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Naples Daily News - 05/14/2021 Page : A03

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Marlene Messam, principal project manager with the Transportation Engineering Division, speaks to Collier County ed CO
commissioners during a board meeting Tuesday. OMAR RODRÍGUEZ ORTIZ/NAPLES DAILY NEWS curren
Diseas

Collier to replace bridges, some

memo
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and re
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declared ‘functionally obsolete’

by the

10 spans located east of

Immokalee, Ave Maria
Omar Rodríguez Ortiz Purdon
Naples Daily News
USA TODAY NETWORK – FLORIDA is bein
Gov
Collier County commissioners unan- utive o
imously approved on Tuesday the re- outlaw
placement of 10 bridges east of Immo- COVID
kalee and Ave Maria for nearly $27 mil- This
lion. ployee
The source of funds for the bridge re- Village
placements is the one-cent infrastruc- Edwar
ture sales tax, which was approved by Counc
voters in 2018 “to enhance safety, mobil- and att
ity and hurricane preparedness,” ac- meetin
cording to an executive summary of the disinfe
project. ment.
In Collier, bridges are replaced when Este
they fail to meet certain standards, Mar- the vil
lene Messam, principal project manager memb
with the Transportation Engineering ess of
Division, wrote in an email Tuesday. A photo of a bridge on Immokalee Road taken during a Florida Department of and, b
Transportation inspection in April 2021 shows a wooden pylon that is
See BRIDGES, Page 16A completely broken. PROVIDED BY FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION See RE
May 14, 2021 11:05 am (GMT -4:00) Powered by TECNAVIA
 16A | FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2021 | NAPLES DAILY NEWS
Naples Daily News - 05/14/2021
Collier County Commissioner Burt L. Saunders speaks during a board meeting
Tuesday. OMAR RODRÍGUEZ ORTIZ/STAFF
Bridges
Continued from Page 3A
Five bridges on Immokalee Road,
four on Oil Well Road and one on Coun-
tyline Road were built between 1948 and
1953, according to the Florida Depart-
ment of Transportation.
“Bridges that are over 65-years-old
today were only designed with a 50-year
useful life,” Messam wrote.
All 10 bridges are older than 65 years.
Out of the 10 bridges, four are “func-
tionally obsolete” and one is “structur-
ally deficient,” according to FDOT.
Functionally obsolete means that the
bridge design is outdated with narrow
shoulders, narrow lanes or older traffic
barriers; structurally deficient means
that at least one component of the
bridge is in poor condition or worse, ac-
cording to FDOT’s website.
“The county believes that all the
bridges have passed their useful life
with empirical evidence of deteriorating
substructures,” Messam wrote.
FDOT sent last month two advisory-
letters to Collier County noting “signifi-
cant deficiencies” found during the re-
cent inspections of one functionally ob-
solete bridge and a the structurally defi-
cient bridge, both on Immokalee Road.
The advisory letter of the structurally
deficient bridge on Immokalee Road in-
cludes a photo of a wooden piling that is
completely broken.
“It is imperative that the existing
structure be monitored, and any neces-
sary remediation performed, until the
bridge is taken out of service,” the ad-
visory letter states.
In 2015, the county performed an
emergency repair of a bridge on Immo-
kalee Road to stabilize it, costing over
$200K, according to Messam.
“None of the bridges are unsafe to
use. They just need (to be) replaced
soon,” Messam wrote.
Collier County also takes into consid-
eration other factors like the “sufficien-
cy rating” before replacing a bridge, ac-
cording to Messam.
The sufficiency rating is a tool used to
help determine whether a bridge should
be repaired or just replaced, according
to FDOT.
“If the bridges are not deemed ‘func-
tionally obsolete’ by the FDOT but have
a sufficiency rating lower than 80 (out of
100), the county further investigates
whether to expend public funds to do
major rehabilitation or replacement,”
Messam wrote.
All 10 bridges have a sufficiency rat-
ing lower than 80, according to FDOT
data.
The bridges on Immokalee Road have
annual average daily traffic, or AADT,
between 3,200 and 4,635 vehicles, and
the ones on Oil Well Road have an AADT
of not more than 450 vehicles each, ac-
May 14, 2021 11:05 am (GMT -4:00)
Nominate Us Today
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Page : A16
In Loving Me
We remember those who made the ultima
those who are especially dear to us on M
For Memorial Day we will publish a special page devoted to
not forgotten. The names will be placed in a format that is s
the right. You can choose from a verse & an image to be incl
please see those options below.
1 Choose one of the following verses
The year will never wipe away those happy days
we spent together.
In our heart we keep the memories of the one
we loved so dear.
The smile you wore, the way you talked and a
thousand more things we remember.
In our heart your memory lingers touching our
lives forever.
Sweetly tender, fond and true, there’s never a
day that we do not think of you.
Your memory is dear today as the hour you
passed away.
cording to FDOT data. The bridge on
Countyline Road has an AADT of 110 ve-
In our home you are fondly remembered, sweet
memories cling to your name.
We miss you today as much as we did when
hicles.
God called you home.
The new wider, sturdier bridges on Life is very empty without you as we were so
Immokalee Road are designed to in- happy together.
clude wildlife shelves below them “to al- Your absence to us is a sorrow and your loss we
low animals to get across the road safe- will always regret.
ly,” Messam wrote. Your presence is ever near us; your love remains
Each new bridge will have one 12-foot with us yet.
travel lanes in each direction and 8-foot On earth you nobly did your best, may Jesus
grant you heavenly rest.
shoulders, Messam wrote. Fondly loved and deeply mourned; heart of my
A bridge on Immokalee Road will heart, I miss you so.
have different dimensions because of its There is a link death cannot sever, love and
urban setting, the closest one to the remembrance last forever.
town of Immokalee. It will include a 12- A star so bright your spirit has come to be and
foot center turn lane and 6-foot side- it’s there for us to see.
walks, Messam wrote. 2 Choose one of the following image option
County staff divided the bridges into
four construction bid packages “to ac- Civilian
celerate the construction schedule and M
minimize delays,” according to the exec-
utive summary.
The entire project is expected to be
completed in two-and-a-half years,
said Trinity Scott, Growth Management
Department deputy.
The first package, which concerns
two bridges along Immokalee Road, was
awarded to Lee county-based company
Thomas Marine Construction for more
than $4.4 million.
The second package, which concerns
four bridges on Immokalee Road and Please call 888-508-9353 or email classified@
Countyline Road, was awarded to Fort
or visit www.naplesnews.com/celeb
Myers-based company Zep Construc-
tion for almost $9.3 million. to place your ad today!
The third package, which concerns
four bridges on Oil Well Road, was also
HURRY! DEADLINE IS NOON MONDAY, M
awarded to Zep Construction for nearly The section will be published Ma
$13 million.
One additional functionally obsolete $15.00 per listing
bridge on Immokalee Road is left to ND-GCI0628433-01
award, bringing the number of bridge
replacements to 11 and the price tag to
HappyFather’
not more than $33 million, according to
the executive summary.
Commission Vice Chairman Bill
McDaniels, whose district includes Im-
mokalee and Ave Maria, said he was
very pleased with the project.
“Some of these bridges, if you don’t
know ladies and gentlemen, still have
wood pilings holding the road up,” Happy Father’s Day
McDaniel said.
Commissioner Burt Saunders asked
how these bridge replacements would
have been funded had taxpayers not
voted in favor of the one-cent sales tax.
Responding to Saunders’ question,
Collier County Manager Mark Isackson
said the county would have had to incur
debt, making the project more expen-
sive.
If there was a day for
Chairwoman Penny Taylor said the everything you have given
county cannot ignore the fact that many to me as a father, it would ONL
people continue to move to the county. be Father’s Day every day.
“We have to keep up with growth,”
Taylor said.
Contact Omar at omar.rodriguezor-
Thanks for always helping
me to remember what is
important in life…and toda
y 150
$
it is you! You’re the best!
tiz@naplesnews.com, and follow him
on Twitter as @Omar_fromPR. Support
S U N DAY
his work by subscribing to Naples Daily
News.
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