Project Overview

Colonial Boulevard Express Lanes Initiative

 

The Lee County Board of County Commissioners at the June 7, 2010 Management and Planning meeting, suspended the Colonial Express Lanes Project and the Colonial Project Development & Environment Study until the County’s 2035 Long Range Transportation Update is complete in December 2010.

 

In 2005, Lee and Charlotte counties completed the Bi-County Corridor Study from Interstate 75 (I-75) in Lee County west along Colonial Boulevard and Veterans Memorial Parkway and north along Burnt Store Road to a connection at I-75 in Charlotte County.
Using the Bi-County Corridor Study as a basis to determine ultimate improvements needed in 2030 for Colonial Boulevard (SR 884/CR 884) from west of McGregor Boulevard to east of I-75, Lee County conducted a Project Development and Environment (PD&E) study to develop the conceptual design and location of those improvements.  While the PD&E study is not yet complete, the estimated cost for these improvements range from $860,000,000 to $940,000,000. At that cost the project is not financially feasible. 

Additional capacity is required on Colonial Boulevard or mobility within the corridor will continue to degrade; therefore we are conducting a separate value engineering study, to reduce the cost, realizing there will be a trade-off in operational efficiency. This value engineering project evaluation, also called the Colonial Express Lanes Initiative, will determine the minimal amount of improvements that could best accommodate future needs, yet be cost feasible.

The Colonial Express Lanes Initiative concept includes four tolled express lanes in the middle and “free” lanes on the outside, pedestrian and bicycle features and will accommodate the planned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route.  All tolling will be electronic.

As part of this initiative, options for project financing are being evaluated.

An extensive public involvement program is being conducted to gather input from the community including a stakeholders group with representatives from Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers and Cape Coral.  Public information workshops and small group meetings will be held throughout the project.