Corridor Authority's plans for U.S. 98 have drawn ire from environmental groups
By TOM McLAUGHLIN
tomm@nwfdailynews.com
Environmental groups have begun lining up to protest plans the Northwest Florida Transportation Corridor Authority is considering to ease traffic on U.S. Highway 98.
Linda Young, director of the Clean Water Network of Florida, termed the authority's call for a new route between Pensacola and Tallahassee "a big scam."
"The whole point is to get infrastructure up there without having to pay for it and make St. Joe's land developable," Young said. "We're going to have to oppose that."
The St. Joe Co. owns 800,000 acres of mostly wooded land between Walton County and Tallahassee. It has announced plans to develop much of the property.
The Clean Water Network joins M.C. Davis' Nokuse Plantation and the Apalachicola Bay and River Keepers in protesting the Corridor Authority's plans. Young's group has already taken legal action to stop construction of a new airport in Panama City, also on St. Joe property.
Young has expressed her concerns in a letter to Steve Wilson, a vice president for HDR Engineering, the firm that has mapped out four potential routes for the Corridor Authority to consider.
HDR is scheduled to present a final recommendation to the panel Thursday at a meeting in Pensacola. If accepted, the recommendation will become the master plan for U.S. 98.
Corridor Authority Chairman Randall McElheney said Friday that he plans to propose that the board delay voting on a final recommendation for two weeks.
"Since this is going to be a combination, and not one of the four alternatives we've seen, the board ought to have a chance to digest it," McElheney said. "That will give the public time for input."
Young said two of the alternatives the Corridor Authority is considering would run through some of the most pristine areas in the world and destroy wetlands.