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Ridge Road hopes ride on tolls

By DAVID DECAMP
Published April 30, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Pressed for money and depressed by delays, Pasco County officials have spotted a pot of money to finally extend Ridge Road: tolls.

But it's more complicated than putting up some tollbooths. To make the limited-access highway into a toll road, county officials must:

- Show there will be enough traffic to pay for the project. The tolls would have to pay off 40 to 60 percent of the construction cost within 30 years. The latest estimates put the road at $122-million.

- Find a way to pay for the construction, possibly through Florida's Turnpike Enterprise. Pasco's timing could be good: Florida lawmakers are considering a bill that would expand the enterprise's credit limit, allowing the agency to borrow more money to build more roads. The bill would also make it easier for projects to qualify for funding, since they would have 30 years to pay off the debt instead of the current standard, 22 years.

- Undergo an environmental review of the project. That's no small matter because of ongoing disputes about destroying 48 acres of wetlands, including 15 acres in the Serenova nature preserve.

"With all the sordid history of problems we've had, we could build a toll road and the opponents will still be opposed to it, " said Commission Chairwoman Ann Hildebrand.

The state's toll-road authority, Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, will study whether it's worthwhile to charge tolls to help build the 8.5-mile extension from Moon Lake Road near New Port Richey to U.S. 41 in Land O'Lakes. The study should take six to 12 months, authority spokeswoman Joanne Hurley said.

The chance at more money perked up Pasco officials enough to risk political ire over using tolls. County officials also have informally discussed using tolls to expand County Road 54 in central Pasco between the Suncoast Parkway and Interstate 75.

"If that's going to get the doggone road built, then go do it, " County Commissioner Michael Cox said of the Ridge Road extension. "But there has to be a time frame to pay it back and remove the tolls."

Cost estimates have more than doubled to $122-million - or more, critics say - to extend the east-west artery from Moon Lake Road to U.S. 41. Officials decided to delay building the second section, from the Suncoast Parkway to U.S. 41, until at least 2013 because of the rising tab.

Pasco still could create a toll road without the Turnpike Enterprise running it. A local expressway authority is written into county code, though inactive.

But for either option, the county would have to show enough people would be willing to hit the road to pony up.

"We would have no idea if it's a project that fits or not. Or whether it's something we would want to invest in, " Turnpike Enterprise deputy director Chris Warren said.

Pasco's last stab at an east-west toll road - the Bi-County Expressway from Darby to Trinity - died in 1995. Traffic estimates showed some stretches would have only 6, 000 vehicles a day, when ultimately 35, 000 were needed to help cover costs.

In 2003, a consultant estimated the Ridge extension would have 27, 000 or more motorists a day by 2025. But Michele Baker, Pasco's engineering program administrator, said the county has to update its predictions in light of the central Pasco building boom.

Then again, becoming a toll road could depress traffic estimates, as some drivers would avoid taking a more costly route.

That would spell trouble for Ridge Road. However, Hurley said the 35, 000-vehicle standard for the Bi-County would not be applied to Ridge Road.

"It's a case-by-case basis, " Hurley said, adding that the Suncoast Parkway has points handling 60, 000 vehicles and 6, 000.

Given the costs and the relative shortness of the Ridge Road extension, Hildebrand said, it might take too long to recoup the costs from tolls.

"That's not going to work, " she said.

To get the necessary regional traffic to generate enough tolls to be feasible, Ridge Road might have to be linked to well-traveled Interstate 75, County Commissioner Ted Schrader said. But the county has no plans to take the road that far east.

After all, the county has wrangled for years with the federal agencies, particularly the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, over the extension. County officials hope to get federal approval to start the first phase later this year.

A sticking point has been the effect on the Serenova nature preserve, which was set aside as compensation for the environmental impacts of the Suncoast Parkway. While the county wants the Ridge Road extension to aid hurricane evacuation and take stress off other highways, the Army Corps has to be convinced it's worth the damage.

If tolls are involved, so would the Turnpike Enterprise.

Pasco does have something going for it. Environmental reviews already have started, helping speed the turnpike's review process, Hurley said. Another plus is local support by government boards, including the County Commission and Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Now, if they could just find enough motorists.

David DeCamp can be reached at (727) 869-6232 or ddecamp@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 29, 2007, 22:15:00]