Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
A Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) representative confirmed to city officials recently that the controversial SunCoast Connector would indeed terminate at I-10 in either Jefferson or Madison counties if it followed one of two existing corridors, referring to U.S. 19 and State Road 221, respectively.
More important, however, was what FDOT project management engineer Ryan Asmus implied between the lines or outright stated, along with the “if” qualifier.
Asmus, who was giving the council an update on the proposed toll road, told the group about a March 30 webinar, the means of interaction that is taking the place of in-person meetings during the coronavirus pandemic. He said the webinar discussion had touched on the proposed corridor's areas of avoidance and of minimal impact.
There had also, he said, been much discussion about the emerging technology, the opportunities it presented, and the need for its deployment.
“We also got an extension on the report's due date,” Asmus said, referring to the documents that the three respective task forces (one for each of three proposed toll roads) are supposed to submit to the governor and lawmakers by a set deadline.
He gave the new deadline date as Nov. 15, as opposed to the original date of Oct. 1.
Asmus then referred to the Jefferson County Journal article of May 8 and affirmed that the commitment that the FDOT had made in the article about the collocation route stood. Meaning, he said, that if the new toll road was to be collocated on one of the two existing – U.S. 19 in Jefferson County or SR-221 in Madison County – “both collocation routes would stop at I-10.”
“As for a bypass,” Asmus said, referring to a topic of local concern, “it's not in the plans of this study to do a bypass around Monticello.”
The operative words being “of this study,” leaving open the possibility that it might well be the focus of a future study.
Councilwoman Julie Conley had a question. If the Suncoast Connector stopped at I-10, what would happen to the traffic that was traveling on it and intended to go to points farther north?
“Does it continue on U.S. 19?” Conley asked.
“Yes ma’am,” was Asmus' response, adding that “all those considerations will be worked later.”
But any traffic that the new road brought would proceed northward on U.S. 19 “the same way it happens now,” he said.
Conley had a follow-up question: If the new road significantly increased the volume of traffic coming into the area, how was the city to accommodate the increase?
“How do we do it without a bypass?” Conley asked.
“Yes ma'am,” Asmus said, “as we move forward, we'll get more into the granular evaluations like the future volume increase, and if the community doesn't want inorganic traffic within the community, a bypass can be designed that would connect to a limited access facility.”
U.S. 19, he noted, wasn't currently a limited access facility. But there were ways, he said, that interchanges and connectors could be designed to minimize the traffic coming into the community.
“These details will be worked out as we get into the next phase,” Asmus said, “But you will have a say in how it's developed as we get more into the details.”
Accompanying Asmus was Greg Garrett, a consultant project manager with Atkins North America, an engineering firm that is providing consulting engineering services to the FDOT on the toll road.
Garrett augmented on Asmus' point.
“The traffic impact of the new road must be accounted for in the study,” Garrett said. “You have to discuss the direct impact and how it will be accommodated. The FDOT will have these conversations with the community and it will be addressed in the traffic analysis.”
Conley wanted to know if the road's economic impact on the community would be part of the analysis.
Garrett's response didn't make clear if economic considerations would be part of the study.
“The traffic impact would be addressed,” he said. “That is what is required.”
It warrants mentioning that in terms of Monticello, the FDOT's commitment to stop at I-10 applies only if the Suncoast Connector collocates on U.S. 19. There is no guarantee, however, that the road will collocate on either U.S. 19 or SR-221. There is an equal possibility that the FDOT will choose a completely new corridor as the process unfolds. In which case, all bets are off as to where the new corridor may go or where it will stop.
Something to keep in mind as the process continues.