The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to award $15 million in federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds to reconstruct Main Street on San Carlos Island. The project includes the county purchasing a piece of property and the reconstruction of Main Street and its drainage system.
Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused significant flooding on San Carlos Island and demonstrated deficiencies in the existing stormwater drainage system along Main Street. Existing outfalls do not provide sufficient drainage capacity to efficiently carry stormwater from the roadway following major storms. Flooding along Main Street affects residents and businesses, limits access to and from the island, and can impede evacuation and emergency response activities.
On September 1st the board voted to purchase property at 1100 Main St. The property will support the improvement project by providing a location for a new outfall serving the Main Street drainage system.
The project also will include drainage improvements such as drainage pipes, catch basins, roadside swales, evaluation and potential upsizing of existing outfalls to improve drainage.
Roadway improvements will include roadbed reconstruction, milling and resurfacing, and replacement of deteriorated sidewalks.
The project meets the CDBG-DR National Objective of Low- and Moderate-Income Area Benefit, as more than 70 percent of residents within the project area are low- and moderate-income. The proposed improvements will benefit the service area population by improving drainage, transportation safety and reliability, access and mobility, and resilience to future storm events.
Approval will provide funding for parcel acquisition and eligible design and construction costs and authorize the Lee County Department of Transportation to proceed with the project in accordance with applicable CDBG-DR and environmental requirements. The next step in the project is to begin the procurement process for engineering and design.