- Work has already started on the Northeast Gateway Project.
- It's a Blueprint IA project that will extend Welaunee Boulevard by six miles.
- Local planners say it will help the area accommodate increased growth.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Work has already gotten started on a project meant to save you time on your commute.
I spoke with local planning experts on what the Northeast Gateway project will bring to Tallahassee.
Traffic experts with Blueprint say there were over 60 thousand vehicles on Northeast Tallahassee roads in 2018.
With that only expected to go up, the county and city are teaming up to add a connection via Welanueee Boulevard.
The extension of the road is already in the works and will create a new, six-mile stretch of road to connect to Centerville and Roberts Roads.
I spoke with the director of Blueprint IA Autumn Calder to ask how this will help neighbors on the day to day.
"It reduces our travel time in our cars," Calder said. "if you're a person that has to go from home to dropping the kids off at school to work and back home, the less time you spend in the car, the better."
Calder said that's not the only goal.
She said the project will also add
"Economic opportunity for our community, jobs, restaurants, retail, all sorts of great stuff can come out of that," Calder said.
The new extension will connect to Miccosukee Road, one of Tallahassee's iconic canopy roads.
Calder said the new roadway will provide economic growth to the area while still conserving nature in the area.
"It will relieve the pressure to widen those two locally designated canopy road," Calder said.
Something Mayor John Dailey said meets the city's overall goal.
"I think we're doing it right when you look at the unprecedented measures of how much land we are preserving out here and how the greenway will connect to the Miccosukee Greenway to add to the quality of life," Dailey said.
One of those quality of life amenities that will be added: multi-modal transportation so you can enjoy all the area has to offer.
"Of course it provides the roadway for cars but it also provides sidewalks and multi-use trails so that people that want to commute and recreate by bike, they can absolutely do that with this part of the project," Calder said.
Calder said once the construction is finished, there is lots of possibility for the future.
"This roadway transportation investment is the first step into getting a new I-10 interchange," Calder said.
You won't be able to drive on this portion of Welaunee Boulevard just yet.
It's expected to be ready in 2026.
