Alligator Alley
About the Project
This $12 million dollar project for the FDOT was designed by the Cotleur & Hearing transportation team and is located on Alligator Alley (I-75) at Mile Marker 35. The project includes a living 3-acre pond exhibit with wetlands and an arboretum area that will showcase the ecosystems of the Florida Everglades and it’s being constructed in what was a truck parking lot.
The project features include boardwalks that traverse the wetland and climb up to a 40’ lookout tower that will provide panoramic views of the site, as well as gazebos, shade structures, pavilions, plazas with site furniture, and educational signs that identify the plants and provide environmental information about the flora and fauna of the Everglades. There is also a 15’ alligator sculpture that will provide photo opportunities, along with passive recreational areas and a dog park.
The wetland was designed with a circulation system that draws water from the adjacent Everglades to emulate the natural sheet flow of this ecosystem. The landscape design includes 13 aquatic species, 68 upland and transitional species, and over 31,000 total plants that will show off this unique and incredible habitat. Also included are native limestone caprock boulders that are strategically placed to provide maintenance access and air plants and butterfly orchids in the trees. The project will become a destination site for environmental groups, schools, motorists looking for a break, and anyone who wants to take the time to learn about the Everglades ecosystem.
The overall project will be completed in two phases with the hardscape items currently under construction and scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2023 and the landscape phase scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2024.