Article published Mar 25, 2007 in the Tallahassee Democrat
Proposal is called 'wasteful' and possibly harmful to environment
By Bruce Ritchie
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
A proposed toll road that would extend 30 miles through rural eastern Leon and Wakulla counties is raising numerous concerns with state and federal wildlife and environmental agencies.
The proposed Red Hills-Coastal Parkway would link Interstate 10 east of Tallahassee with U.S. Highway 98 near St. Marks. Another segment would connect I-10 to Thomasville Road north of Tallahassee.
The project would promote urban sprawl, destroy wildlife habitat and pollute waterways, the agencies said. It also would extend through the St. Marks River headwaters where the state, Tallahassee and Leon County are buying land for conservation.
The project was included in a 25-year plan adopted by the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency in November 2005. The agency says there is no money allocated for the project or timetable to build the road.
Some environmentalists said they weren't aware of the proposed $500 million toll road, and now they're asking the agency to take it off the projects list.
Leon County Commissioner Bob Rackleff said he will ask the agency board, which he serves on, to do just that when it meets on Monday. He said the area needs to focus on mass transit and other forms of transportation other than cars.
"We won't have the money for that if we have to fritter it away for wasteful subsidized road projects that don't provide any real return to this community," Rackleff said.
Commissioner Cliff Thaell also said he wants the project taken off the list.
Wakulla County Commissioner Ed Brimner said almost any major project has environmental concerns, but he raised the possibility that they could be overcome through careful planning. Asked whether the project should be taken off the list, he said, "I'm not going to go that far."
"It's an idea that I don't think anybody who is currently on the board needs to spend too much energy and time looking at," Brimner said.
Agency officials say a five-mile-wide planning corridor has been identified but no specific route has been chosen. They say additional studies would be needed to choose a route.
Nevertheless, the Florida Department of Transportation last October purchased 178 acres from The St. Joe Co. for the project. The land stretches along nine miles of Old Plank Road in Wakulla and Franklin counties.
The land was part of a $46-million deal to buy 3,283 acres from St. Joe in nine Panhandle counties.
Florida Department of Transportation officials said the deal allows the state to buy land for future roads without having to pay legal fees for condemnation.
The proposed new parkway could link up to another new toll road that is being considered for the Florida Panhandle. The Northwest Florida Transportation Corridor Authority is studying two alternatives to U.S. Highway 98 that would end in St. Marks.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Northwest Florida Water Management District said the need for the proposed Red Hills-Coastal Parkway has not been established.
Stormwater runoff from the highway could harm the St. Marks and Wakulla rivers, Lake Lafayette, Lake Iamonia and the Ochlockonee River, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The toll road would cross the St. Marks River in four spots, according to the Northwest Florida Water Management District. The agency said the road and resulting urban sprawl could increase pollution in an area where groundwater flows toward Wakulla Springs.
The project also would cut through habitat for threatened species including the Florida black bear, wood stork, bald eagle, the red-cockaded woodpecker and the flatwoods salamander, according to wildlife agencies.
Other agencies said the road could affect archaeological sites and recreation areas including the St. Marks Trail and Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recommended using existing roads, such as State Road 59 in Jefferson County, as connectors between I-10 and U.S. 98.
The Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency responded that it will consider ways to avoid harm including evaluating existing roads.
Agency Executive Director Harry Reed said the planning corridor for the possible road would have to be widened - perhaps 30 to 50 miles - to find the best possible route.
Reed said he doesn't know if he will argue against taking it off the list.
"I'd like to see what the commissioners have to say and their reasoning for wanting to take it off, and get a better understanding of how it was put on," he said.