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North Florida TPO Notice of Board Meeting
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Thursday, August 23 at 10 a.m. - 12 noon
FDOT Training Center, 2198 Edison Avenue
Jacksonville, FL
Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad has requested a special meeting to provide an update to the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) Board on the First Coast Outer Beltway and to receive guidance from the Board. An opportunity for public comment will be provided following the presentation and before and Board action.
About The Outer Beltway
The First Coast Outer Beltway is a proposed $1.8 billion, 46.5 mile, four-lane limited access toll facility that includes the St. Johns River Crossing Corridor in St. Johns and Clay Counties and the Branan Field-Chaffee Road (SR 23) project in Clay and Duval Counties.
In early 2011 the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) abandoned the plan to find a private company to build the entire 46.6 mile beltway and just focus on building the 15 mile section between I-10 and SR-21 (Blanding Blvd). This section is partly built and would need flyovers built and widening done for the expressway to be complete. It is expected to cost around $291 million and would be a tollway.
In August 2011, the FDOT announced that the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise will be taking on the $291 million project of turning the 15-mile stretch into a tollway. Construction on the road is expected to begin in 2012 and be open by 2016. As for the remaining 30+ miles of the beltway, the FDOT is still trying to find a private partnership to build that section of the road, but currently none has been found.
According to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), all tolls will be done electronically and compatible with SunPass used in other parts of the state with no toll booths. There will be two exceptions to the tollroad. The 3-mile section between I-10 and SR 134 (103rd Street) will not be tolled to help promote growth in the Cecil Commerce Center. Also people living around the Shands Bridge area will be exempt from tolls on the Shands Bridge crossing the St. Johns River.
For residents who can't or are not willing to pay a daily toll to access their existing residences and businesses, a network of local streets will be made available, including frontage roads paralleling a portion of the Outer Beltway.
Ultimately, if fully constructed, the First Coast Outer Beltway will take a serpentine route through the counties of St. Johns, Clay and Duval, linking Interstates 10 and 95. FDOT believes future drivers will be willing to drive miles out of the way and pay tolls in order to bypass traffic congestion on I-295, Blanding, Roosevelt and San Jose Boulevards. Others believe this highway will turn Clay and St. Johns Counties into economic powerhouses.
First Coast Outer Beltway typical cross section (click on image to enlarge)
One glaring omission in this conceptual cross section is the lack of sidewalks or a multiuse path. Considering, the major purpose of this project is to help stimulate new development in Clay County and Jacksonville's westside, making this a multimodal corridor from the start seems like a logical decision. Before, the naysayers claim that it can't be done, Tampa's Suncoast Parkway already suggests otherwise.
The Gulf Coast's Suncoast Parkway's Suncoast Trail indicates that alternative modes of transportation can be integrated into limited access roadway projects.
A multi-use trail paralleling the Suncoast Parkway
This new highway in Central Florida's Polk County was designed to include a separated multiuse path before the corridor is overwhelmed with suburban development.
New development at Clay County's Oakleaf Plantation.
With the proposed Outer Beltway, the right-of-way is there and the land is already zoned for millions of square feet for residential, commerical and industrial uses. Oakleaf, alone, is expected to have over 11,000 residents at buildout.
If we're going to pay nearly $300 million to construct this project, while overlooking the additional costs needed to maintain it for eternity, let's at least get it right and make it multimodal friendly.
Update by Ennis Davis
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avonjax
August 22, 2012, 07:01:02 AMWe love our roads no matter the cost. And I haven't heard anyone scream about tolls.
I wonder if the people of the counties involved would have voted in favor of this?
finehoe
August 22, 2012, 09:33:29 AMTalk about a waste of money...
Ocklawaha
August 22, 2012, 09:43:52 AMI love the way this thing angles northwest from Middleburg to Cecil, then they claim it will help 'residents' get from Middleburg into downtown Jacksonville! BRILLIANT. I always go half way to Lake City to get downtown.
Captain Zissou
August 22, 2012, 09:47:52 AMThis whole thing feels like watching a slow train crash.
Gators312
August 22, 2012, 09:54:04 AMKopelousos got the County Manager job for a reason....this is it.
gedo3
August 22, 2012, 10:31:34 AMBut, folks, we have solved all our other problems. And there's nothing else to spend taxes on. So this is wonderful...another fun spending spree!
If_I_Loved_you
August 22, 2012, 10:48:06 AM"And I haven't heard anyone scream about tolls" OK I'M SCREAMING TOLLS ARE STUPID! I find it so sad that everyone seems to get so upset if we raise the sales tax for everybody half of a cent. I was so glad when tolls were removed here in Jacksonville, Fl. It was a happy day. Oh sure you had some people say I don't use the bridges to get across the river why should I pay more in taxes? Well you can't please everybody can you? Now I believe this project is a waste of money with or without a toll. But the fdot and I get paid 0.06 cents governor Rick Scott believe its the best way to pay for this road for some to bypass Jacksonville Fl. and don't think for a second people won't. Sit near state road 301 in Baldwin for an hour and watch all the out of state traffic that bypasses Jacksonville all the time. I'm surprised that fdot hasn't decided to put "tolls" on 301 between Baldwin and Yulee to make money for this new road project?
urbanlibertarian
August 22, 2012, 11:23:08 AMIf they added a multi-use path what would the toll be on it?
John P
August 22, 2012, 11:28:59 AMThe train has left the station on this massive waste. Isnt the mobility fee issue going to come up before the cioty council soon? That should a BIG focus for advocates of smart planning, evironmentalists, the elderly, bicycle groups, predestrain safety groups, downtown revitalization groups and hell property owners in general because the more inventory there is with unused exisiting homes and commercial space the less everything is worth. There goes tax base.
Egodriver71
August 22, 2012, 01:19:52 PMMap shows toll free to New World, article indicates toll free to 103rd St?
Conflicting information.
Oh, and it was only a matter of time for tolls to come back here. Politicians can't keep from not doing some sort of money grab on us citizens!!!
thelakelander
August 22, 2012, 01:48:37 PMThe map showing toll free to New World is right. Oh, and the road is toll because there is no other way to fund it. Roads like these are huge money losers, which is why the private sector won't touch it with a ten foot pole. Making these toll means they won't burn as much money. However, if we were really concerned about the financial burden placed on the taxpayer, this particular project would have died years ago.
tufsu1
August 22, 2012, 04:38:35 PMheck, the new I-275 from Westshore to downtown Tampa will have a trail...if they can fit one in there, surely they can on this behemoth
cityimrov
August 22, 2012, 05:19:34 PMWhen this road fails, will Jacksonville be liable for it? Can the city ask for future rail money and not be burdened or even asked any questions about the $300 million newly built road system the state built?
thelakelander
August 22, 2012, 06:05:01 PMThe better question is when rural Old Middleburg Road fails, due to increased local traffic trying to avoid paying tolls to get to and from home everyday, will the state be willing to pay for its widening? Also, we've dumped a ton of money into Collins Road already. However, a large portion of it and the new extension to Old Middleburg are only two lanes. Will proceeds from tolls help with the upkeep of these local roads, which will begin to play a more important role than they currently do today? If not, is there a funding mechanism or plan in place at the local level to mitigate the future results?
tufsu1
August 22, 2012, 08:47:40 PM^ don't worry...there are plans to extend Collins to new outer beltway too
thelakelander
August 22, 2012, 09:20:31 PMInteresting. Who's paying for it and what is the estimated cost of the extension and four laning to I-295?
tufsu1
August 22, 2012, 09:31:05 PMneither has been defined yet...but its in some local and regional plans
Ocklawaha
August 22, 2012, 09:43:07 PMGuess if we've got to build new roads around here, I'd rather see them actually better connect us with neighboring towns and cities. Just for fun, a 2 lane with a 4 lane right of way, could be built from the west end of SR-104 (Dunn Avenue) at New Kings, in a air line to the east end of Florida highway 2, in Nassau County. Yeah, it WOULD line up with Georgia 64, and the Georgia-Florida Parkway, which also will line up with I-22. Interstate 22 (I-22), when it is completed, will follow the U.S. Highway 78 corridor along a 213-mile-long (343-kilometer) route from Memphis, Tennessee, to Birmingham, Alabama, as an Interstate Highway. Interstate 22 will connect Interstate 240 (Tennessee) and Interstate 40 and Interstate 55 (indirectly) in the northwest with Interstate 65 and (indirectly) Interstate 20 and Interstate 59 in the southeast. Hence, I-22 will help form a freeway to connect downtown Atlanta with Birmingham, Memphis, Little Rock, and Oklahoma City. It WOULD be very lucrative to be the east coast sea port on this road! Hello? JAXPORT? Anybody Home?
The other pie-in-the-sky road wish is rather then following the curve onto the 4 lane portion of Old Middleburg, we'd introduce another curve southwest, skirting in and out of the east edge of Jennings State Forest and cutting across to 301 north of Starke. Talk about a cut-off.
I also have always wondered why the city never got back on the Commodore Point Expressway project and go ahead and extend it exactly as it comes down on Beach, with retaining walls holding a 4 lane Expressway, and 2, 2 lane distributer roads on either side, all the way to an interchange at Southside, Blvd.. Also if the Emerson Street Expressway were pushed southwest in the form of Southside Blvd, or the Arlington Expressway, not only could we 'clean up' a ugly row of seedy businesses we could link up with I-95 offering another route downtown.
Southside Blvd. could also be 'improved' to Expressway standards without much effort. at least between Beach and JTB.
JAXPORT could use a 4 lane Expressway from the Blount Island Terminals, roughly following their railroad all the way to Main Street or I-95 or US-1 or US-301... Think I-22!
HA HA! Okay, I've had my fun for the evening... LOL!
thelakelander
August 22, 2012, 09:51:52 PMBackinJax05
August 23, 2012, 12:34:50 AMThis road is a huge waste of money & resources - just like the Suncoast Parkway.
If they want to make it REALLY multimodal, how about adding a light rail line somewhere to the mix.
thelakelander
August 23, 2012, 12:38:28 AMNot enough asphalt, oil, green overhead signs and virgin soil in the mix to seriously consider something like LRT.
BackinJax05
August 23, 2012, 12:40:11 AM^^Touche'
Bill Hoff
August 23, 2012, 06:59:20 AMIs anyone going to the forum today?
tufsu1
August 23, 2012, 09:20:01 AMit isn't really a forum...more of a briefing
fsujax
August 23, 2012, 09:22:03 AMIt is a monthly meeting that the TPO holds, just happens to be at a different location today. Must be expecting larger than normal crowd.
thelakelander
August 23, 2012, 10:21:35 AMHereI'm here. It's a pretty large crowd. The TPO is expected to vote on a resolution to support the project.
thelakelander
August 23, 2012, 10:53:57 AMWow. The Secretary pretty much just told the TPO to support this road as a toll today or FDOT is taking their road money elsewhere. I expect the TPO to go spread eagle. With that said, I don't think this thing is needed and its a waste of money but if they're going to build it, it better be toll.
thelakelander
August 23, 2012, 11:07:39 AMLots of Clay County people here. Claim they need an expressway for growth. It's their top priority project. Oh, and the tolls are intended to only fund and maintain the actual road. All other associated infrastructure costs will be on the back of local taxpayers.
tufsu1
August 23, 2012, 03:46:27 PMseveral MJ posters were in the audience today....in the end, the TPO Board unanimously approved moving forward with the first phase of the Outer beltway (from I-10 to Blanding)....FDOT will be going out to bid on design/build contract next month and construction is expected to begin in March 2013
thelakelander
August 23, 2012, 05:00:23 PMSome notes I took while listening the beltway presentation today.
1. FDOT said they've spent $239 million maintaining and upgrading the former toll bridges through town, since the tolls were removed. They said not one red cent of the sales tax money that replaced the tolls has been given to them.
2. Since Jax residents have paid $26 million to construct the existing portion of the Outer Beltway in Duval, they won't toll the section between I-10 and New World Parkway. FDOT claims by not tolling this section, they are losing $47 million in lost toll revenue.
3. If you drive from Blanding to I-10, you'll pay $2.20 in tolls. However, they expect the average toll per trip on the Outer Beltway will be in the range of $1.20 to $1.50. If you lived out there and choose to drive on the Outer Beltway, that adds up between $876 to $1,095 in tolls per year. Hopefully, you don't have a two car household, lol.
4. Something like $187 million has already been invested in the road so far. That cost hasn't been included in the construction numbers being tossed around now.
5. As predicted here, toll revenue is anticipated to only cover the construction of maintenance of the Outer Beltway itself. Funding for local roads that will have to be expanded or widened, new schools, police/fire, etc. from potential new development will be the responsibility of the local taxpayer.
6. They believe the highway will create 65,000 jobs when its completed. As Stephendare would say, I'll bet you a dollar it doesn't.
7. If there's one thing that FDOT was dead on in this presentation is about it needing to be a toll road. You bet your bottom dollar this thing needs to have tolls. Money to burn on this type of infrastructure doesn't grow on trees and we can't even keep our public libraries operating properly, much less find money in our budget for something like this. Ultimately, the proper answer would have been "thanks but no thanks, FDOT," but as a whole, we haven't realized that these type of projects actually bankrupt us long term.
8. Some guy in Clay County stood up to talk in support of the Outer Beltway and mentioned Jacksonville's I-295 on the Westside as a good example. However, I-295 was constructed in 1970. It's been around over 40 years now. COJ should be swimming in cash with multiple investments like this over the years but our budget is still in the red.
9. There were contradictions as well. Clay County is sold that companies employing thousands of workers will flock to their community because they'll have their first expressway, even though those company workers will have to shell out toll money twice a day to get to and from work. On the flip end, Jacksonville people thanked FDOT for not tolling the section between I-10 and Cecil Commerce Center. They say that if it were tolled, it would hurt Cecil's ability to attract economic development. Hmmm....
10. Oh, and the Outer Beltway has been someone's wet dream since the 1960s. It took a half century but someone is finally going to round home plate.
pwhitford
August 23, 2012, 05:29:56 PMGod help us, the lunatics are in charge of the asylum ...
From the FTU:
State moving forward with First Coast Outer Beltway - Construction from Interstate 10 to Blanding Boulevard begins next year
Posted: August 23, 2012 - 12:54pm | Updated: August 23, 2012 - 4:00pm
By Larry Hannan
The Florida Department of Transportation will begin building the First Coast Outer Beltway as a toll road from Interstate 10 in Duval County to Blanding Boulevard in Clay County in 2013.
The First Coast Outer Beltway is also known as Branan Field Road or Florida 23. As part of the $230 million project the state will take the existing 15-mile Cecil Commerce Parkway and Branan Field Road and turn it into a four-lane toll road with flyovers built at New World Avenue, Normandy Boulevard, 103rd Street and other roadways that intersect the road.
For the first time Thursday the state released a list of estimated tolls for the roadway. It would cost $2.20 to travel all the way from I-10 to Blanding, with five separate tolls being assessed.
State officials said they would move forward with the project after the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization unanimously supported the state’s plan to build it as a toll road Thursday morning. Florida Secretary of Transportation Ananth Prasad said the state would have walked away from the project without the local support.
The project will be financed by the Florida Turnpike Enterprise, which will get its money back from the tolls. Traffic from I-10 will not be tolled until after New World Avenue. This allows people to travel to and from the Cecil Commerce Center without having to pay a toll.
Construction from I-10 to about a mile north of Argyle Forest Boulevard will begin in March 2013, with construction down to Blanding Boulevard beginning in Sept. 2013. Both sections of road will take about three years to complete.
The state also unveiled it’s most comprehensive argument Tuesday on why toll roads should come back to Jacksonville. Voters approved a half cent sales tax in 1988 that did away with tolls the Jacksonville Transportation Authority assessed on the Mathews, Hart, Fuller Warren and Trout River bridges and on Butler Boulevard - and were planned for the new Dames Point bridge.
Critics like former Mayor Tommy Hazouri have argued that bringing tolls back to Jacksonville violates a promise made to the citizens who approved the 1988 tax. But state officials reject that argument.
“The Florida Department of Transportation has received no revenue from this sales tax,” said James Bennett, Florida Department of Transportation’s urban development manager. “But we have done $239 million in improvements on the bridges that were once tolled over the years.”
Prasad said the current sales taxes and gas taxes that fund transportation are not sufficient to build something like the Outer Beltway. He asked the TPO, which prioritizes long-term transportation projects and has representation from every county government in Northeast Florida, to vote in favor of the project because he wanted it on record that Northeast Florida supported building the toll road.
TPO members voting in favor included Jacksonville City Council President Bill Bishop, County Council member Reggie Brown, Clay Commissioner Doug Conkey, St. Johns Commissioner Danny Leeper and St. Johns Commissioner Mark Miner.
One person who has not been completely supportive is Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, who was not at Thursday’s meeting. Last year officials with the Brown administration said the mayor supported the road, but was opposed to tolling it.
Prasad shrugged when asked about the Mayor’s lack of support.
“With all due respect to Mayor Brown, this is not his decision to make,” Prasad said. “I don’t tell him how to do his budget and he doesn’t tell me whether we can build the Outer Beltway.”
Prasad said he would have no problem with Jacksonville repealing the 1988 sales tax.
“I don’t think sales taxes should fund road capacity,” he said. “You don’t want to rely on people buying a pair of jeans to build a road.”
But Jacksonville General Counsel Cindy Laquidara has previously said that can’t happen
The city and JTA took out bonds to finance Better Jacksonville road projects and the current principal outstanding on the transportation bonds is $554.2 million, add in interest payments and the total debt service is $866.7 million.
The sales tax cannot be repealed until the bonds are paid off, or the city finds another revenue stream to replace the sales tax, Laquidara said.
“The sales tax revenue has been legally pledged to pay back the bonds, “ Laquidara said.
About 20 public speakers urged the TPO to support the Outer Beltway, with arguments it would help bring economic development into the region. Supportive speakers included Green Cove Springs Mayor Pam Lewis, executive vice president of JAX Chamber Jerry Mallot, St. Johns Chamber of Commerce President Kirk Wendland, former Clay County Commissioner and current state Senate candidate Rob Bradley and State Rep. Lake Ray, R-Jacksonville.
Clay County resident Curt Kinder was the only speaker to express reservation about the Beltway, worrying that local residents wouldn’t use the toll road, and that would cause congestion on other roads.
Kinder advocated building frontage roads along the Beltway to ease the traffic problems.
Tolls will be collected using a fully automated system called SunPass, which has become ubiquitous in areas like Interstate 95 in Miami and on the Florida Turnpike.
SunPass does not have toll booths; it allows traffic to move at full speed through a toll area that automatically deducts tolls from a credit card account via a transponder that has been attached to the front windshield of someone’s car.
If someone doesn’t have a transponder in their car, the license plate is photographed and a bill is sent to the owner of the car.
The state still has to figure out a way to extend the road 31 miles down to I-95 in St. Johns County. The state’s plan had been to hire a private partner that would build the roadway and then maintain it and charge the tolls.
Prasad said once the portion from I-10 to Blanding was built, private companies would be more willing to step up and do the next section because the area from I-10 to Blanding would be making money.
“There were some companies willing to build this section,” Prasad said, referring to the area from I-10 to Blanding, “But the tolls would have been to high.”
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2012-08-23/story/state-moving-forward-first-coast-outer-beltway#ixzz24PI8lC3f
thelakelander
August 23, 2012, 05:42:06 PM^Being there, it was pretty funny listening to the FDOT Secretary telling them he's ready to take his road money and go home if they don't accept his tolling structure. After that, pure groveling and ring kissing. One could definitely tell who was the Don Juan in the room.
jcjohnpaint
August 23, 2012, 07:48:46 PMMaybe he learns from the developers.
Sounds like s#Hit to me. There are so many holes in this argument.
Quote:
Critics like former Mayor Tommy Hazouri have argued that bringing tolls back to Jacksonville violates a promise made to the citizens who approved the 1988 tax. But state officials reject that argument.
“The Florida Department of Transportation has received no revenue from this sales tax,” said James Bennett, Florida Department of Transportation’s urban development manager. “But we have done $239 million in improvements on the bridges that were once tolled over the years.”
?
Then where does the money go?
thelakelander
August 23, 2012, 08:41:04 PMThey say the money never leaves local hands. So I guess JTA and COJ.
tufsu1
August 23, 2012, 09:05:05 PMthey've spent $170 million so far....expect construction to be another $230 million....so $400m total
jcjohnpaint
August 23, 2012, 09:36:43 PMugh we can't win!
Know Growth
August 23, 2012, 09:45:01 PMThe Beltway concept is a decades old booster dream.
From the earliest days of the Local Government Planning Act,Clay County future roadway map depicted a broad loop aligned further west at the approach to Penny Farms.
Reinhold Corp. has been a key Beltway promoter,crucial Brannon Chaffee and Lake Asbury Sector Plans.
We were able to reroute away from the Ravines Conservation area,hence the previously envisioned southwest bulge has been tucked in.
Note the entire project got it's juice from the erroneous promotion of Brannon Chaffee road as "alternate" to Blanding Blvd.MPO Chief Calvin Burney stated in the press that 30,000 cars a day(ADT) would use Brannon Chaffee 'as soon as it opens'- in fact,30,000 ADT would only occur after a period of modeled time,and largely as a result of the 'growth' BC would spur.
Eventually "stand alone" I-10 to Blanding DOT Corps of Engineers/Water Management District permit application process got a nudge towards approval from Mayor Delaney.
Former Trust for Public Lands 1900 acre mitigation parcel became abbreviated-600 acres reserved in natural state....the rest became Oak Leaf.
Who here can recite when the legally binding NO BUILD option quietly came,and went?!
The episodes the citizens of lake Asbury experienced remind me of current events Avondale.
tufsu1
August 23, 2012, 09:46:44 PMexactly....the power brokers (especially in Clay County) love this thing!
and as far as the NO BUILD option that know growth refers to, the southern 2/3 of the project hasn't received its federal environmental approvals yet...so the NO BUILD isn't completely dead just yet
Know Growth
August 23, 2012, 09:55:01 PMYou obviously do not understand this aspect of previously potentially binding pre PD&I yourself.
thelakelander
August 23, 2012, 10:04:08 PMOh, they were throwing the praises today about how this new highway would even stimulate new growth at Jaxport. However, at least Clay County was honest about why its their top priority project. They want more sprawl development and aren't afraid to admit it. While I believe the type of growth pattern they're promoting is somewhat outdated and unsustainable, at least they are honest about their intentions.
Know Growth
August 23, 2012, 10:22:53 PMState DCA had to scale back Clay County Brannon Chaffee Sector Plan,Lake Asbury Sector Plan desires.
Don't think for a minute Clay County boosters,residents are visioning commute to Duval (no matter how rail/street car et al idyllic). The call for 'employment centers' within Clay a component of future growth.
thelakelander
August 23, 2012, 10:28:20 PMOh, they are open about it. I'm just not sold that companies will be flocking to build along a road where their employees will be forced to pay daily tolls. Just look at the rest of the toll roads across the State verses the ones where tolls aren't charged. The majority of the type of economic growth Clay is dreaming about, don't flock to toll roads. Just along the beltway alone, if its Clay verses Cecil, I'm locating near Cecil and I-10.
thelakelander
August 24, 2012, 04:50:46 PMThis was the picture that popped in my head when the FDOT secretary was making the quoted statement below:
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=537333
Btw, I do believe the community asked for less than $1 million to keep the Mayport Ferry up and running and was told to go take a hike.
tufsu1
August 24, 2012, 06:09:36 PMthey asked for $200,000 and were turned down...never mind that FDOT subsidizes a ferry in the keys every year with more than double that amount
jcjohnpaint
August 24, 2012, 11:24:33 PMhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oligarchy
spuwho
August 31, 2012, 12:49:18 AMWell, tell the FDOT Secretary there are precedents for the people over riding an officials authority.
The Illinois Prairie Parkway http://www.prairie-parkway.com/ was just removed from federal funding after a concerted effort by Citizens Against Sprawlway http://www.sprawlway.org/ began to ring up the litigation costs of the highway to the point where they started challenging every land purchase.
It also didn't help that former House Speaker Dennis Hastert made a cool $2 Million after his last earmark paid for the route planning which just happen to place the road through his 138 acres. Hmmm.
While many agreed that the road will be needed in the next 30-40 years and that land acquisition today was a cost effective hedge for the future, the facts bore out that the road supported no indigenous industry, commercial development or municipality. It simply provided a way for trucks to bypass the toll based Chicago tollroads.
The Chicago Tribune reports:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-08-23/news/ct-met-prairie-parkway-0824-20120824_1_prairie-parkway-sprawlway-transportation-projects
that it would have cost over 1 billion dollars (sounds familiar).
The Prairie Parkway:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Parkway