Collier County high school project will expand Veterans Memorial Blvd

A growing Southwest Florida community is in need of a new school. With that new school will come some road changes.

Collier County showed off a plan for a new road Wednesday that will lead to the new “GGG” high school.

The project would extend Veterans Memorial Boulevard from Livingston Road to the new high school, which is a placeholder name for the future school.

“Everyone wants to be where it’s nice,” Jim Shelly said.

“As Collier County grows and the families grow in the area, more children, more high schools,” said Connie Deane, the Collier County community liaison.

The new high school is expected to hold more than 2,000 students.

But there is no road to get to where it will go, and that’s where the expansion of Veterans Memorial Blvd. comes into play.

“The road needs to be built to get access to the high school,” Deane said.

Extending Veterans Memorial Blvd. will be phase one of the project. There will be four lanes — two on each side, bike lanes and sidewalks.

Kevin Nobis says he’s excited for the new school to open in August of 2023.

“It’s fantastic. My daughter is going to be a freshman when they open, so that she will be the first graduating class, so we’re excited about that,” Nobis said.

Shelly, who lives nearby, has some concerns.

“It is depressing to see a major four-lane road being built in our backyard, where, currently, there is a wooded reserve,” Shelly said. “There are a lot of animals there. They will be phased out, and it’s going to be a big change in all of our lives.”

The project is set to begin within the next few weeks.

Phase two of the project will extend the roadway to Old 41, so drivers will have another route to take. That project is expected to begin late in 2022.