Q: Could you give me information regarding the start of Randall Boulevard widening? I had attended a meeting back in 2018. It was supposed to start already. —Sonia C., Naples

A: Design of the Randall Boulevard widening and Randall-Immokalee Road intersection project in Golden Gate Estates began in mid-2022, but construction is not expected to start for another two years.

A Nov. 6 public information meeting provided area residents and business owners with the opportunity to review project plans at the 30% design stage and provide input on proposed improvements for the infrastructure changes. The project includes widening Randall Boulevard from two to four lanes on a six-lane footprint for about three-quarters of a mile from Immokalee Road east to just past Eighth Street NE. Creating a two-lane, 44-foot median between the eastbound and westbound lanes will allow possible future expansion of Randall to six lanes. Also affected by the intersection changes will be a half-mile stretch of Immokalee Road from east of Wilson Boulevard North to the Publix-anchored Neighborhood Shoppes at Orangetree.

The project is designed to address traffic congestion on Randall Boulevard, a major east-west road in Golden Gate Estates that especially jams during morning and afternoon drive times.

“I think it’s operating at like a level of a service D road right now, so we’re basically trying to improve the road capacity,” said Dennis McCoy, a senior project manager for Collier County. “This is one project of many in the whole eastern Collier area: 16th Street, Oil Well [Road], Everglades [Boulevard and] the Vanderbilt Beach Road project that’s going on now and under construction.”

The proposed improvement will provide three left turn lanes from westbound Randall onto westbound Immokalee Road. The expanded road will have 11-foot travel lanes and 5- to 7-foot bike lanes. The north side of Randall will retain its existing 5-foot-wide sidewalk, and the south side will have a 10-foot-wide shared-use path.

Earlier plans to possibly elevate some lanes to fly over the intersection are not part of the latest project, said Tony Khawaja, chief engineer of traffic operations for the county.

“This is at grade,” said Khawaja, noting that a partial overpass could be considered there in the future. “It’s still on the table but it’s not planned now.”

A partial flyover could still be a possibility in a second phase of the Randall-Immokalee project, but it would be many years away, McCoy said. “When we get to the end of the design for this project, I think we’ll have a decision whether we’re going to do a flyover, not going to do it or what the option is going to be.”

The flyover decision will be important to how the nearby intersection of Immokalee Road and Wilson Boulevard will be designed when Wilson also is widened to four lanes, McCoy said. “We were basically at 30% [design], but we had to redesign that intersection,” he said.

Expect more than a year before signs of construction are seen for the Randall-Immokalee project.

“We are currently in design for 30%,” Khawaja said. “We’ll be going into the construction bid letting process in early ’26 and be in construction in ’26. We think that it’s going to take about two years to build, and that would take us to ’28.”

The work on Randall will be isolated to the south side of the roadway. Both lanes of the existing Randall Boulevard will remain as the two westbound lanes. Two new eastbound lanes and the wide median will be built south of the existing road.

Only right-of-way property on the south side of Randall will be acquired or purchased to allow for the widening project. Acquisition of right-of-way required for the project is expected to begin next spring.

A new access road will be constructed to connect Randall traffic to the Mobil gas station, Armando’s Supermarket, L’Appetito II Pizza & Deli and other small businesses on the southeast corner of the intersection.

The project also will upgrade the temporary traffic signal at Eighth Street NE to a permanent signal with a mast arm. The project extends a short distance east of Eighth to alter the traffic on Randall from two to four lanes.

The Vanderbilt Beach Road extension, which will add about 7 miles onto the route’s eastern end to 16th Street NE in the Estates, is targeted for completion next fall. The building of a bridge over the canal on 16th Street is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, said McCoy, who also is the project manager for that infrastructure addition to connect Randall Boulevard and Golden Gate Parkway similar to the bridge on Eighth Street NE.

“We are waiting on an Army Corps permit,” McCoy said. “We had to resubmit because of changes in the [environmental dredge and fill] 404 permitting process that happened last minute. All the plans were ready to go out to bid and we had to resubmit for the permit. We’re hoping to have the permit by the end of the year and then we can go out to bid at the end of this year. It will probably be sometime around mid-year [of 2025] when we start construction.”

The bridge is expected to be completed within 18 months of its construction starting.

Old Naples 7-Eleven reopens

Q: Do you know the status of the 7-Eleven on Third in Naples? —Kris J., Naples

A: Shuttered since Hurricane Ian’s storm surge flooded the Gulf Coast more than two years ago, the 7-Eleven store on Third Street South in downtown Naples is finally back in business. The 24/7 convenience store reopened Nov. 6 and planned its reopening celebration Nov. 15.

“Oh, thank heaven,” said Naples Vice Mayor Terry Hutchison, franchisee of the longtime store at 1353 Third St. S.

The interior of the nearly 60-year-old store was completely rebuilt with major changes, Hutchison said. “Completely new concepts along with a stunning layout and the best hot beverage program available anywhere,” he said. “We are also offering a unique fishing program for Gulf fishing enthusiasts. This includes bait and tackle.”

The store also features beach accessories, unique Naples souvenirs and a large selection of cold drinks, including nitro and cold brew coffee. Breakfast and lunch sandwiches, cut fruit, salads and more are made fresh daily, Hutchison said.

The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim.aten@naplespress.com.