Citrus Chronicle
By: Jim Hunter
Published: February 15, 2007

Whether Suncoast Parkway 2 will finally be built through Citrus will come down to a single question put to the Citrus County Commission mid-year 2009.

The commission will simply be asked if it supports the project, and if the majority of commissioners says no, that will be the end of a process begun 14 years ago, according to a state turnpike official who on Thursday addressed the Citrus County Economic Development Council.

The stalled parkway extension project is back on track and now figures to be about 15 percent along with the engineering and design part of the project, though the final decision has yet to be made.

Turnpike officials updated the council on the parkway, noting that the design portion was under way, and the original Project Development and Environmental study is being re-evaluated.

Of the four points necessary for commitment to building, the project appears to have met three, said Christopher Warren, deputy director and chief operating officer of Florida's turnpike Enterprise. The transportation need has been established, Warren said, and turnpike officials believe the highway can be built in an environmentally sound manner. The original 1998 study is being revived after federal assis-tance ? and the mandated federally sanctioned environmental study needed for it ? was abandoned.

Finally, Warren said turnpike officials feel that working out a financial model will not be a problem, though it won't happen until the project is at 60-percent design and the county commission makes its final vote.

So, he said, the key really rests with the commission, which, when the design is 60 percent, will be asked the critical question. That's why it's important for everyone to make their sentiments known, he said. While turnpike officials don't advocate either way, he said, the opponents have obviously made their feelings known, but if there is a silent majority in the equation, they won't have any part of the final deci-sion.

The commission in 2006 endorsed the turnpike's plan to move forward with the alignment approved in the 1998 state environmental impact study. The next public meeting will be this summer when the project design is at 30 percent. The next public hearing after that will be the following spring, in 2009 when the big question is asked.

If the commission votes yes at that critical point, the design will then be finished and the right-of-way acquisition will begin in earnest. Eminent domain will not be employed until then. Until then, the project will work with only willing sellers whose property is fully in the alignment, he said.

At the 60-percent design mark, if it's a go, the financial model will then be created, Warren said. He noted that the turnpike is able to use bonding to support the model by pledging revenue from not only the road but from other parts of the turnpike system that have already been paid off.

He said projects typically take 33 to 34 years to be paid off and don't even reach an ability to pay the full debt service until the 22nd year, but the other revenues allow support of that model.

Contrary to detractors, he said, the first phase of the parkway, the 42 miles from the Veterans' Ex-pressway to the Citrus County border, has been very successful, seeing 25,000 vehicles a day, and is even exceeding the projected revenue by a few points.

The Suncoast Parkway 2 project has a new Web site at: www.suncoast2online.com.