Officials: No current plan to widen Bonita Beach Road; MPO studying north–south capacity

At a Bonita Springs City town hall, county and city officials told residents that the county does not have plans to widen Bonita Beach Road and that agencies are focusing on access management, interchange improvements and a feasibility study for additional north–south capacity.

County staff said, “The county does not currently have plans to widen Bonita Beach Road,” and described ongoing coordination with the Florida Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) on interchange work and access management to reduce left turns from side streets.

The discussion centered on two sets of actions residents identified as drivers of congestion: interchange and ramp reconfiguration along Interstate 75 and local access-management measures. County staff said improvements at the I‑75 interchange — including new ramp configurations and signal work tied to FDOT’s Moving Florida Forward program — are expected to be critical to improving traffic flow on Bonita Beach Road. Staff noted a possible design similar to a diverging‑diamond interchange, but said final plans must be confirmed with FDOT.

The MPO is performing a feasibility study on adding north–south capacity between Bonita and Corkscrew Road. County staff described that study as a preliminary analysis with a roughly $90,000 study budget and emphasized that no construction project is currently in the county’s long‑range, financially feasible 30‑year plan. “Nothing is in the long range plan right now,” county staff said.

City-level work on a smaller project was discussed as well. Matt Feeney, public works director and assistant city manager for the City of Bonita Springs, said, “We’re at 90% plans to add a southbound turn lane on Terry Street to southbound Imperial Parkway. The project is in permitting and we are waiting on a Army Corps permit which can take time, but probably in the next 2 years that’ll be constructed.” Feeney said the city is awaiting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit before proceeding to construction.

Speakers also described practical constraints that limit how quickly larger roadway footprints can be increased. Staff explained agencies must demonstrate an immediate need to acquire additional right of way and that buying extra land “for five years from now” is constrained by permitting, design and property acquisition rules. County staff said they meet with FDOT weekly and work with the county’s DOT operations center to adjust signals and operations as problems arise.

Officials encouraged residents to follow up directly with DOT staff and said they would check FDOT’s interchange plans and communicate updates to the city council and the public. No formal actions or votes were taken during the town‑hall discussion; the session was informational and intended to collect questions and explain planning steps.