[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

These weirdos want to preserve an old turpentine manufacturing hub that used slave labor. Who WOULDN'T want to put a road through such an abomination? Well, these whackos, apparently.

[Road Warrior ‘04]

Save the slave’s quarters and tear down the Confederate statues. OK! That makes sense! /S

[metmom]

With that mentality, then nothing could ever be destroyed cause everything can have *historic* value.

[M Kehoe]

Put an exit at Etna Turpentine Camp, and problem solved.

5.56mm

[lastchance]

If the opponents can be convinced that Jefferson Davis or Robert E. Lee passed through that should any talk about stopping the road extension.

[shotgun]

If federal dollars are involved then the project would have had to meet all of the environmental, cultural, and historic permitting requirements. This would have taken several years and public involvement. Sounds like this group decided it wanted more money than it was paid and the Agency officials said no.

[Yulee]

“the group was thwarted when officials in Alachua County said they didn’t want a major road routed through their area.”

---

With the widening of the Panama Canal to allow larger container ships and the resulting development of a new Florida shipping port north of the Tampa Bay Area, the state was looking to create an access corridor from Tampa to Jacksonville (high speed trains, trucking, and vehicular traffic). The effort was to relieve overcrowding on I-75, where trucks dominate the highway and anytime there is an accident, I-75 is shut down.

Many meetings, with many farmers and environmentalists objecting to 41 North being converted into a limited access toll road northward to Lake City. The discussed toll road in the article eventually could tie into 41 and create the proposed corridor. Strange objections, since the current highway is open to all kinds of development throughout its entire length.

If limited accessed, farms wouldn't be affected by urban spread (exits would only be at current towns along its length). The farming areas between would be unaffected.

Currently US 19 south along the west Florida Coast becomes a moving parking lot the closer to Tampa you get, all because of urban spread. Its use as an evacuation route during hurricane season is dangerous because of its closeness to the west coast of Florida. US 41 became a major evacuation route during Irma.

Because of Alachua County's objections the state's only recourse is to widen I-75 and try to create a truck lane.

Once the shipping port opens container traffic northward to Jacksonville and then up the East Coast will explode. I-75 will become even more of a problem than it already is

[Deplorable American1776]

The Suncoast is a nice road, but it was planned to go to Jacksonville? I’d rather have it go to Tallahassee. Unfortunately, CSX got rid of two lines that would be great for trains going from the ports of Tampa and Manatee to the north...The Perry cut-off and the Tampa -Zepherhills line. Less truck traffic for I-75, US 41 and US 301.

[princeofdarkness]

“Construction is expected to take about four years.”

I don’t know. This seems like an extraordinary long time to construct only 15 miles of a four-lane highway. The Pennsylvania Turnpike was completed in only two years and they had to contend with drilling tunnels through mountains. Plus the turnpike was about 20 times as long as this Suncoast Parkway extension.