Ms. Vu,

1) The traffic projections are being prepared by the Turnpike Enterprise utilizing the in-house General Traffic Consultant, URS Corp.

2) Land use projections come from the independent efforts of land use planners working for Citrus and surrounding counties. They key into long range economic projections that are prepared and updated annually by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida. The BEBR projections are also published annually in the Florida Statistical Abstract. Traffic models are reviewed by the Florida Department of Transportation, MPO's and local planning agencies.

3) The Suncoast 2 would serve as an intercity link whereas US-19 has changed from that role to one serving comparatively short local trips oriented to shopping and personal business. The proliferation of traffic signals and driveway access points along US-19 point to the essential difference in the routes. The Suncoast 2 will most likely be utilized by those people traveling either to or from Tampa thus freeing up capacity on US 19 for local trips. As to whether both will be needed or not, that will need to be looked at as part of the PD&E Study. US 19 north of Red Level is predicted to have excess capacity and will be capable of serving, without modifications, any traffic that the Suncoast 2 would bring to it.

4) Depending on the alternative selected, anywhere from 18 to 21 crossings will be provided to allow traffic to either go under or over the Suncoast Parkway. The parkway will not create the huge barrier that has been mentioned in recent articles. Exact locations will be coordinated with the Citrus County Sheriff's Office and Public Safety Department. As for funding of future crossings, that is at the discretion of Citrus County as to whether they ask for outside funding or not.

5) Once a "Build" option is identified, a direct comparison of it versus the "No-Build" will be performed and documented in the Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statements which will be available for public review and comment. The public can comment on the "No-Build" at anytime during the process, however, any specific questions about the "No-Build" can not be answered until the analysis has been performed. The final decision as to the selection of the "Build" vs. "No-Build" will be made by the Federal Highway Administration.

If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me.