Life in the slow lane

Today, it's dramatically different.

"We're going to continue to grow, and what's going to keep our quality of life the way it is now is that we're going to have adequate road infrastructure," says Janet Watermeier, president of Florida Gulf Coast Group and a member of the Florida Transportation Commission.

Businesses suffer when employees and products idle in traffic congestion-to the tune of $60 per hour, according to a study by the trucking industry, she adds. And in terms of economic development, "If we're going to stay competitive as a region, we have to have a good road infrastructure in place."

Public-private partnerships have helped keep Southwest Florida abreast of roadway demands, says Mike Rippe, director of the Florida Department of Transportation's southwest area office. County transportation officials coordinate with state projects to improve efficiencies and traffic flow through a regional approach. Developers also contribute, he says, by allowing the state to use drainage facilities or by granting rights-of-way, for example. "It not only reduces cost, it allows us to go to construction sooner, because the right-of-way [acquisition] phase is two years for us," says Rippe.

Those relationships have helped accelerate a lot of road projects, which are very expensive. Even if they receive state approval, it can take years for funding to appear. The Southwest Florida Transportation Initiative (SWFTI), a public-private partnership formed a little more than five years ago to hasten U.S. 41 improvement, "has helped secure tens of millions of dollars to assist us," says Rippe.

As a result, except for the section from Sanibel Boulevard in San Carlos to Corkscrew Road, U.S. 41 will be widened to six lanes from State Road 951 in Collier to downtown Fort Myers once current work is completed.

SWFTI helped secure a State Infrastructure Bank loan to get the right-of-way phase under way for the remaining section. Now, says SWFTI spokeswoman Tina Matte, "We're trying to advance those dollars so we don't have to wait five years before construction funding is available."

But improvements to U.S. 41 alone won't likely take care of the burgeoning traffic, so a number of projects are in the works to provide alternatives, including work on Metro Parkway, Three Oaks Parkway and S.R. 951. With U.S. 41 improvements well on the way, SWFTI has shifted its focus to widening I-75, says Matte.

Funding is on the state books to six-lane the highway from Golden Gate Parkway to Daniels Parkway, with work to begin in fiscal year 2007-2008 in Lee County and 2009-2010 in Collier. U.S. Rep. Porter Goss was influential in securing $1.625 million in federal appropriations last year to advance the project and another $4 million this year. Another $72 million has been requested for I-75 improvements, but "that's a big pot of money. I have no idea how much we might get," Matte says.

The state DOT recently completed six-laning the I-75 Peace River Bridge in Charlotte County and will begin working in Collier County, probably in the summer, to create an interchange at Golden Gate Parkway, says Rippe. Collier County, meanwhile, is six-laning roads adjacent to the interchange.

The state also will continue improving the other interchanges and will be completely rebuilding the interchange at Alico Road, beginning around the end of 2004. That will provide better access to Florida Gulf Coast Uni-versity, the nearby technology park, the new regional mall in the works and the South-west Florida In-ternational Air-port, he says.

In addition to the north-south arteries, improvements are in the works on the east-west S.R. 80. In addition to serving the growing communities in the east, S.R. 80 ultimately could provide a cross-state alternative to Interstate 4 and Alligator Alley, say Rippe and Watermeier.

Critical to future roadway projects is the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users Bill, which lays out formulas for federal funding of road projects. SWFTI has been working with Goss on the reauthorization bill, which is in the U.S. House and expected to be passed this month, Matte says.

The state also is redefining how its transportation dollars are allocated. The Strategic Intermodal System takes a comprehensive look at seaports, airports, highways, rail and other intermodal facilities to prioritize state funding, which raises some concerns locally, says Matte.

A transportation authority would help address road network needs in a regional way, says Watermeier. Lee County turned down a plan for such an authority because it would put control in the hands of state and private interests. But that doesn't kill the possibility, she adds.

SWFTI's members are among those who would like to see I-75 widened to 10 lanes-with two lanes on each side as tolled, express lanes to help cover the expense.

A variety of other options are being discussed to improve traffic flow, and not just on the interstate, says Lee County Commissioner John Albion. "We're trying to get more out of our roadways with opportunities like value pricing," he says.

Such programs, such as providing discounts at nonpeak hours, al-ready are in place on toll bridges in Lee County.

Queue jumps, which allow drivers to bypass congested intersections for a fee, are another possibility. And within the next year, Albion anticipates LeeWay transponders will work with other toll systems in the state. "You can use the same transponder if you're from Tampa and going to Cape Coral," he says.

"All those are important progressions to provide for better traffic flow, using pricing options to try to influence traffic in a way that will extend road capacity," he says. "We'll charge you less and reward you if you work with us."

Keeping pace with growth, Albion says, "is certainly a big challenge. It takes eight to 12 years to build a road, and the way the population goes, by the time people pay their road impact fees, they could very well have moved out of their house by the time their road's done."

Rapid growth might leave some areas lagging behind, such as access roads from fast-growing Lehigh Acres to Fort Myers, Albion says. And while improvements such as adding overpasses on Summerlin Road will improve traffic flow to the beaches, the resulting traffic on connector roads could get worse for a while.

"There's going to be a lot of choke points and congestion to work our way through, but we have a responsibility to try to accommodate the growth," he says. "People are going to move here anyway. We've got to make sure we have a system that's going to work."