The Lee County body that handles transportation planning wants to repurpose a rail line to bring travelers from Fort Myers to North Naples.

The line is currently used to move freight.

The state wants to know Southwest Floridians support the project before considering it.

The CSX/Seminole Gulf Corridor runs north/south through areas like downtown Fort Myers and Bonita Springs.

That’s one reason why planner Bill Spikowski thinks it would be good for public transportation.

Spikowski said there is an increasing need for a project like this. He said Florida’s population is growing and we can’t widen most roads.

“So, you have this increasing population influx and the inability to keep up with that growth through building roads. As that ends, and congestion gets worse, that’s when public transportation goes from ‘Oh, we have buses here in Lee County?’ to ‘Oh, thank goodness we have buses.’”

The Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization commissioned a 2013 study for the project. Spikowski’s firm helped prepare it.

The study said revamping the rail line could cost anywhere from $10 to $120 million per mile. That depends on what option they choose to build.

Spikowski said the Florida Department of Transportation wants the counties and cities the corridor runs through to support the project before the state gets involved.

He said local boards are holding hearings to add supportive language to their comprehensive plans.