FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Board of Lee County Commissioners today approved an $11.8 million contract with Ryan Incorporated Eastern to widen the road from two lanes to six lanes along the 2.85-mile stretch and relocate and install new utilities watermains along the roadway.
The contract award to Ryan Incorporated Eastern is contingent upon receipt of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits for the project, which should be issued shortly. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also is close to signing off on the permit after the county presented a plan earlier this month to develop a comprehensive mitigation/preservation strategy for offsetting the impacts of this and future projects.
The project also will include the improvement of the Briarcliff/Fiddlesticks Canal located one mile north of Alico Road beginning at the Ten Mile Canal and continuing easterly for 2.65 miles. The construction will consist of box culverts, a water control structure, channel excavation and maintenance access areas.
In addition, Lee DOT is building a six-foot-wide sidewalk on the south side of the road and a four-foot-wide bike lane. Construction of the project will take about 18 months.
As part of the agreement with the EPA, the county and private sector partners also are building a marsh along Ten Mile Canal to filter and cleanse drainage and runoff. The 15-to-20 acre marsh – to be built east of the canal and south of Daniels Road – is intended to have dense vegetation that will filter out pollutants from water diverted to it before they reach Mullock Creek and Estero Bay. Ten Mile Canal runs from the Hansen Street area in Fort Myers to Mullock Creek near San Carlos Park.
The $2.8 million project is included in the county’s capital construction budget. The private sector Water Enhancement & Restoration Coalition is expected to contribute $500,000 toward the cost and the South Florida Water Management District may reimburse another $800,000.