Luther Strange

Toll road to coast eyed

Thursday, May 15, 2008
GINNY MacDONALD
News staff writer
Developers and Wiregrass economic development groups want to build the state's first toll road that would connect central Alabama to the Florida Panhandle.

Transportation officials and Gov. Bob Riley have had several meetings with the developers proposing a public-private road that could ultimately run from Montgomery to Panama City.

"We have been involved in an advisory capacity, and we support their efforts," said Joe McInnes, director of the Alabama Department of Transportation. McInnes said the project would not involve state or federal money.

There are no estimates of the cost to build the road, but transportation officials estimate it would be in the billions of dollars.

If the toll road is built, it would replace a connector road proposed by ALDOT from Midland City to I-10.

A route for the proposed toll road from Montgomery to U.S. 231 has not been determined, nor has a route from Chipley, Fla., to Panama City.

The proposed route follows a corridor defined by ALDOT for the connector that would affect Houston, Dale and Geneva counties in Alabama and Jackson, Washington and Bay counties in Florida.

Birmingham lawyer Luther Strange represents Focus 2000 of the Wiregrass, which he said is made up of potential investors, business owners and chambers of commerce in the affected areas.

Strange said the highway "has long been needed in the Wiregrass area. A connector to I-10 has been hyped for the last 25 years. We want to make this part of the state more competitive for economic projects, things like Volkswagen. You have to have interstates to lure business."

Interstate loss:

Automakers in recent years have built their factories on highly visible sites near interstates. The chairman of the Houston County Commission said last week that Dothan, which has no interstate access, had been eliminated from a list of potential sites for a new Volkswagen plant.

Strange said developers are aware that there is no federal or state money to build the road. "We believe that there is a way to make this road a reality using public-private partnerships," he said. Counties will represent the public portion.

"We would use a nonprofit corporation that would design, build and operate the road. ... It's creative. That's what Governor Riley has been talking about," Strange said. After tolls have repaid the construction and operating costs, the road would revert to the public, he said.

"Ultimately, if the project is a good one and it makes sense, we will try to extend it north to Montgomery and south to the Gulf Coast ending near the Bay County Airport," Strange said. "Our first concern is the I-10 connector."

Several counties in Alabama and Florida are holding public meetings on the proposed road. The Washington County Commission in Florida has scheduled a public meeting in Chipley on the proposed road tonight.

"We want folks to know exactly what the facts are," Strange said.

The biggest obstacle to construction will be financing, ALDOT officials say. The developers must make accurate traffic projections and make sure lenders are comfortable with the toll amount.

"This is as much of a business opportunity as it is a transportation opportunity," McInnes said.

Toll road promoters must still get approval from Florida DOT and from Florida environmentalists because the proposed route crosses wetlands. The commissions of all counties affected in both states also must endorse the project.

Strange said once the plan is approved, the toll road could be built in five years and paid for in 30 years.

Focus 2000 of the Wiregrass was incorporated Jan. 15 with the Alabama secretary of state. Steven Shaw of Dothan, a former road builder and president of Couch Ready Mix, a concrete company, is the registering agent.

Not all state officials are keen on the idea of toll roads.

`Lots of iffy things':

State Rep Frank McDaniel, D-Albertville, chairman of the legislative Joint Transportation Committee, said he has heard bits and pieces about other toll roads and very little about the Wiregrass proposal.

"There are lots of iffy things about toll roads," McDaniel said.

He said the Wiregrass toll road "sounds like they are very early in their dream world."

Toll roads should take a back burner to maintenance and improvements to current state highways, said Sen. Larry Means, D-Attalla, who is vice chair of the Joint Transportation Committee and also a member of a legislative toll road committee.

"Before we have toll roads, we need to do something about our existing roads. We have less money to spend on roads, and we have got to find some kind of source of money for roads," Means said.

E-mail: gmacdonald@bhamnews.com

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