Bonita Estero Rail Trail<\/a>, or BERT, and connect it to larger regional trail systems.<\/p>\nThe environmental study, conducted by S&S Environmental Consultants, tested 180 soil samples at 60 locations along the 11.4-mile corridor.<\/p>\n
Soil was tested for arsenic, lead, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and total recoverable petroleum hydrocarbons.<\/p>\n
The study found elevated levels of arsenic and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons at several locations across the corridor in Estero, Bonita Springs and Collier County.<\/p>\n
Environmental experts said the concentrations are consistent with those found along other rail-to-trail conversion sites, beside roadways, at commercial developments in cities and in agricultural areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see these [concentrations] all the time,\u201d said Guri Zeigerman of Apex Companies, a firm hired by the Village of Estero to independently review S&S\u2019s findings. \u201cThe levels in these concentrations are very typical and things that are pretty easily managed through engineering controls.\u201d<\/p>\n
The environmental study used industry-standard soil testing to search for contaminants that could exist because of the land\u2019s use as an industrial rail corridor for close to 100 years, beginning in the 1920s, said Richard Stephens, partner and principal scientist for S&S.<\/p>\n
![\"Rail](\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe\/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/69e11c1247a13.image.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
An inactive stretch of Seminole Gulf Railway tracks in Bonita Springs is part of the 11.4-mile corridor planned for conversion into the Bonita Estero Rail Trail. The $60 million acquisition, supported in part by a voter-approved Bonita Springs bond, cleared a key environmental review and is expected to close by Jan. 14, 2027.<\/p>\n
Evan Williams<\/p>\n
Stephens presented the findings at the Oct. 28 Village Council meeting. The study found arsenic levels exceeded study limits along the rail line north of Corkscrew Road and just east of Coconut Point Mall.<\/p>\n
Stephens said the levels are similar to concentrations found at other rail-to-trail conversion sites in the U.S., including the Legacy Trail in Sarasota, a project that has often been compared to BERT.<\/p>\n
He added that arsenic may occur naturally in concentrations that can exceed regulatory standards and has been widely used as an herbicide in the agricultural industry.<\/p>\n
The arsenic found along the BERT corridor may be managed through solutions used for Sarasota\u2019s Legacy Trail, including capping trailheads with concrete and blending contaminated soil along the trail\u2019s shoulder with clean soil.<\/p>\n
The techniques are also often used when redeveloping commercial properties in cities, Stephens added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something that has been done a lot in the state of Florida and throughout the United States,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The studies have also been submitted to state agencies, which may provide their own recommendations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI for one just want to say that I feel very comfortable with the report\u2026\u201d Estero Vice Mayor George Zalucki said.<\/p>\n
Mayor Joanne Ribble agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI too feel comfortable that we can successfully convert this rail into a beautiful trail line,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Council member Jon McLain, the Estero Council\u2019s liaison for sale negotiations, expressed relief about the decision.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/6ae38c02cb45f.image.png\")
<\/p>\n
Estero Village Council member Jon McLain speaks during the council\u2019s Oct. 28 meeting on the proposed Bonita Estero Rail Trail. McLain, who served as the council\u2019s liaison for sale negotiations, expressed relief after officials voted to move forward with the $60 million rail corridor acquisition, which is expected to close in January.<\/p>\n
Estero government<\/p>\n
Asked if he would like to say a few words about the vote, McLain said, \u201cPhew. It\u2019s been a long journey. Maybe that\u2019s not a word but it\u2019s sure an emotion. And this is, I think, monumental.\u201d<\/p>\n
McLain and other supporters have championed BERT as an economic boon<\/a> and amenity for area residents.<\/p>\n\u201c\u2026[BERT] is going to be meaningful to all of our citizens that will use this, both from a health standpoint, from a safety standpoint [and] getting people off the roads as our population continues to grow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An unused Seminole Gulf Railway bridge is part of the 11.4-mile rail corridor that Bonita Springs, Estero and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441941,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[172385,77368,209,211,210,172384,14158,172383],"class_list":["post-441940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-arsenic-contamination","tag-bonita-estero-rail-trail","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-environmental-study","tag-land-acquisition","tag-rail-corridor-sale"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/6a761da3c838c.image.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/6ae38c06d4e62.image.png\")
<\/p>\n