"It's going to be two plus years, so they have two years to vacate the railway, and then we'll break ground, and it's probably going to be at least a year of construction." Bonita Springs Mayor Mike Gibson told WINK News this the day after voters approved the Bonita Estero Rail Trail bond.
When he said it, the land purchase was expected to close in October. Six weeks later, the outer deadline for closing is January 14, 2027. The "two plus years" in his estimate don't start until the purchase closes, so the date that will decide when BERT opens is now the closing date, not August 18.
The October date that turned into January
The vote itself was decisive. On August 18, 2026, 8,968 Bonita Springs voters approved the $35 million general obligation bond and 4,175 voted against it, about 68 percent in favor. Gibson called it "as close to a mandate as we're going to get." Gulfshore Business called the vote the final measure needed to fund a $60 million deal for 180 acres of Seminole Gulf Railway corridor, about 11.4 miles shared by Bonita Springs, the Village of Estero and Collier County.
Before the vote, Doug Hattaway of the Trust for Public Land, which brokered the sale, described the remaining work in terms any homeowner would recognize: appraisals, title work, a boundary survey and an environmental assessment. He said several of those steps were already done, the rest should wrap up by the end of September, and the goal was an October close.
On September 23, the Estero Village Council approved a first amendment to its purchase agreement with the Trust for Public Land. Under the original agreement, signed March 5, 2026, the inspection period ended September 29 and closing was due by October 23. The amendment extends inspections to October 29 and moves closing to "on or before January 14th 2027." The document gives the reason as more time to finish "logistical, environmental, financial, and other due diligence elements" for all the jurisdictions involved. It also says the railway agreed to the extension. The village's council recap gives the same reason, coordination and due diligence.
Two limits apply here. The amendment covers Estero's agreement, and matching actions by Bonita Springs and Collier County were not part of this research. Neither the amendment nor the recap reports any environmental problem. Based on the public record, the deal now has more time to close, and nothing on that record says it is in trouble.
Three clocks, run in order
The Mayor's quote describes a sequence. Each step can only start when the one before it has started or finished, so the January deadline affects everything after it.
- Closing. It is due on or before January 14, 2027, under Estero's amended agreement. Once the sale closes, the Trust for Public Land conveys the land to Bonita Springs, Estero and Collier County, and the governments can start designing and building the trail.
- Track removal, with design running alongside. Seminole Gulf Railway is responsible for pulling up and disposing of the old rails and has up to two years to do it. According to Friends of BERT, the tracks won't hold up study and design. That design phase is expected to take 18 to 24 months, with a task force from all three jurisdictions working with architects and engineers. Gibson said the city plans to use that same window for engineering so construction can start soon after the tracks are gone.
- Construction. Gibson's estimate is "at least a year." He said the trail could open in phases, but the city won't know where construction starts or how long each phase takes until design is further along.
Here is the math, using only the published windows. If the sale closes at the January 2027 deadline and the railway uses its full two years, the tracks would be gone in early 2029. A year or more of construction follows, which puts a finished section around 2030. That is our own calculation, not an official schedule. The railway could clear the corridor sooner, and no government has announced an opening date. Each week closing slips past October pushes the far end of the range out by about the same amount.
None of this changes the corridor today. WINK reported after the vote that construction would not begin right away and that due diligence still had to finish before the city goes ahead with the purchase. The tracks are still there, and the land is still private while the sale goes through. It isn't a public path yet.
What arrives before the trail does
The trail is years away, but the bond comes sooner. The bond is repaid through property taxes over 30 years. Before the vote, city staff estimated the cost at $4.75 a month, or $57 a year, for a home of average value. Gibson said homeowners could see it on their tax bills as early as next year, depending on when the city issues the bonds. He also said the bond is for a single purpose. "We can only spend it on this," he said, and if the project doesn't go forward, the money gets paid back.
So for a few years, Bonita homeowners may be paying for a corridor they can't use yet. That was the plan all along. The extension makes the gap a little longer.
The bond is also larger than Bonita's share of the purchase. Bonita is paying $28.6 million for its 5.8 miles. Estero is paying $19.8 million for 4.1 miles, and Collier $11.6 million for 1.5 miles. Hattaway said the referendum fills the last gap in acquisition funding and provides "some construction funding." No public breakdown of the remaining money has been published so far. Gulfshore Business reported that the rest of design and construction is expected to be paid for with private donations and federal, state and local money.
Where the corridor meets the downtown you already use
Bonita's 5.8 miles are the longest share of the three. The Friends of BERT map labels these stops along the Bonita section:
- Wonder Gardens
- Riverside Park
- Depot Park
- West Terry and East Terry
- Bonita Beach Road
- Imperial Parkway
North of the city line, the route passes Coconut Point, Estero Community Park and the Estero River before ending at Estero Parkway. Design goals listed by Friends of BERT include safe crossings at major roads, direct connections to parks and to places like Coconut Point, room for both walkers and fast cyclists, and possible pocket parks, shaded rest stops, water stations and lighting for evening use.
Riverside Park appears twice in this story. A concept rendering from Friends of BERT and the Trust for Public Land shows the park expanded with a downtown trailhead, and Gulfshore Business notes it is a concept, not an approved design. Separately, the city has been running phase-two construction at Riverside Park. Its project schedule lists April through November 2026, with completion expected in winter 2026. If that holds, the finished park will reopen well before the trail design gets to the question of a trailhead there.
Residents near the corridor will be able to weigh in on where people get on and off the trail. Architect and BERT board member Nathalie White told WINK that design has to balance privacy and access for the neighborhoods along the route, and that community input will play a major role in where access points go. Downtown residents Brad and Bridget Maybank, who supported the measure, told Gulfshore Business they hope the trail will help local businesses, "especially with parking the way it is sometimes." According to the Trust for Public Land, about 70,000 residents live within a 10-minute walk or bike ride of the corridor.
The BERT date that is already set this fall
While the closing date has moved, one date hasn't. The 4th Annual Ride for BERT presented by London Bay is Sunday, November 15, 2026, from 8 to 11 a.m., starting at 8001 Plaza del Lago Drive in Estero. There are 15-mile and 30-mile routes, and proceeds go to BERT. Friends of BERT was founded in 2022, now has about 4,500 members according to president Deb Orton. The group shares project updates through a monthly newsletter.
BERT will also be part of a much bigger network. It links to Lee County's SUN Trail network, Collier's Paradise Coast Trail and the Florida Gulf Coast Trail, which runs more than 400 miles from the Tampa–St. Petersburg area to Naples and is about half finished. For Bonita, the next date to watch is January 14, 2027, when the sale has to close. The two-year track removal and the 18 to 24 months of design can't start until it does.
At The Fowler Team, we're following each BERT milestone, from the closing deadline to the first design meetings. If you live along the corridor and want to know how the plans for Depot Park, Riverside Park or the Terry Street crossings could affect your street, reach out and we'll share what we're learning. Discover Your SWFL Home.
