The long-anticipated Vanderbilt Beach Road extension project in Golden Gate Estates took a leap forward this week. The Collier County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday awarded a bid of nearly $153 million for the road project to Sacyr, a Madrid-based company specializing in infrastructure development.

This 7-mile project, which has been in discussion by the county since 2006, will extend Vanderbilt Beach Road from Collier Boulevard east to 16th Street Northeast with an overall cost for the county being more than $216 million.
Plans show a six-lane divided roadway from Collier Boulevard to the Curry Canal, four lanes to east of Wilson Boulevard and two lanes to 16th Street Northeast. The project includes major improvements to Massey Street and minor improvements to existing intersecting streets, including Weber Boulevard, Danbury Boulevard and Douglas Road.

New roadway intersections, including traffic signals, are planned at Wilson Boulevard, Eighth Street Northeast and 16th Street Northeast. The canal will be relocated to south of the roadway from 31st Street Northwest to 15th Street Northwest.