The Trust for Public Lands is only $2.2 million short of its pledge goal of $35.2 million toward purchasing the right-of-way for the Bonita Estero Rail Trail (BERT).
Bonita Springs City Council voted to pledge $17 million at Wednesday’s meeting. Estero already pledged $15 million and Collier County commissioners in January agreed to give $900,000 with the possibility of giving more.
The Trust for Public Lands has until March 2026 to purchase 11.4 miles of right-of-way from Seminole Gulf Railway. Pledging half the cost is important in securing matching funds from the state and private sources, according to a release from Deb Orton, president of Friends of Bonita Estero Rail Trail.
Grants are more available once the local governments commit to put money into the pot, Orton has said.
Bonita, Estero and Collier County have approved an agreement that establishes a task force to work on getting the rest of the funding.
The trail will begin at Estero Parkway and run to Wiggins Pass Road.
The initial plan was to start the trail at Alico Road, but Lee County decided not to pledge money because of other priorities.
The money is only for purchasing the right-of-way. BERT will have to come up with money to build the trail.
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.
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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