Q: At the intersection between Falling Waters and Countryside developments, crews have been working and reworking this area which is just before the Santa Barbara Boulevard and Davis Boulevard intersection. First, what is being done? Second, when will the median be landscaped? The current landscaping on Davis ends at the entrance to Glen Eagle. The stretch of Davis from that intersection to Santa Barbara looks terrible.
- Marlene Sherman, Naples
A: The work you mention is part of Collier County’s Santa Barbara Boulevard/Radio Road Improvement Project, intended to widen the 5.25-mile section of Santa Barbara from Davis Boulevard to Golden Gate Parkway from four to six lanes, and widen Radio Road from Santa Barbara to Davis Boulevard from two to four lanes. The project includes an area at the end of Santa Barbara just east and west on Davis Boulevard as well as work on other adjacent east/west roadways to make the Santa Barbara/Davis intersection function more effectively, according to Connie Deane, community liaison with the county’s Transportation Services Division.
"In addition, the project includes drainage improvements and utility relocations on the south side of Davis Boulevard as well as the reconstruction of the intersection with Santa Barbara Boulevard to accommodate the future extension of Santa Barbara Boulevard to the south," Deane said.
The project, which began construction in February 2007, is planned to be completed next summer. The additional county project to extend Santa Barbara Boulevard from Davis Boulevard to Rattlesnake Hammock Road is expected to be let to bid this summer with construction expected to begin this fall for a projected spring 2010 completion date, the county reports.
As for landscaping these medians, you will have to wait a while longer to see more than dirt and Bob's Barricades. That stretch of Santa Barbara is listed in the county's Landscape Beautification Master Plan, but will not be scheduled for installation until after the road widening is completed. Much the same as other county landscaping plans, this cosmetic work remains in budgetary limbo.
"Because of budget reductions, the installation is not currently budgeted or programmed at this time," Deane said. "As for any future landscape plans for Davis Boulevard in the vicinity of Glen Eagle/County Barn Road and further east, nothing is currently programmed."
A tighter county budget because of Florida Legislature action last year and a property tax referendum this year also affects upkeep of landscaped medians. The county crews' 8-week to 10-week cycle to mow grass medians and roadside areas in each area could be drawn out, Deane said.
"With budget cutbacks in place as well as a hiring freeze, this cycle has been lengthened and could lengthen even further," she said. "If, however, drivers notice at any time that vegetation growth restricts their ability to see around vegetation when they are trying to access a main road from a side road, they should contact the Road Maintenance Department at 252-8924, and that area will be made a priority."
In addition to the work previously mentioned, the Santa Barbara road project includes the construction of sidewalks and on-street bike lanes on both sides of the roadway, the installation of streetlights, the widening of two bridges, and drainage improvements. The project also will reconstruct the four-lane portion of Santa Barbara from Golden Gate Parkway to Copper Leaf Lane in a six-lane footprint to allow widening from the median in the future with less disruption to motorists. Some intersection improvements also will be made at the Pine Ridge Road intersection, Deane said.