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Study Purpose

The Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge (“the Jolley Bridge”) on State Road 951 spans the Marco River between the City of Marco Island and unincorporated Collier County, Florida.  It is one of two access points to Marco Island, carrying most of the demand between Marco Island and the mainland. The other bridge, known as the Goodland Bridge carries less than 10 percent of the trips to and from Marco Island, as it adds distance, time, and cost to trips to the more developed areas of Southwest Florida compared to the Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge. 

Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge Location Map

The expansion of the two-lane Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge to four lanes has been identified as a need in Collier County’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) for several years. Several attempts at obtaining funding for the expansion have failed, which has led to the discussion of alternative funding sources such as tolls.  In 2005, a loan application was submitted through the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) Toll Facilities Revolving Trust Fund for a toll feasibility study for the Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge and the preliminary design of a toll plaza on the north side of the bridge if tolls are determined to be feasible.  
This study will review the need for a new four-lane bridge, collect and analyze data related to the existing and anticipated use of the bridge, consider a variety of funding sources, and evaluate the feasibility of tolling as a finance mechanism. 

Project Description

The Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge was built in 1969 as a two-lane connection from Marco Island to the Collier County mainland. The bridge is part of the State Road/County Road 951 corridor and provides the only direct link between Marco Island and Interstate 75.  With the exception of the Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge, SR/CR 951 is a multi-lane corridor between Golden Gate Boulevard and the southern tip of Marco Island, a distance of approximately 20 miles.
FDOT has designed an improvement to the Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge that includes constructing a new 2-lane span first, followed by removal of the existing Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge, and finally constructing a second 2-lane span.  Prior to the completion of the second new bridge span, the first newly constructed span would serve both directions of traffic. Once the second span was completed, each 2-lane span would serve one direction of travel.