State-of-the-art toll road: Florida's new Suncoast Parkway is designed for minimum impact on the environment and maximum use by nonmotorized traffic

Public Roads, Sept-Oct, 2003 by Raymond A. Ashe, Max D. Crumit, Kevin M. Hoeflich

One piece, roughly 1,460 hectares (3,600 acres) in size, was used mainly as a cattle ranch. Because the land was relatively undisturbed from its natural state, minimal environmental restoration or enhancement was necessary. The parcel had been purchased by the Trust for Public Land in anticipation of the Suncoast Parkway project. The other parcel, roughly 2,715 hectares (6,700 acres), would prove to be slightly more problematic but ultimately represented a key piece in the puzzle. It had been approved for development, but very little environmental restoration or enhancement was necessary. Ultimately it became the subject of extended financial negotiations.

Both parcels are located in wetlands at the southern reach of the project, crossed by two meandering rivers. The Pithlachascotee and the Anclote run east to west only 3-5 kilometers (2-3 miles) apart through floodplains and dense swamps.

A Virtual Island of Conservation

The two mitigation properties adjoin the already-existing Starkey Wilderness Area, a 4,050-hectare (10,000 acre) natural preserve managed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. In addition to agreeing on the mitigation plan as a centerpiece of the environmental strategy, the parties agreed that the two pieces of land, once acquired, would be turned over to the Southwest Florida Water Management District for long-term habitat management to make up an area roughly 16 kilometers (10 miles) deep and 11 kilometers (7 miles) wide. With the Suncoast Parkway as the eastern boundary, the mitigation properties and the existing preserve would constitute a valuable buffer on the rim of the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area.

"As Pasco County and west central Florida are developed to urban uses," the final environmental impact statement submitted to the Federal Highway Administration explains, "this park may represent a virtual island of natural areas set aside for the preservation of fish, wildlife, and native Florida vegetation. The environmental value of such a large tract of conservation land cannot be overemphasized."

In total, the environmental strategy also included the enhancement of wetland habitat for wading bird species like the sandhill crane and wood stork, both protected species, and upland preservation for the indigo snake, a federally protected species, and the gopher tortoise, protected by the State of Florida. Wildlife crossings also constitute a significant aspect of minimizing environmental impact. Significant known populations of the Florida black bear, for instance, inhabit the area near the right-of-way.

Partnership Reaps Benefits

Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the partnering process is the changed attitude expressed by participants on both sides of the permitting table. Mike Nowicki, a senior project manager who has been with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since 1980, agrees. "I'm not sure a 20,O00-acre [8,093-hectarel wildlife preserve would ever have come out of the Suncoast Parkway project without the partnering process. What really changed everything was getting a chance to meet on a regular basis with the project managers and their consultants. The positive attitude they showed in addressing our concerns made the whole permitting process much less contentious and far shorter than it might have been."