The Southport Connector Expressway PD&E Study was identified in the Osceola County Expressway Authority Master Plan and involved evaluating transportation alternatives for providing connectivity and reducing congestion in the Poinciana community. Ardurra was engaged to conduct the study which included evaluation of limited access new alignment alternatives from Pleasant Hill Road to Florida’s Turnpike over approximately 10 miles. 

Ardurra was responsible for: 

• Managing GIS habitat and Land Suitability Mapping;  

• Wildlife surveys including Audubon’s crested caracara, Everglade snail kite, and Florida grasshopper sparrow;  

• Wetland habitat mapping and assessment;  

• Roadway corridor evaluation;  

• Regulatory agency and stakeholder coordination; and  

• NEPA documentation.  

• Coordination with SEMO, FHWA, USFWS, and other stakeholders;  

• Evaluation of design alternatives to build the interchange in phases;  

• Evaluation of design alternatives to avoid Section 4(f) resources;  

• Indirect and cumulative effects assessment;  

• Air/noise assessment;  

• Detailed field reviews for endangered, protected species and wetlands;  

• Cultural resource assessment; and  

• Public involvement activities.  

The federal Class of Action is anticipated to be an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The completed roadway will serve as a new controlled-access freeway and a highway project of four or more lanes in new location. A planning-level analysis was conducted as part of this project that followed FDOT’s Alternative Corridor Evaluation (ACE) process, which served to screen initial corridors and to identify reasonable alternatives to be carried forward into the PD&E Study phase.  The completed Alternative Corridor Evaluation Report (ACER) was the first ACER approved by FHWA in the state of Florida.