Construction on Collier County diverging diamond begins in March

Construction on Southwest Florida’s next diverging diamond interchange is set to begin in March. The region has three in the works.

Lee County already got its first DDI on Colonial Boulevard and has another planned for Daniels Parkway, but the interchange at Pine Ridge Road and I-75 will be the first for Collier County.

The Florida Department of Transportation hosted a public meeting on Tuesday afternoon to answer any questions the community may have about the Pine Ridge Road interchange.

The meeting was from 4 to 6 p.m. at the North Collier Regional Park exhibit hall. The open-house style meeting gave people the opportunity to speak with FDOT engineers first-hand, voice their concerns and learn about the new interchange.

WINK News reporter Amy Galo spoke with Juan Carrillo, FDOT senior construction project manager, before the meeting. 

“We’re going to be presenting with some renderings of what the final configuration of the project is going to look like,” explained Carrillo. “We’ll have some videos for the public to see, how to maneuver through the DDI once it’s complete.”

The $27.5 million diverging diamond interchange project at the intersection of Pine Ridge Road and I-75 in Naples is expected to help traffic flow.

“It’s going to eliminate some conflict points,” said Carrillo, “which is going to make the intersection safer for the traveling public.”

However, it’s about to get a bit harder before it gets any easier.

“We’ll have some nighttime lane closures,” explained Carrillo. “We’ll have some detours because we have to work on the ramps, but all these detours are going to be throughout the night.”

Rest assured, Carrillo told WINK, this shouldn’t take anywhere near as long as the Colonial Boulevard diamond interchange in Fort Myers, which ran into delays with COVID-19 and hurricanes Ian, Helene and Milton. That project has been under construction for over four years.

• RELATED: Colonial and I-75 diverging diamond to be completed by spring

“We’re expecting to be this one to be shorter,” said Carrillo, “and those were unexpected delays. It’s Mother Nature. We don’t control that.”

The Pine Ridge Road project is split into three phases, with phase one kicking off in March. It focuses on mobilization, utility coordination, and partial construction of ramps, signals and signage.

Phase two, which consists of constructing pavement along Pine Ridge Road and finishing construction of the ramps, is projected to start in early to mid-2026.

The final stage should begin in mid-to-late 2026 when all the finishing touches will be put on the DDI, and it will ultimately be opened for use.

If everything goes according to plan, the new interchange is estimated to be completed by mid-2027, about two and a half years from now.

“There’s signage on the ground and signs overhead, so it’s easy to maneuver,” explained Carrillo when WINK asked about concerns from the public. “I know some people don’t like change, but we need to adapt to those changes, especially if it helps with the safety of the public.”

To watch educational videos or learn more about the Pine Ridge Road/I-75 interchange project, click here.