Collier Boulevard is a nearly north–south divided highway that extends from the south end of

Marco Island Marco may refer to: People Given name * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor Surname * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Jindřich Marco (1921–2000), Czechoslovak photographer and numismat ...

through central Collier County to CR 846 (Immokalee Road) north of

Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by ...

. State-maintained segments of Collier Boulevard are designated as State Road 951 (SR 951), which previously existed over the entire route from CR 92 on Marco Island to CR 846. County-maintained segments are County Road 951 (CR 951), which were relinquished from state control in the 1980s. Due to a numbering anomaly within the

Florida Department of Transportation The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the U.S. state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the power ...

’s numbering system of State Roads, SR 951 is the only SR 9xx highway that is not in

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous coun ...

: Krome Avenue ( SR 997) lies to the east; the similarly numbered SR 953 (LeJeune Road) is another to the east of SR 997.

Route description

Collier Boulevard begins as a four-lane city road on

near Caxambas Pass, and it runs north along the west side of Marco Island. Collier Boulevard becomes a state road at the south end of the S.S. Jolley Bridge with the designation SR 951. After crossing the S.S. Jolley Bridge, SR 951 passes through marshland and woodland as it heads north on the mainland. It intersects CR 952 (Capri Boulevard), the main road to Isles of Capri and Mainsail Drive, which provides access to Marco Island Airport. Further north, the road passes by some newer housing and country club developments and expands to six lanes before it intersects with

US 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part i ...

(

Tamiami Trail The Tamiami Trail () is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90). The north� ...

). At US 41, Collier Boulevard becomes CR 951 and continues north. It passes to the east of

East Naples East Naples is an unincorporated community and the county seat of Collier County, Florida, United States. East Naples has been the county seat since 1962, when the Collier County Courthouse was moved from Everglades (see Old Collier County Courth ...

and Lely before coming to an intersection with SR 84 (Davis Boulevard). At SR 84, Collier Boulevard briefly switches back to state maintenance (SR 951) as it passes through an interchange with

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

(Alligator Alley). Just north of I-75, Collier Boulevard again switches to county control (CR 951) and it is reduced to four lanes. After passing just east of the community of

, Collier Boulevard continues north another six miles before coming to its northern terminus at CR 846 (Immokalee Road) just west of Orangetree.

History

The first segment of Collier Boulevard (known then as Isles of Capri Road) south of U.S. Route 41 (

) was built around 1955 during the development of the Isles of Capri. The Isles of Capri Road would be designated SR 951. This segment was built upon the abandoned rail bed of the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

's Marco Island branch (which existed from 1927 to 1944) and would replace an earlier road to the area that was built around 1912. The original road, known as Old Marco Road, ran just to the west of SR 951 and historically provided access to a ferry service to

, which launched from present-day Isles of Capri. The ferry service was discontinued in 1938 when the original Goodland Bridge was built further east and the road's importance diminished. Present-day Capri Boulevard ( CR 952) east to its connection with the Old Marco Road at Antigua street, was also built at this time and was designated as the southern end of SR 951. A small section of Old Marco Road is still in service at the north end and is now Barefoot Williams Road. The northern section of Collier Boulevard from present-day SR 84 to Immokalee Road (CR 846) was built by 1960. It was built as part of a northern extension of SR 858 (present-day Radio Road). By 1963, SR 951 was extended north from US 41 to connect with SR 858. At this point, SR 951 became a discontinuous route at SR 858, with SR 951 resuming at SR 858 further east heading north along present-day Airport-Pulling Road, Golden Gate Parkway, and Goodlette-Frank Road. The road was extended south from Isles of Capri to

in 1969 when the Marco River Bridge (known today as the S.S. Jolley Bridge) was built. The route south across the bridge was designated SR 951B when it opened. Many state roads in Collier County were re-designated on January 5, 1976. SR 951 was then designated as a secondary state road from Marco Island (at State Road 92) northward along the former SR 858 to an intersection with the then- State Road 846 (now County Road 846). The discontinuous segment of SR 951 received different designations. The state road designation of the northernmost of SR 951 were phased out in the 1980s as they were relinquished to county control. The southern section of the road was still known as Isles of Capri Road until 2000, when the full road from Marco Island to Immokalee Road was officially named Collier Boulevard. State Road 951 formerly extended to the south, terminating at County Road 92 (San Marco Road) in Marco Island. This section was turned over to the city of Marco Island on November 29, 2004.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML
SR 951 @ AARoads.com

951 Year 951 (Roman numerals, CMLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Berengar II of Italy seizes Liguria, with help from the feudal lord Oberto I. He reorganizes the territorie ...