Collier pledges $6.9M for Bonita Estero Rail Trail

Collier County commissioners unanimously pledged $6.89 million Oct. 16 to help transform an unused rail line into the Bonita Estero Rail Trail, a new recreational path for walkers, runners and cyclists. 

The first phase of BERT consists of an 11.4-mile unused rail corridor from Wiggins Pass Road in Collier County to Estero Parkway in Lee County that would be converted into a public trail as part of a statewide network. The Trust for Public Land finalized a purchase agreement in February 2024 from the rail corridor owner, Seminole Gulf Railway, with a deadline of March 2026 to raise $70.4 million for the first phase. 

Following the vote, TPL Southeast Region Conservation Director Doug Hattaway said the Bonita Estero Rail Trail will provide safer routes for people traveling to schools, workplaces and local businesses. 

“We are incredibly grateful to the Collier County Commission’s leadership to invest in the acquisition of the Bonita Estero Rail Trail and realize the multitude of community benefits it offers,” Hattaway said. 

The almost $7 million pledged by the county commission would go toward less than 2 miles of the project in Collier County, from Wiggins Pass Road to the border of Lee County in Bonita Springs, Friends of BERT President Deborah Orton said, and represents half of what the county could eventually pledge. 

She said the support from Collier commissioners follows an initial pledge of $900,000 last year and will help in efforts to raise the remainder of the funds required by March 2026. 

And while two Lee County municipalities — the city of Bonita Springs and the village of Estero — have pledged support, Lee County commissioners have not yet committed any funds. 

At the Oct. 16 Collier County meeting, Commissioner Chris Hall expressed continued support for the project while acknowledging that it still faces hurdles in terms of funding. 

“It would connect the Paradise Coast Trail all the way up to Sarasota if we could pull this off, and this project is going to need prayer,” Hall said. “There’s a lot of money, and all of the stars have to align plus more than that to really get this thing going. But if we can pull it off, I think it would be a real benefit to Southwest Florida as far as having a quality bike trail and pedestrian trail connecting all kinds of things.” 

After the unanimous vote to approve the pledge, District 5 Commissioner Bill McDaniel Jr. reminded the commission and the audience that “the funding for this only comes from us in the event that the Trust [for Public Lands] acquires the land for acquisition.”  

Orton said the pledge from Collier County brings the total raised to almost $39 million, more than half of the $70.4 million needed to fund phase one of the rail corridor. 

“Estero has already pledged $15 million, which is 50% of what they would owe, Bonita Springs has pledged $17 million and now Collier County has pledged their 50%, as well,” Orton said. “We are more apt to get grants at the state and federal level to take it the rest of the way when you have 50%, so that’s a big deal.” 

She said the pledging of funds from local jurisdictions “demonstrates the intrinsic value that [the rail trail] will bring to their respective communities and moves us closer to making BERT a reality.”