A major portion of Tallahassee’s Airport Gateway project could be eliminated after members of the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency learned that state officials do not plan to approve the use of state-owned property needed for a key roadway segment.
The issue surfaced during the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency Board’s Sept. 24 meeting when Leon County Commissioner Christian Caban presented an email from the Florida Office of Cabinet Affairs concerning Segment C of the Airport Gateway.
Segment C calls for approximately 1.2 miles of new roadway connecting Orange Avenue to Stuckey Avenue. The proposed divided boulevard would include pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the state email said there are “no plans to bring this project to the governor and cabinet,” a necessary step for Blueprint to acquire the state-owned land. The email also indicated the state did not recommend approval because the proposal was incompatible with the current use of the property.
Caban said the message effectively ends the segment.
“Segment C is dead,” Caban said, according to WCTV.
The disclosure also raised questions about communications between Blueprint and state officials. Blueprint Director of Place Artie White told commissioners that staff was seeing the information for the first time.
“We’re reading it at the same time you are,” White said, according to the Tallahassee Democrat report.
City Commissioner Curtis Richardson, chairman of the Blueprint board, and several county commissioners called for additional verification before making a final decision. The board ultimately voted unanimously to postpone action while staff confirms the state’s position.
The decision could have significant financial implications.
Blueprint documents show Segment C carried an estimated cost of approximately $16.6 million in a May 2023 estimate, including about $2.75 million for planning and design. At that time, approximately $2.2 million was listed as encumbered or expended on the segment.
Attention is now turning to whether money associated with Segment C — and potentially other portions of the Airport Gateway — should be redirected to improvements along West Tharpe Street.
Caban has advocated shifting Airport Gateway funding to Tharpe Street, where plans include sidewalks, drainage improvements and other transportation upgrades. County Commissioner Rick Minor also expressed support for the idea.
“If we get $20 million from Segment C to Tharpe Street, that helps us with construction,” Minor told WCTV.
The Tharpe Street project faces a substantial funding gap. Recent estimates put the project’s cost at approximately $62.3 million, while Blueprint has allocated about $9.5 million, leaving a projected $52.8 million funding need through 2040.
The debate represents a significant development for the Airport Gateway, one of Blueprint’s major transportation initiatives. The overall project was designed to improve connections between Tallahassee International Airport, southwest Tallahassee, Innovation Park and downtown.
WTXL previously reported that the Airport Gateway was promoted as both a transportation and economic-development project, with officials arguing that improved connections could encourage investment in southwest Tallahassee.
However, the entire Airport Gateway is not necessarily in jeopardy.
It appears commissioners could scale the project back toward its original configuration, concentrating on improvements along Springhill Road and North Lake Bradford Road while eliminating Segment C and possibly redirecting the associated funding.
Blueprint staff is expected to return to the board after verifying the state’s position, setting up a decision over whether to continue pursuing Segment C or move millions of dollars toward other transportation priorities, including West Tharpe Street.
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