A Southwest Turnpike Could Calm I-75
Our winter season will begin to wind
down early this year as Easter falls on March 27th, a little earlier
in the year than usual. Easter marks the beginning of the annual
northward migration as snowbirds begin their annual trek back home,
regardless of the late snows and chilly weather hanging on “up
north”. Our local roads and highways will soon be a little
emptier, and traffic will flow a little smoother than during snowbird
season.
However, I-75 will be a different
matter. Anyone who travels the interstate regularly can tell when the
migration is on. Many of our seasonal residents travel with campers
or mobile homes, often towing cars or SUVs behind like faithful
puppies.
A transportation Town Hall meeting held
at Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers on February 19th,
addressed concerns and schedules for widening I-75 through southwest
Florida. Led by Congressman Connie Mack, a member of the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the meeting outlined the
need for widening I-75. Obviously, something must be done.
I would like to propose an alternate
route. I realize that I-75 must be widened. There are no
alternatives to that fact. There are, however, alternatives to the
nightmare of being stuck on I-75, no matter how wide it is. Two serious accidents last year closed
down the Interstate completely, showing the vulnerability of having
only one evacuation route.
The Florida Turnpike, a toll road,
leaves the Orlando area and heads toward Ft. Pierce on the east
coast. I would like to see the Florida Turnpike split at that point
south of Orlando, and a new turnpike built to service Southwest
Florida. It would connect the center of the state with either Ft
Myers or the Naples area.
First and foremost, it would offer an alternative evacuation route to the central Florida area without clogging up the Sarasota/Tampa area, especially the I-4 interchange. Much of the land or property needed is currently either unused, or underused, and would be economically feasible to acquire in the short term.
It would relieve I-75 of most of the
traffic headed or returning from the Orlando/Central Florida
recreation areas, almost all of which is personal vehicular traffic.
The Orlando area directly supports or implements vacationing in
Southwest Florida. Many of our visitors and tourists include at
least one trip to the Disney/Orlando complex. The Southwest
Florida Turnpike would remove these vehicles from I-75 through the
Sarasota/Manatee/Hillsborough County areas.
The opening of the Southwest Florida
Turnpike would be the economic shot in the arm for all of central
Southwest Florida that has not benefited from the easy access
afforded by I-95/The Florida Turnpike on the east coast, nor the
narrow economic expansion areas bounding I-75 on the west coast.
As a Toll Road, it would generate
revenue to offset construction and operation costs. I would gladly
pay the toll to be able to drive to Wildwood without the worry of
“mile-per-hour” commercial vehicles or the plodding campers.
Even if they are my neighbors.
George Mindling © 2005
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