Collier officials working on road expansion plans to account for growing population

Collier County is expecting more than 40,000 people to move to the area over the next 10 years. And now they’re trying to make sure everyone can easily get around once that happens.

Miladys Gonzalez says she’s waited the past 18 years for the county to expand the road in front of her house and bring more neighbors to Golden Gate Estates.

“Ever since I moved here, I had the understanding that this here belongs to them and we were going to have a road here,” Gonzalez said.

To handle the influx of people expected to arrive in the area, the county is unveiling four different plans to expand the roads.

“It will help alleviate traffic in this area more towards evacuations and just being able to drive around it’s very hard on a two lane road,” said neighbor Theresa Blank.

The plan is to connect Oil Well Road to Randall Boulevard and expand Oil Well Road to either four or six lanes. They’re also planning on expanding lanes on Everglades Boulevard from 27th Avenue NE to 33rd Avenue NE.

Gonzalez says she’s ready for more people.

“This area can definitely fit a lot of people, still there’s a lot of construction going on,” she said.

But other neighbors say the time isn’t quite right.

“It’s secluded and we like to have room around us and I don’t necessarily want to see a lot of lights and noise and a lot of what comes with a lot more people,” Blank said.

Officials say they are expecting to make a decision based on public feedback and submit a proposal to the city council by the end of the year.