Bill awaits Bush's signature

A bill approved by the Legislature this session would raise the borrowing limit of the Florida Turnpike enterprise to $6 billion, including $400 million more for the Suncoast Parkway 2 project.

The bill, which failed to gain the necessary support in last year's Legislature, is awaiting the signature of Gov. Jeb Bush.

Florida Turnpike Enterprise spokeswoman Joanne Hurley said the bill also raises the debt limit by $160 million for the widening the Veterans Expressway in Tampa.

Hurley said the bill doesn't change what is occurring with the Suncoast Parkway 2 Project Development and Environment Study recently restarted after a two-year delay caused by litigation.

The additional $400 million would come into play only if the PD&E Study identifies an acceptable route for construction of the four-lane road, Hurley said. She said the money would be used for design and right-of-way acquisition.

FTE has already set aside $46.5 million for design of Suncoast 2 in 2007, she said. An additional $25.6 million allocated in 2008 for right-of-way acquisition and $91.7 million is targeted for right-of-way acquisition in 2009.

The $400 million would be added to those dollars.

The current estimated cost of the project would be $600 million, although Hurley said FTE realizes project costs have risen in the two years the project was on hold.

She said the PD&E is a federal study and FTE is using federal standards for the study. She said the state will ask the Federal Highway Administration for federal road construction dollars to build Suncoast 2.

"We do't know if it's still available," Hurley said.

FTE had asked the Federal Highway Administration for permission to reduce the number of road alignments from 10 to three, the agency said FTE rejected the request, saying the state must examine all 10 routes in detail.

The PD&E is a study that identifies where the road could be built and examines impacts to the envrionment, including communities that may be in the path of the road.

In addition to the 10 alignments already identified, FTE says the 11th alignment is the no-build alternative.