Further Improvements to Oil Well Rd. Begin This Week
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Published on Tuesday, 06 December 2011 17:59
Collier County announced that construction will begin this week that will significantly upgrade the three-mile portion of Oil Well Rd. that has not been slated for widening to either four or six lanes. The construction will mean some delays as portions of the road are reduced to one lane at times until the project is completed in the spring of 2012.
The stretch of Oil Well Rd. between Everglades Boulevard and Oil Well Grade Rd. will remain as two lanes, but it will be significantly wider and safer with wider lanes and paved shoulders. Each lane will be widened to 12 feet, from the current 10 feet, and a three-foot paved shoulder will be added to the north side of the road and a five-foot paved shoulder will be on the south side.
The upgrades to the middle section are planned to be substantially complete in the spring of 2012 with final completion in the summer. The final asphalt and pavement markings are being coordinated to be completed when the final layer of asphalt and pavement markings are scheduled for the other two segments of Oil Well Road previously under construction.
Construction activities requiring lane closures are planned for daytime hours between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Traffic will be reduced from two lanes to one lane only, in short segments, over the next five months to complete the improvement project. Additional lane closures will be required later when the final asphalt and pavement markings are scheduled.
The county's Growth Management Division Administrator, Norman Feder, said the project is much needed.
"This Oil Well Road Safety Improvement Project is being coordinated with the added lanes being constructed on Oil Well Road from Immokalee Road to Everglades Boulevard where three schools are located, as well as with the section from Oil Well Grade Road to Ave Maria Boulevard leading to Ave Maria University. All the construction activities are scheduled to be completed at approximately the same time allowing for a safer roadway for the traveling public," he said.
The $1.7 million safety improvement project was approved by Collier County commissioners in late September.
