Editor's note: The story has been updated to reflect a corrected lesser amount needed to be raised as well as pledged.
Estero, Bonita Springs and Collier County have agreed to work together in hopes of raising $70.4 million to buy 11.4 miles of right-of-way from the Seminole Gulf Railway for a bike trail.
Collier County commissioners, on Tuesday, were the last to approve an agreement to work with Estero and Bonita Springs to raise money and do due diligence for the Bonita Estero Rail Trail (BERT) project. The three governments need to pledge $35.2 million to get state grants to pay the remaining cost.
Estero has agreed to pledge $15 million. Bonita’s council is expected to discuss the money at its April 16 meeting, said Deb Orton, president of Friends of BERT. Collier County is expected to take up the money issue by the end of April, she said.
The Trust for Public Lands last year reached an agreement with the railroad to purchase nearly 15 miles of right-of-way from Alico Road in Lee County to Wiggins Pass Road in Collier County for $82 million. The trust and railroad negotiated a backup agreement for $70.44 million if Lee County doesn’t participate.
Lee County has been supportive but won’t pledge any money for the trail.
Without the county, the trail will begin at Estero Parkway instead of Alico.
“There’s still an opportunity and we’d love for them to join, but you know with hurricanes and roads and other stuff that they just said we like it, but it’s not our first priority,” said Charles Hines, Florida Gulf Coast Trail program director.
The time is of the essence because the trust has until March 2026 to raise the money.
Grants are more available once the local governments commit to put money into the pot, Orton said.
“We have terrific support at the state level and have at least three different sources of funding for this 11.4 miles that we’ll wait over the summer to see if we can get,” Orton said.
The Metropolitan Planning Organization did a bike trail feasibility study in 2023 and added it to its priority list, making it eligible for various grant funding opportunities, MPO Director Don Scott said in an email.
Planning and design shouldn’t take more than a year, Hines said. He said Sarasota built a similar trail in four years.
The Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization 2023 feasibility study estimated it would cost $4 million to $6 million a mile, or between $45.6 million and $68.4 million.
The need for overpasses and bridges push up the cost. The estimates included an overpass at Alico and Corkscrew roads and Estero Parkway. Alico is no longer part of the plan. Three or four bridges would be needed to cross waterways, Hines said.
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