AGENDA ITEM 3A Red Hills Coastal Parkway

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1 March 26, 2007 AGENDA ITEM 3A Red Hills Coastal Parkway REQUESTED BY: CRTPA Members TYPE OF ITEM: Discussion STATEMENT OF ISSUE At the January 22, 2006 Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency (CRTPA) meeting members requested to include an agenda item providing additional information regarding the Red Hills Coastal Parkway and its inclusion in the Year 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). RECOMMENDED ACTION This item was prepared for informational purposes. SUBCOMMITTEE ACTION The CRTPA subcommittees were presented the information contained in this agenda item regarding the Red Hills Coastal Parkway. HISTORY AND ANALYSIS Outside of the Year 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan there are several other major projects occurring in Florida and Georgia that may have an impact to the CRTPA regional transportation efforts. These efforts should be considered when attempting to address future transportation in the region. Existing transportation demand does not support the need for the Red Hills Coastal Parkway. However, future traffic will need to have an additional north-south corridor to accommodate regional growth and that was the main concept behind the inclusion of the Red Hills Coastal Parkway. The project as shown in the Year 2030 LRTP, Map 1, does not necessarily reflect the location of this road. It could be located west of Tallahassee, in Gadsden County, or in Jefferson County. The effort was to include this corridor as a placeholder in the LRTP with further refinement as the LRTP was updated in future years. The project in its currently identified location, as required by the LRTP process, does have a lot of issues from floodplain impacts to historical sites to habitat intrusion. As part of the LRTP effort this project was submitted for review through the Efficient Transportation Decision Making (ETDM) process, which includes review and comments by state agencies such as the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Community Affairs. This process yielded 40 pages worth of comments. These comments were anticipated and documented for staff to address as the project comes to fruition. However, there are no funds currently identified for the study of this corridor.

2 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 2 Map 1- Red Hills Coastal Parkway as shown in the Long Range Transportation Plan

3 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 3 The following pages include information regarding the efforts in Florida and Georgia that may impact or have an economic benefit to the regional transportation system. These include: 1. Northwest Florida Transportation Corridor Authority 2. I-185 Extension in Columbus Georgia 3. Suncoast Parkway/ Veterans Expressway in Florida 4. Florida s Future Corridors Project Northwest Florida Transportation Corridor Authority The Northwest Florida Transportation Corridor Authority (NFTCA) was created by the 2005 Florida Legislature. The primary purpose of the authority is to improve mobility on the U.S. 98 corridor in Northwest Florida to enhance traveler safety, identify and develop hurricane evacuation routes, promote economic development along the corridor, and implement transportation projects to alleviate current or anticipated traffic congestion. The authority is authorized to construct any feeder roads, reliever roads, connector roads, bypasses, or appurtenant facilities that are intended to improve mobility along the U.S. 98 corridor. The Authority is further authorized to plan, design, finance, and construct transportation improvement projects. The NFTCA may acquire and hold title to property that will accommodate the development of transportation facilities. Additionally, the Authority may seek financial assistance from local, State and the Federal government as well as private entities. The NFTCA is also authorized to implement toll facilities to aid in funding projects. Currently, the consultants for the NWFTCA have developed four (4) alternatives for consideration by the corridor authority. Alternative 1 (Map 2) This alternative maximizes the use of the existing corridor including improvements to Crawfordville Road and Woodville Highway, but does not include the Red Hills Coastal Parkway. This option is estimated to cost $6,187,300,000, see Table 1 for details. Alternative 2 (Map 3) This alternative include major roadway relocations that are short distances from the existing US 98 corridor as well as expanding the majority of the facilities to four (4) lanes. In the CRTPA region this include the Red Hills Coastal Parkway as well as new North-South Route in Wakulla County East of Crawfordville Road. This option is estimated to cost $7,073,400,000, see Table 2 for details. Alternative 3 (Map 4) - This alternative moves away from the existing corridors and creates several new four-lane corridors. In the CRTPA region this includes the widening of SR 267 in Wakulla as well as the inclusion of the Red Hills Coastal Parkway. This option is estimated to cost $11,040,500,000, see Table 3 for details. Alternative 4 (Map 5) This alternative utilizes the expansion of the existing system plus the new four lane corridors in Alternative 3. The alternative includes the expansion of SR 267 as well as the Red Hills Coastal Parkway. This option is estimated to cost $11,545,800,000, see Table 4 for details.

4 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 4 There are no costs developed as part of the information provided. In terms of completing the Master Plan the NWFTCA, per Florida Legislative direction, will have the process completed by July 1, 2007.

5 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 5 Map 2 - NWFTCA Alternative 1

6 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 6 Table 1- NWFTCA Alternative 1 Cost Estimate

7 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 7 Map 1 - NWFTCA Alternative 2 Map 3 - NWFTCA Alternative 2

8 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 8 Table 2 - NWFTCA Alternative 2 Cost Estimate

9 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 9 Map 4 - NWFTCA Alternative 3

10 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 10 Table 3 - NWFTCA Alternative 3 Cost Estimate

11 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 11 Map 5 - NWFTCA Alternative 4

12 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 12 Table 4 - NWFTCA Alternative 4 Cost Estimate

13 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 13 Interstate 185 Extension in Georgia One of the newer projects that has the potential to affect travel patterns in the region relates to the extension of I-185 out of Columbus Georgia, Map 6. The Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the project to determine the feasibility of extending I-185 out of Columbus to Albany. From Albany there are several options that include an extension to I-75 or south to Florida. This project is just kicking off with a feasibility study. It is not anticipated to have any of this project on the ground within the next 15 to 20 years. However, as a long-range project, it is something that should be investigated, as an option and CRTPA staff will be keeping an eye on this effort. Map 6 I-185 Extension Corridors Suncoast Parkway/ Veterans Expressway in Florida Toll Road 589, part of Florida s Turnpike System, is a 57-mile, tolled, limited-access transportation corridor serving West Central Florida. It was constructed and completed as two separate roadway projects.

14 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 14 The Veterans Expressway is the southern 15-mile portion of Toll Road 589, extending from near SR 60/Courtney Campbell Causeway west of Tampa International Airport to SR 597/Dale Mabry Highway in Hillsborough County. The project s design, right-of-way acquisition and construction originated with the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority. In 1990, the Florida Legislature established the Florida s Turnpike expansion program and identified this road as one of the Turnpike expansion projects. Construction was completed on October 1, 1994 and the Turnpike assumed ownership and operating responsibility. There are two mainline toll plazas on the Veterans Expressway, one located just north of Waters Avenue (Andersen Toll Plaza) and one located between Ehrlich Road and Hutchison Road interchanges (Sugarwood Toll Plaza). Eleven interchanges include Memorial Highway, Hillsborough Avenue, Waters Avenue, Andersen Road, Linebaugh Avenue, Wilsky Boulevard, Gunn Highway, Ehrlich Road, Hutchison Road, SR 568 (spur to Dale Mabry Highway) and Van Dyke Road. Since the Veterans Expressway opened in 1994, traffic volumes have steadily increased. To address peak hour congestion, Florida s Turnpike Enterprise has initiated a Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study to evaluate the impacts of widening the existing four-lane limited-access toll road to an eight-lane limited-access toll road from Memorial Highway to Van Dyke Road. The Suncoast Parkway Project I is the 42-mile portion of Toll Road 589, connecting with the Veterans Expressway in northwest Hillsborough County, extending through Pasco County, and terminating in northern Hernando County at US 98, near the Hernando-Citrus County line. Construction of the $507 million Suncoast Parkway began in the summer of The project opened to traffic in two phases. In February 2001 the section extending from Veterans Expressway to SR 50 in Hernando County opened, and the final section from SR 50 to US 98 opened in August Interchanges are located at Van Dyke Road, SR 54, SR 52, Pasco/Hernando County Line Road, Spring Hill Drive, SR 50 and the terminus at US 98. A Project Development and Environment Study is currently underway for the proposed northward extension of the Suncoast Parkway through Citrus County. The purpose of the Suncoast Parkway Project II study is to determine where, or if, the proposed extension of the Suncoast Parkway into Citrus County would occur. The Suncoast Parkway is the Turnpike s only facility incorporating a multiuse recreation trail into the design and construction of a limited-access roadway. The 42-mile trail corridor is contained within and along the west side of the Suncoast Parkway. It provides an alternative route for safe bicycle and pedestrian commuting for local residents and also serves as a regional recreational facility for residents of the region and visitors from throughout Florida. There are current plans underway for evaluating an extension of the parkway through Citrus County. However, there are no long-range plans for extending this corridor up to the panhandle area, but that possibility should not be discounted given Florida s growth rate.

15 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 15 Florida s Future Corridors Project In the early days of the 21st century, Florida s ability to provide mobility for people and freight increasingly is at risk. Continued strong growth in population, visitors, and economic activity is increasing demand for moving people and freight. Investment in the state s transportation system has not kept pace with this growth, due to limited resources, increasing construction and right-ofway costs, and constraints on adding capacity to many existing transportation facilities. Over the past few decades, only incremental investments have been made in the state s interregional highways, and railway mileage has declined slightly. The result has been increasing delay and costs for moving people and goods, deteriorating reliability, and growing risks to the state s quality of life and economic competitiveness. For these reasons, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), in cooperation with the Florida Transportation Commission, is working with statewide, regional, and local partners to initiate a Future Corridors Program. This program will identify statewide transportation corridors that will be significantly improved, transformed in function or design, or newly developed over the next 50 years. Several key trends point to the need for Florida as a state to take a more strategic look at future transportation corridors. Continued strong growth in population, economic activity, visitor activity, and freight flows; Shifts in growth and development patterns toward emerging coastal regions and inland areas adjacent to established economic centers; and The difficulty accommodating anticipated growth in demand for moving people and freight through 2050 without additional investment in transportation capacity. With 17.9 million residents in 2005, Florida currently is the fourth largest state in the country. Florida s population grew by about 8 million in the 25 years between 1980 and As growth continues, the ability to expand the capacity of the highway system to meet transportation needs is limited. Over the last 10 years, vehicle-miles traveled on Florida s intrastate highway system has increased by 36 percent, while the capacity of the system, as measured in lane-miles, has increased by less than 10 percent. Because of the disparity between the demand for highway use and the extent to which capacity has grown, the person-hours of delay experienced has increased by more than 60 percent. The vision for Florida s Future Corridors Program is to create, over the next 50 years, a statewide network of high-speed, high-capacity facilities that are the critical foundation for the state s continued growth and development, with careful consideration given to how the existing Interstate Highway System and Florida s Turnpike have shaped growth over the past 50 years. The decisions about where to expand existing or locate new transportation corridors are among the most profound that Florida will make over the next several decades. As part of this initial

16 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 16 Future Corridors Action Plan, FDOT has worked with statewide, regional, and local partners to identify a framework of existing corridors that are candidates for transformation, as well as areas that potentially could be the location of a new corridor. The corridors and study areas are identified in this Action Plan as a starting point for future cooperative planning, not as a commitment to initiate any specific project in any of these corridors or study areas or to preclude other corridors and study areas that may be identified in the future. Map 7 shows existing facilities where FDOT is considering transformation (re-use) options. These include: Interstates 4, 10, 75, and 95, and other key limited access facilities that connect to these Interstates, such as I-595 in Broward County, I-275 in Tampa/St. Petersburg, and SR 528/the Beach Line Expressway between Orlando and the Space Coast; The mainline of Florida s Turnpike; U.S. 27 from Miami-Dade to Lake County, and U.S. 301 from Marion County to Nassau County, both of which function as major truck routes; Major rail corridors, including those owned by CSX in central and northeast Florida and the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) along the Atlantic Coast; and The Intracoastal Waterway System. These facilities connect the areas that are most developed today, and future investments in these corridors will reinforce these existing urban concentrations. FDOT will examine opportunities to introduce special-use lanes or modal options within these specific facilities, but also will coordinate planning for these facilities with nearby modal alternatives within the same broad corridor. Several major facilities already are being approached in this manner, as in plans to introduce commuter rail service along a portion of the CSX line between Volusia and Osceola counties, and a similar study to introduce passenger rail service along the FEC corridor from Miami to Jupiter. Map 8 shows the initial study areas where FDOT will work with partners to explore potential new corridors. These represent major regions that are not connected by a high-speed, highcapacity corridor today, or where existing corridors do not have the capacity to support anticipated growth in demand over the next 50 years. These initial nine study areas roughly fall into three categories (note: more general study area descriptions are used here in the text to further clarify initial thinking about areas to be studied): Opportunities for better connections between Florida and states to the north, including potential study areas between the westernmost portion of the Panhandle and Alabama (A); the central part of the Panhandle and Alabama (B), and the Tampa Bay region through North Central Florida to Georgia (C).

17 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 17 Opportunities for better connections between major economic regions that are not well connected today due to system gaps or congestion on existing corridors. These include the Tampa Bay region and the First Coast/greater Jacksonville region (D), Central Florida and the First Coast region (E), Tampa Bay and Central Florida (F), and Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida (G). Corridor planning in these areas typically will include analyses of expansion and transformation (re-use) of existing facilities, modal options, and new parallel or connecting corridors. Opportunities for better connections between economically distressed or developing areas and surrounding urban regions, including two corridors through the Heartland one running north-south between Southwest Florida and Central Florida (H), and one running east-west between Tampa Bay and Southeast Florida (I). Corridor planning in these areas typically will focus on new corridors or major improvements that significantly change the function and character of existing corridors. Portions of study areas B, C, D, E, and G also would serve economically distressed areas, but these two study areas through the Heartland are primarily oriented toward the potential development of a rural region. The financial component of the Florida s Future Corridor s program also needs to be developed along with the exact improvements along these corridors. This effort is underway with several pilot projects including the B corridor on Map 8 in FDOT District 3.

18 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 18 Map 7 Existing FDOT Facilities Evaluated for Re-Use

19 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 19 Map 8 Initial Florida Future Corridor Study Areas

20 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 20 When all of the efforts in the region, State of Florida and State of Georgia are combined, Map 9, clearly, the CRTPA region could serve as a major focus point for these efforts. All of these projects have long-range horizons such as the Red Hills Coastal Parkway and are not intended to serve the immediate need for transportation corridors. Nor do they have identified lines on a map as to where the corridor is going to be constructed. Those issues like the Red Hills Coastal Parkway will be determined by study. Map 9 Regional, State of Florida, and State of Georgia Projects

21 AGENDA ITEM 3A RED HILLS COASTAL PARKWAY PAGE 21 Other Information Below are the websites where additional information can be found regarding the NWFTCA Alternative, Suncoast Parkway/Veterans Expressway, and Florida Future Corridors Project: NWFTCA Suncoast Parkway/Veterans Expressway Florida s Future Corridor s NEXT STEPS Staff will be seeking direction form the CRTPA as to how to proceed with this effort.