The $1.6-billion Wekiva Parkway project, a joint effort of the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) and the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT), has been lauded nationally and locally as a standout example of collaborative planning between infrastructure builders and environmental interest groups. (ENR 8/15 p. 52) But the 25-mile-long project, located in a mostly rural section of Central Florida north of Orlando—featuring rolling terrain, unusual for Florida—also represents the similarly rare opportunity for roadbuilders to design and construct a true “parkway” in a greenfield setting.
With both agencies mandated by Florida law to construct the nascent toll road as a “parkway”—though state legislators offered few other guidelines—officials with CFX and its engineering consultants began the business of determining what constituted such a designation.