Instead of saying the state should "further examine and evaluate the MCORESrecommendations," Bryant wantedto ask the state to adhere to the MCORES recommendations one of which is that the highway notcross the Cross Florida Greenway in Marion County. Amy Agricola, a local Realtor, told commissioners thatMarion County is unique and beautiful, and commissioners should reject the road plan. The agency concluded that the Coastal Connector wasnt worth building because the value of that highway paled in comparison to placating a bunch of well-to-do landowners who have been known to make campaign contributions. Dunnellon takes a stand:Council tells state it doesn't want northern extension of the Florida Turnpike, Development decision:SW Marion land owner gets second delay to finalize 841-home development near SummerGlen, Local growth:Ocala/Marion among nation's fastest growing metros with home construction up 42% in a year. I-4 Ultimate. The proposed Northern Turnpike Extension project would extend the turnpike's northern terminus from Wildwood/Interstate 75 west to U.S. 19. That proposed language failed 3-2, with Bryant, Curry and Chairman Carl Zalak voting no. ", The coalition, which was formed to oppose the proposed toll roads, said "If built, this extension would destroy large swaths of Floridas last remaining rural lands, threaten waterways with pollution, endanger iconic wildlife, disrupt farmlands, and promote unsustainable sprawl.". Many of the people who attended Tuesday's County Commissionmeetingleft disappointed when the board declined to support the "no build" option for the proposed northern extension of the Florida Turnpike. Wekiva Parkway. Then, because a history-minded group led by Robert Roscow sued them for paving over Etna, the DOT tried to make up for wiping out that Citrus County site by building a mock Etna. He said it would leave a "scar" on the community for a considerable time,and traffic in the area would be severely impactedif the roadway is allowed to come close to Dunnellon. PO Box 188 "What happens to rural Florida and our lifestyle is up to you and the local governments that are in the paths of this destruction," McDavid said during the workshop. Florida's transportation system includes roadway, air, rail, sea, spaceports, bus transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities. The 13-mile stretch of the toll road will take it north from US 98 in Homosassa to State Road 44 in Lecanto. Earlier this month, the Inverness City Council voted to send a similar message. But now here comes the Northern Turnpike Extension, and more choices to make. Mike Wright August 4, 2022 5 min. Winds light and variable. WUSF 89.7 depends on donors for the funding it takes to provide you the most trusted source of news and information here in town, across our state, and around the world. We continue the fight to stop the Northern Turnpike Extension toll road and the sprawl inducing expansions along US 19/98. Map of Florida's Turnpike, including exits, toll locations and available plazas and rest areas. But the potential northern extension of the turnpike was allowed to proceed to the study phase. Spanning approximately 48 miles (77 km) along a north-south axis, it supplements the 265-mile . What are we okay with destroying? Each of the routes would pave over large swaths of rural areas. Commissioners noted that this is a state project, authorized by law, and the study will happen with or without county government's involvement. Steve Newborn is a WUSF reporter and producer at WUSF covering environmental issues and politics in the Tampa Bay area. What do we want to save? The proposed letter said, in part:"Marion County's foremost objective is to remind the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) that our adopted comprehensive plan prohibits the development of expressways or toll roll roads within the Farmland Preservation Area (FPA).". It is expected to open this spring. Mainly clear. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.. the proposed northern extension of the Florida Turnpike. No one likes to drive State Road 200! she said to audience approval. "Based on feedback received from across the four-county study area, significant concerns were identified with portions of all four initially proposed corridors," according to a release from the state Department of Transportation. The DOT secretary wrote a letter saying they would abandon their Coastal Connector plans and instead work on making Interstate 75 better. Map of the Sawgrass Expressway, including exits, toll locations and available plazas and rest areas. That farm and that land is meaningful to him.. He was referring to how powerful planner Robert Moses employed new roads and bridges to limit opportunities for non-white New York residents, as recounted in Robert A. Caros award-winning biography, The Power Broker., Among those Fox-centric pols who responded with derision was Gov. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. And engage with FDOT in public input. Citrus County is currently under consideration within the study area for this Turnpike Extension via Alternative Corridor Central and Alternative Corridor South. DeSantis signed the repeal into law without saying one word about his apparently contradictory stance. The recommendations closely follow what 1000 Friends advocated from day one: make identified improvements to I-75 to alleviate major traffic . Nearly 200 people packed into the commission auditorium in Ocala. endstream endobj 88 0 obj <>/Metadata 3 0 R/PageLabels 84 0 R/Pages 85 0 R/StructTreeRoot 7 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences 120 0 R>> endobj 89 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 85 0 R/Resources<>/Font<>/Pattern<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 90 0 obj <>stream SB 100 directs Florida's Turnpike Enterprise to study what is now known as the Northern Turnpike Extension. Map of the Suncoast Parkway, including exits, toll locations and available plazas and rest areas. by Craig Pittman, Florida Phoenix November 18, 2021. Opponents said there is little need for the toll road and it would destroy some of the last remaining rural areas north of Tampa Bay. Palmetto Express. The 25 mile long Wekiva Parkway currently extends 19 miles north from Orange Blossom Trail in Apopka to SR 46 west of Sanford. Sally McDavid, a fourth-generation Floridian, said getting away from urban sprawl is why many people moved to Citrus County. Audubon proposes this solution: Build six additional lanes within or contiguous with the I-75 right of way and separate local- and through-traffic. Members voted unanimously on Tuesday to send a letter to state transportation officials considering an expansion. One road, like Michael Myers, somehow survived the execution, crawled away to recuperate, and is now getting ready to kill again. Her letter keeps the county's four considerations for FDOT. But according to Roscow, they built it in Hernando County, not Citrus. Road Status Information. After extensive study including input from citizens and elected officials, such as Bryant MCORES eventually was repealed. Traffic Information System. We know it connects to I-75.. There was a problem saving your notification. DUNNELLON The Dunnellon City Council on Monday unanimously approved a resolution objecting to the proposed northern extension of the Florida Turnpike. These are the four new. Council tells state it doesn't want northern extension of the Florida Turnpike, SW Marion land owner gets second delay to finalize 841-home development near SummerGlen, Ocala/Marion among nation's fastest growing metros with home construction up 42% in a year, Don't extend turnpike, build other new highways through North Florida, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Michael McGrath. %PDF-1.7 % Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Last month, because of Halloween, TV was full of horror movies, including one cleverly titled Halloween.. Moving from statewide to more local transportation issues, Assistant County Administrator Tracy Straub spoke about scheduled traffic projects coming up quickly in Marion County, including improvements needed to take some of the strain off of State Road 200. Ruthie Davis Schlabach. Instead, the agency would focus on improving Interstate 75. Procedurally, Stone and Gold were prohibited from asking for a reconsideration of Stone's original motion. We oppose this toll road for the following reasons: 1. In the face of determined opposition from environmentalists and other entities, the FDOT announced in August it was pumping the brakes on four proposed routes that would extend Florida's Turnpike from its terminus at Interstate 75 in Wildwood northwest to U.S. 19 in Levy County. The Northern Turnpike Extension project is not going away, Perdue confirmed. She and a lot of other Levy County residents just found out about these highway routes over the weekend. Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Resident Diane Garte said this will hurt their livelihood. If you do not want your email address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Bowing to community pressure, the Florida Department of Transportation announced Thursday it will halt the northern turnpike extension project at least temporarily. Plans were shelved due to cost factors at the time and limited support. It would have impacted large areas in either Citrus, Sumter, Levy and Marion counties. Instead, state transportation planners will look at expanding Interstate 75 north from where it connects with the turnpike. Theypacked the auditorium. On August 4, 2022, FDOT announced it was suspending planning for the corridor: "The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has completed the Alternative Corridors Evaluation (ACE) Study for the Northern Turnpike Corridor without recommending a specific corridor and will not pursue the project any further until options can be reassessed to January 24, 2022 Information is preliminary and subject to change. An extension of the Suncoast Parkway opened Monday, the Florida Department of Transportation announced in a press release. Citrus County. The department announced it has completed an alternative corridor evaluation study without a recommendation for a specific corridor and "will not pursue the . The Homestead Extension (HEFT) provides an alternate route to metropolitan Miami from the Overseas Highway, avoiding much of the congestion along U.S. 1 (Dixie Highway). To Contact Maps and Publications. FDOT conducted an Alternative Corridor Evaluation (ACE) to evaluate the extension of Florida's Turnpike (State Road [SR] 91) from its northerly terminus in Wildwood to a logical and appropriate terminus as determined by the Department. We count on community support to continue this important work. They heard about it when notices from the Florida Department of Transportation told them about a pair of informational meetings on Dec. 7 (Chiefland) and Dec. 9 (Lecanto). [FDOT map] Or look at what happened in 2018, when the DOT planned to build something called the Coastal Connector, a toll road to link that pointless Suncoast Parkway extension to I-75. We want that something to continue to provide the needed transportation while embracing and maintaining the character of your community.. Low near 60F. P.O. You have permission to edit this article. Rick Scott ruin their pastures by ramming a strip of asphalt through them! It is a four-lane toll facility that extends the existing Suncoast Parkway northward for 13 miles from US 98 to SR 44 in Lecanto. Providing timely responses to inquiries from the press, government officials, and the public is a crucial function of the Florida Department of Transportation. Extending the four lanes of NW 70th Avenue to the new NW 49th Street extension that will connect the east side of I-75 with its warehouse complexes (Chewy, AutoZone, Amazon, etc.) How dare then-Gov. You can find recent press releases, public notices, media contacts, links to our social media pages and newsroom. A programmed project to widen the Turnpike Extension from three to . We use our collective power to take a very hard line against these "Roads to Ruin". Motorists in Hernando and Citrus counties now have an easier way to travel to and from the greater Tampa Bay region. Florida Turnpike officials could add four additional lanes elevated or separated from local expressway traffic. maps and exits. Citrus County commissioners are opposing proposals to extend Florida's Turnpike through rural counties north of the Tampa Bay region. These are the four new proposed routes for northern Florida Turnpike extension. In a broader sense, the choices we make for highway routes demonstrate what we value as a society. Nothing!. Dunnellon takes a stand: Council tells state it doesn't want northern extension of the Florida Turnpike Development decision: SW. Providing timely responses to inquiries from the press, government officials, and the public is a crucial function of the Florida Department of Transportation. Completing the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) section of the beltway, the five mile segment links Kelly Park Road with the Mt. The state wants to plow a highway through the historic Black community. It allows us to address congestion on I-75 and really look at our rural roads to address the growing needs of our state.. Meanwhile, reporters dug up the one real beneficiary of all this asphalt: a billionaire named Thomas Peterffy. FDOT has put clear explanations, videos, graphics, maps and schedules on the website www.floridasturn pike.com/NTE. Opposition:In Dunnellon, a resounding no for Florida's proposed northern turnpike extension, Rejection: Sand mine denied; lakeside lots approved; Countryside Farms gets buffer, Roadways analyzed: The Marion County roads with the highest traffic counts. North 95. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE), which is part of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), held the kickoff event to start the planning of a potential turnpike extension that would start "from its northerly terminus in Wildwood to a logical and appropriate terminus as determined by the FDOT, per Senate Bill 100." This time it passed, 3-2, withZalak and Bryant votingno. The Audubon Society concurred with SWFWMDs objection and said Alternative Corridor North A has the worst level of impact on the Districts conservation lands. During a special meeting held at City Hall, council members agreed that the resolutionshould be signed by Mayor Bill White and immediately presented to the County Commission, which on Tuesday is scheduled to debate and ultimately decide what stance it will take on this controversial matter. State Road 589 (SR 589), also known as the Veterans Expressway and Suncoast Parkway, is a north-south toll road near the Florida Gulf Coast. Phone: (850) 414-4050Email questions and comments to: Maps & Publications Sales at co-mapsandpubs@dot.state.fl.us, FDOT605 Suwannee St.Tallahassee, FL 32399Phone: (850) 414-4100Customer Service Portal. '1800108\K`c;T"H62j]p}Z3 joY]Yw@ r The state Department of Transportation on Wednesday told elected officials in northern Central Florida that the agency is no longer pursuing the four proposed routes for a possible northern. It would have impacted large areas in either Citrus, Sumter, Levy and Marion counties. Members of the audience jeered, booed and hissed at the prevailing motion. The red line appeared to draw the wrath of the county commission since it appears to cut through the Morriston area and would potentially ravage farmlands, subdivisions, and forests. Florida Turnpike officials could add four additional lanes - elevated or separated from local expressway traffic. I-75 is absolutely a priority for the local DOT district here, and weve been coordinating on what needs to be done.. But Curry, who was on the prevailing side of that vote, did agree to revisit Stone's language. "And it does not plow through developed communities and force the removal of families.". Southern Connector Extension. Box 613069 The turnpike extension was a result of Senate Bill 100, which repealed the 2019 M-CORES (Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance) toll road mandate that required state transportation officials to build three new turnpikes in 2023. Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code. That showed the agency cares enough about bad publicity to pay lip service to replicating history, but not to actually preserving it. They also said the project would destroy homes and the environment. "Smart build, that first seeks to expand existing infrastructure, avoids damage to our ecosystem, the nature in the Nature Coast and the foundation of our ecotourism and our rural lifestyle that many value here," Seveska said. Many addressed the five commissioners, and the vast majority of them wanted the board to join the City of Dunnellon in fully objecting to the road project, which would extend the turnpike's northern terminus from Wildwood/Interstate 75 west to U.S. 19. Florida Department of Transportation, ALERT : Mainline Converts to Electronic Toll Collection, Suncoast Extension Opens in Citrus County, Constructing full interchanges at US 98 and W. Cardinal Street and a partial interchange at SR 44, Two all-electronic tolling gantries and equipment buildings, Related drainage, lighting, highway signing, traffic signalization, guardrail and sidewalk, The Suncoast Trail, part of Floridas Statewide Greenways and Trails System, will be extended to SR 44 and a pedestrian overpass constructed over US 98. Turnpike Mainline. Making County Road 484 four lane east to SR 200. Michael McGrath,a representative from the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club and the No Roads to Ruin Coalition Steering Committee, applauded council members for holding Monday's meeting and taking a strong stance against the proposed road. He just happened to be a Mar-A-Lago member and a DeSantis contributor, and he also just happened to own 561,000 acres in Lafayette, Dixie, and Taylor counties that are ripe for development. Some of the state roads in Florida are : State Road A1A - This road runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean. I was reminded of the never-say-die saga of Michael Myers the other day when I got a call from a very angry lady from Levy County who was upset about the M-CORES toll roads. SR 9/I-95 at SR 842/Broward Boulevard Interchange. Ron DeSantis, the secretary of the Florida of Department of Transportation, the FDOT project manager for Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, the president of the Florida Senate, the Florida speaker of the house, and other appropriate parties. By, Port Tampa Bay is seeing an increase in both cargo trade and cruise passengers, SpaceX, NASA try once again to launch a multinational crew from the Kennedy Space Center, Eli Lilly cuts the price of insulin, capping drug at $35 per month out-of-pocket, A proposal would expand Florida's controversial education law on teaching about sexual orientation, 'Whoever holds power, it's going to corrupt them,' says 'Tr' director Todd Field, Greek prime minister says 'human error' caused a train collision that left 43 dead, Rebecca Makkai's smart, prep school murder novel is self-aware about the 'ick' factor, TikTok sets a new default screen-time limit for teen users, A northern extension of the Florida Turnpike is moving ahead, despite public opposition, Potential Florida turnpike extension risks historic Black community, A potential extension of the Florida Turnpike threatens rural land, Residents press Sumter commission to pass a no-build resolution on expanding the Florida's Turnpike, Stop the turnpike: Citrus County residents call for city council to pass no build resolution, Citrus County commissioners say they oppose plans to expand the Florida Turnpike. 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