Head east on Pine Ridge Road toward I-75 this week and you'll still see cones, sod waiting to be laid, and new overhead sign structures. On two weekends this fall, the road under the interstate closed completely. It all looks like an interchange still being built. In fact, the I-75 interchange at Exit 107 has carried traffic in its final layout since the last day of May.
What's left at the interstate is finishing work. The change that will alter how drivers turn on and off Livingston Road sits west of I-75, at the Pine Ridge and Livingston intersection. Collier County has designed a jughandle for that corner, and construction hasn't begun.
The Diamond Opened Ahead of Its Own Schedule
The Florida Department of Transportation's project page for the I-75 at Pine Ridge Road interchange describes a $27.5 million reconstruction. It turns Exit 107 into a diverging diamond, rebuilds the ramps, adds new signals at the ramps, and creates pedestrian and bicycle routes through the interchange. It is Collier County's first diverging diamond, as the Naples Daily News noted in September.
At the February 2025 pre-construction session, held at North Collier Regional Park, FDOT laid out three phases. The diamond itself was set to open in Phase III, which was planned for mid-to-late 2026. It opened sooner than that. FDOT scheduled the switch for a weekend closure from Friday, May 29, to Monday, June 1, at 6 a.m. WINK News reported that the department opened it about 30 hours early, and it was put to use right away as a detour around a deadly crash on I-75. Florida Weekly put the opening on Sunday, May 31.
The design shifts drivers to the opposite side of the road for a short stretch. That lets them turn left onto the I-75 ramps without crossing oncoming traffic. In WINK's opening-day coverage, one driver called it "a little confusing." A passenger said the crossover felt alarming at first and then turned out to be "easy peasy" once he was through it.
What the Fall Closures Were Actually For
The weekend closures since then have made the interchange look less finished than it is. FDOT stated it plainly when the diamond opened: "This traffic shift marks the completion of the DDI configuration, not final completion of the project."
Each closure since has gone toward finishing that layout:
- Sept. 25 to Sept. 28: Pine Ridge closed fully under I-75 so crews could install overhead structures. It was the second straight weekend with a full closure, according to the Naples Daily News.
- Oct. 30 to Nov. 1: Another full closure was scheduled to install overhead structures and signage, according to FDOT's District One RoadWatch report dated Oct. 29.
- The current work list: permanent signals, signal timing, sign placement, wrong-way vehicle detection, and sod. FDOT says to expect occasional nighttime lane closures on Pine Ridge from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and ramp closures from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The opening announcement also listed sidewalks, barrier walls, pond excavation, lighting, paving and striping still to come. FDOT expects final completion in mid-2027.
During the full closures, FDOT sent northbound I-75 drivers bound for westbound Pine Ridge off at Golden Gate Parkway, then north on Livingston Road and back to Pine Ridge. When the interchange closes, the detour runs past the intersection the county plans to rebuild next.
The Corner That Will Change How You Turn
Collier County's Pine Ridge Road Corridor Improvements Project covers Pine Ridge Road from Livingston Road to Lawson Way. Its centerpiece is a jughandle at Pine Ridge and Livingston. The diamond at I-75 changed the drive through one short stretch. The jughandle changes the turns themselves. All left turns from Livingston and the eastbound right turn from Pine Ridge come out of the main intersection and move onto a separate loop. The goal, in the county's words, is more signal "green" time for Pine Ridge Road traffic.
The county's 60 percent design handout explains how each movement would work:
| Your movement | Under the 60 percent design |
|---|---|
| Northbound Livingston, turning left onto Pine Ridge | Turn at the jughandle, about 600 feet south of Pine Ridge |
| Southbound Livingston, turning left onto Pine Ridge | Stay in the right lane, cross Pine Ridge, loop through the jughandle, then turn right onto Pine Ridge |
| Eastbound Pine Ridge, turning right onto Livingston | Turn at the jughandle, about 420 feet west of Livingston |
| Pine Ridge through traffic, Pine Ridge left turns, westbound right turns | No change |
| Livingston through traffic and right turns | No change |
The southbound row affects the most drivers north of Pine Ridge. Anyone coming down Livingston to head east toward the interstate would no longer turn left at the light. They would go straight across Pine Ridge and come back through the loop. Today that's a single left turn. Under the design, it becomes a crossing followed by a right turn.
The project includes more than the jughandle:
- A second left-turn lane from Kramer Drive onto Pine Ridge
- A Livingston Road left-turn lane into Meridian Plaza
- Longer turn lanes
- A sidewalk connection from Whippoorwill Lane to Lawson Way
- Resurfacing of Pine Ridge Road, Livingston Road, Kramer Drive and Whippoorwill Lane within the project limits
Why Summer 2027 Is the Date to Remember
The county presented the 60 percent plans at a public meeting on June 18, 2026. The handout says the design should be finished by the end of this year, with construction "potentially commencing in the summer of 2027 for a duration of approximately 18 months."
The state's last finishing work at I-75 is due in mid-2027, and the county's jughandle work west of the interchange could begin around the same time. If both schedules hold, crews leaving the interchange would be followed closely by crews arriving at Livingston, and that intersection would stay under construction for about a year and a half.
For now, the corner works the way it always has. This season's drive is the diamond in its final pattern, with nighttime lane closures as FDOT finishes signals and signs. The bigger change for drivers turning on and off Livingston comes after the 2027 season begins winding down.
Both agencies post updates. FDOT's project page has a sign-up for construction emails and lists Josephine Mak as construction project manager. The county's project listing, with the full design exhibits for both Pine Ridge and Livingston, is on Collier County's Transportation Engineering Projects page. Dennis McCoy is the project manager there.
Road work at your corner affects your daily drive, and it can also affect how a home near it is shown and timed for sale. If you're planning around a move during these projects, The Whitcomb Group follows the Pine Ridge and Livingston corridor closely and is glad to talk through your timing. Contact Us.
