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End Of The Road?

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By JULIA FERRANTE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 4, 2007

Updated: 11/03/2007 04:12 pm

LAND O' LAKES - Nine years after Pasco County officials submitted their application for the Ridge Road extension, residents and concerned government agencies are facing a deadline to weigh in on the project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has set Nov. 19 as the last day for comments on the long-delayed east-west connector. After that, corps project manager Mike Nowicki said, he may begin the arduous process of responding to the comments, reviewing the application and determining if more information is needed.

"Depending on the comments, I will take a look, categorize them and determine if I need more information," Nowicki said. "If I do, I will ask the county to respond one more time."

Pasco officials in January turned in revisions to the application, making it "full and complete," said Jake Varn, a Tallahassee attorney hired to shepherd the permitting process.

The road, if completed, would connect U.S. highways 19 and 41, providing what officials say is a much-needed hurricane evacuation route and an east-west alternative to state roads 52 and 54.

"The county commission decided a long time ago this was a priority," said Michele Baker, Pasco's chief assistant county administrator. "At this point in time we have submitted everything the corps and Nowicki asked for. The next step is he consolidates those comments and decides what to do with them."

Even if the corps makes a decision within the next couple of months to approve or deny the Ridge Road extension, the ruling is likely to be challenged.

The Ridge Road extension has appeared on future transportation maps for more than two decades, but it has been delayed many times because of permitting issues and opposition from environmentalists. The project also has been stalled because of difficulty securing "mitigation" land to compensate for wetlands that would be destroyed by the road's construction.

They are among 10 major objectors to the pending corps permit, including members of the civic group Citizens for Sanity, who have been building a case for years on the basis that the road, if constructed, would bisect the 6,533-acre Serenova Preserve. Once slated for development, the Serenova was set aside to compensate for wetlands destroyed by the Suncoast Parkway, a commuter highway between Tampa and the Hernando-Citrus county line.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has raised concerns about endangered woodstorks and threatened scrub jays thought to inhabit the extension route. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated the Serenova an aquatic resource of national importance and found that the road extension could adversely affect critical waterways, Nowicki said. If the agencies maintain their objections, the county may have to find another route, or the permit could be rejected.

The federal agencies would have an opportunity after the comment period to maintain or withdraw those objections, Nowicki said.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District, which owns the Serenova, approved a permit for the road extension in 2003, but the approval was based on informal deals to buy and set aside land now slated for development or held by unwilling sellers.

Officials more recently secured commitments from landowners along the Pithlachascotee River, the 4-G Ranch and the Starkey Ranch to set aside land for conservation to make up for the effects of the road extension. Swiftmud has approved the revised plans.

County officials have committed more than $4 million for design, permitting and legal fees for the Ridge Road extension and have another $82.6 million in transportation impact fees earmarked for the first phase of the construction, from Moon Lake Road to the Suncoast Parkway, Baker said. Officials estimate it would cost another $98 million to construct the second phase, from the parkway to U.S. 41, if the project were to begin in 2013.

Citizens for Sanity estimates the road extension, initially estimated at $25 million, will cost upward of $400 million.

As part of his review, Nowicki must determine if the county's plans are feasible, he said. He also must decide if wildlife, wetlands and transportation studies need to be updated and make sure laws and administrative procedures are followed.

"That's the reason for the extra dotting of the I's and crossing of the T's," Nowicki said. "It's been a little slow."

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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