TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The first public meeting on three controversial new toll roads planned for Florida is being held in Tampa on Tuesday.
Lawmakers passed a bill last session that would create the new toll roads in the state.
The plan includes a new toll road from Polk County to Collier County, one connecting the Turnpike to the Suncoast Parkway, and another, which would extend Florida’s Turnpike to Georgia.
The exact routes are not known yet, but they are expected to be discussed in more detail at the meeting.
Environmentalists have been outspoken that the new roads could devastate wildlife and ecosystem.
“The state would be destroying wetlands, and so you’re destroying habitat for all the animals, but you’re also destroying wetlands that help protect our drinking water supplies,” said Aliki Moncrief, with Florida Conservation Voters.
At the end of the meeting, the public will have a chance to comment.
The meeting is being held at the Tampa Convention Center from 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
To see the agenda, click here.
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