Marco Island voters approve $23M bond by one vote

Marco Island residents — in a squeaker of a vote and recount — agreed to pay off a $23 million bond to replace the Caxambas and Goldenrod bridges and repair the Blackmore, Sandhill and South Seas bridges. 

A single-vote majority Aug. 18 in favor of the bond led to a mandatory recount Aug. 21 at the Supervisor of Elections Office. The recount showed the primary day vote was accurate — with 2,259 voting yes and 2,258 voting no. 

“The final results remain unchanged,” Collier County Supervisor of Elections Melissa R. Blazier said. 

City residents will now pay off the bond through a fee charged on their property tax bills. Those with property assessed at $500,000 will pay $48.72 annually, or $4.06 a month; properties assessed at $750,000 will pay $73.08 a year, or $6.09 a month; and those with properties assessed at $1 million will pay $97.44 a year, or $8.12 a month. 

City had options for Caxambas 

City Manager Casey Lucius said the work on the mile-long Caxambas Court Bridge would have occurred regardless of the bond vote. 

“We have already completed an escrow agreement with [the Florida Department of Transportation] and will continue with the Caxambas Bridge project whether the bond passes or not,” she said. “We transferred funds from other projects to the Caxambas project in fiscal year 2027 so we could move forward either way.” 

Lucius told The Naples Press hours before the recount that the city had funding in place for the Caxambas project in fiscal 2027 regardless of the outcome, but lacked funding for other bridge replacements or repairs in future years. With the bond approved, the city can redirect those funds to their original projects or other high-priority projects with City Council approval. 

With voters approving the measure, the general obligation bond will support a 10-year infrastructure plan that includes the following projects: 

Replacing the Caxambas Bridge 

FDOT warned the city as recently as April that Caxambas Court Bridge, which spans Roberts Bay, has exposed carbon steel rebar, as well as prestressed strands that are unprotected in the concrete decking. Prestressed strands are high-strength steel cables threaded or embedded through concrete bridge parts. 

According to FDOT, there are numerous spalls in the bridge decking and supports. A spall on a concrete bridge deck is a cavity or hole left when a piece of concrete breaks, cracks or flakes off the surface. According to construction engineers, the cracks and holes expose the inside of the deck and can further weaken the bridge if workers do not fix them. 

The bridge was repaired a decade ago, but FDOT officials said the bridge deck and underlying superstructure now have “serious” weaknesses. The county also gives it the lowest rating among the county’s 370 bridges. The city says the new bridge will cost $12 million, $7.5 million of which will be covered by FDOT grants — leaving the city’s obligation at $4.5 million. Now that the bond has passed, work will start next year. 

City Council in 2024-25 agreed to pay $265,371 to design a new bridge and $161,351 to design the relocation of the water and sewer mains that run under the bridge. 

Replacing the Goldenrod Bridge 

The Goldenrod Bridge — which also is one of the lowest-rated bridges in the county — has been classified as “scour critical” by FDOT. That means water eroding the earth and sediment around the bridge’s columns and abutments has made the bridge unstable. 

The city says the bond will help pay the $10 million cost of replacing the bridge. As with the Caxambas Bridge, there is an FDOT grant worth $3.75 million, making the city’s obligation $6.25 million. Work will start in 2029. 

Repairing the Blackmore, Sandhill and South Seas bridges 

These spans need routine structural maintenance and repairs as part of the city’s long-term capital improvement plan. They are showing general wear and tear typical of coastal marine environments rather than posing a pending danger. 

The repairs will cost $1.5 million, or $500,000 per bridge. Work begins in 2028. 

Roadway paving 

Marco Island roads are on a 10-year paving cycle, but 36 lane miles of roads, streets and thoroughfares have not been paved in more than a decade. The cost of each lane mile is $200,000, which means the city will dedicate $7.2 million to catch up on its paving. 

To stay on the 10-year schedule, the city will add another $500,000 a year over seven years — or $3.5 million — to roadway paving.