seven species of trees being planted along the 1.85 mile stretch, including live oak, native lignum vitae, gumbo limbo, royal palms and sabal palms. Six shrub varieties include bird of paradise, wax myrtle, dwarf fire bush and silver saw palmetto. Four varieties of ground cover include pink crown of thorns and blueberry flax.
Collier County will pay for permits and tapping into the Marco Island reuse water line, Lulich reported.
Marco will annually provide, at their cost, up to 3 million gallons of reuse water for irrigation.
After project completion, Collier County is paying the city $50,000 per mile every year after the project’s completion to pay for the cost of labor, fertilizer, mulch, accident repair and replacement costs to maintain the landscaping per the county-city agreement signed this summer.
“We are dedicated to improving the entrance to Marco Island and to working very closely with the City of Marco Island through subsequent years of maintenance,” Deane said.
951 Boat Ramp
The county committed $1.4 million to ramp up parking at the 951 Boat Ramp. The project will quadruple the number of boat trailer parking spaces from 19 to 88.
The parking lanes will be 43 feet long, accommodating most 25-foot boats and three parallel, rather than diagonal spaces, will be available for larger boats, said Clinton Perryman, project manager for Collier County’s Coast Zone Management.
When the project is complete, Parks and Recreation Department rangers will ticket those parked along the roadway, he added.
The Marco Eagle reported in August that the boat ramp parking expansion project was expected to be complete by Oct. 12, however, as of Tuesday, signs informed drivers that it would re-open A.S.A.P.
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Comments » 9
fortl writes:
Government is so good at everything. The ramp to be open Oct and n ow what? I'll bet if we were late on our taxes we could not call up and say ASAP we will pay them.
This is getting worse and worse to live here.
MarcoJimbo writes:
I sure miss the days when Marco was a paradise that didn't need to be mass-marketed. You KNEW that upon cresting the Jolley bridge after a dreary drive down a 2 lane 951 the island would be there in all her radiant glory saying "WELCOME HOME".
kosherdeli writes:
MarcoJimbo you defiantly hit the ball out of the park with your comment! Fortl you mentioned the Government, I’m not sure if you are referring to the entire $30 Million Project or just the Landscaping part of it? It is extremely irresponsible for any Government Agency to even think of doing such a Landscaping Project during theses Tough Economic Times! Never the less do it in an area where a new Bridge is going to be constructed in the near future. Wait and see after the Bridge Construction it will need to be done all over. Hell during the Sewer project in front of my home they didn’t even dig around the circle and still managed to kill and destroy most of the planting in circle. Spending this $30 million the Government is slapping us Taxpayers in the face, again, the same way General Motors and Chrysler Executives slapped Taxpayers early this year when they Flew there Corporate Gulfstream Jets to Washington and asked for the Billion’s of our Taxpayers Dollars, that our Government was stupid enough to give them. Perfect timing as usual hurry up and gets the Island Spruced Up before all the Snowbirds Arrive Back. It’s the same thing every year the Government sets the Island up like a Dog & Pony Show, so the Snowbirds have something New to Gawk at, for all the Tax Monies they paid while away. Then once the Winter Dog & Pony is over all the Full Time Residents have to pick up the Crap. It’s all a game and year after year in the end the score is always the same Snowbirds 7 Months and Full Time Residents 5 Months.
ratsnake writes:
Then move.
ratsnake writes:
Yeah God forbid we should create jobs in these tough economic times.
Smeg writes:
Create Jobs? Our government excels at creating. It's a creature of parasitic proportions. All Americans will be dependant on government/China when the liberals have their way.
Create something? No job, government creates jobs. No money, create some. Create programs that will pay mortgages, provide food stamps and welfare and even cell phones. Create, create, create ain't it great! Saul Alinsky is proud.
Then move? Definately move....just enough and to a position so as to easily slice the wealth suckers and redistributors from your money clip.
conchsoup writes:
Investment in the infrastructure and aesthetics of the community that will only enhance the value of the properties here and the appreciation of those living here and still bored grumpy old men complain. You can enhance the quality of life here by not complaining so much. Try it, try complimenting the good and you might even feel better yourself.
MrBreeze writes:
Wait and see what the "FREE" bridge brings. Some of you people just do not get it......
woods311 writes:
Did you know that they are replacing the guardrail on the Goodland bridge?
I wonder who decided that replacing the guardrail is necessary.
Is it a safety issue, beautification project or just plain pork?
Oops, I mean stimulus spending.
Why was it started on a holiday with no fanfare or notice?
If you want some entertainment,
go watch the turbidity barriers billowing in the tide,
Chunks of concrete falling,
Latino workers performing feats of daring without concern for safety, and
unbelievable traffic hazards.
I don't know how much we are paying for this, or why, but it appears the ship of state is still headed for the rocks, and the same fools are still steering.
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