The Lee Board of County Commissioners Tuesday approved contracts for paving miles of streets in Lehigh Acres, accepted a state grant to replace an essential weir on the Ten Mile Canal and approved purchase of 10.9 acres adjacent to the Buckingham Community Center for Conservation 20/20.
At their weekly meeting, commissioners approved contracts for resurfacing, milling and paving Lehigh Acres neighborhood streets as well as sidewalk repairs along Lee Boulevard.
The road resurfacing and paving projects include various road segments totaling more than 15 lane miles.
Contracts approved include:
- A low-bid contract with Pavement Maintenance LLC for $374,049 for resurfacing several roadway segments just west of Joel Boulevard in Lehigh Acres, including 6.1 total lane miles.
- A project authorization to a contract with Ajax Paving Industries of Florida LLC for $335,604 for resurfacing streets in south Lehigh Acres. Milling, leveling and resurfacing will be in multiple areas including near State Road 82 north of Bell Boulevard South and off Bentley Street East on both sides of Bell Boulevard South for 5.31 lane miles.
- A project authorization to a contract with Pavement Maintenance LLC for $308,089 for milling and paving Moore Avenue from Sentinela Boulevard north to East 8th Street and includes 4.22 lane miles.
- A low-bid contract to Scott Commercial Contracting LLC for concrete sidewalk repairs along Lee Boulevard from State Road 82 to Sunshine Boulevard in the amount of $658,906. Work will include removal and replacement of concrete sidewalk where there is cracking and deterioration, ADA mat installation, curb repair and replacement as well as additional fill and compaction where needed for stabilization.
Progress on the projects, visit Lee DOT’s Roadwatch Update at www.leegov.com/dot/roadwatchupdate.
Commissioners also accepted a grant agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to replace the weir structure located on the Ten Mile Canal, east of Page Field in Fort Myers.
The project will address critical flood resiliency needs identified in the Southern Lee County Flood Mitigation Plan (SLCFMP). The existing broad-crest weir is at the end of its lifecycle and requires frequent repairs.
The outdated structure will be replaced with a motorized, remote-operable weir. By adding automation, the stormwater within Ten Mile Canal can be managed proactively during storms. It allows the canal to be drawn down, increasing the available storage during storm events. Modeling shows that the infrastructure improvements can reduce peak water stages and recovery times in the Ten Mile Canal.
This project is funded through direct State Legislative appropriations. It has no impact on the Lee County General Fund and leverages state-level funding to address local infrastructure needs.
Work is expected to begin immediately with design and be completed beginning of 2027.
Finally, commissioners approved the purchase of about 10.9 acres at 5040 Buckingham Road in east Lee County for the Conservation 20/20 program.
The land is located along the Orange River west and south of the Buckingham Community Center. This is a Tier I acquisition parcel and the Conservation Land Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee (CLASAC) recommended approval of this purchase agreement by unanimous vote on Feb. 18. The purchase price is $630,000, with estimated closing costs of $25,000.
Lee County DOT will use a small piece of the land along Buckingham Road and immediately opposite from Cemetery Road for traffic signal improvements and will reimburse the 20/20 program for the proportionate share of land estimated at $2,000.
There are 31,757 acres within the Conservation 20/20 Land Acquisition Program. Learn more at www.leegov.com/parks/conservation2020.
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