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County accepts airport connector study and endorses Alignment D as preferred route
Summary
St. Lucie County accepted a study recommending ‘Alignment D’ as the preferred Treasure Coast Airport connector route, citing lower right‑of‑way needs, limited wetland impacts and alignment with planned development; the project remains a long‑range plan requiring further engineering, permitting and funding.
The St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners accepted an alternatives analysis and endorsed “Alignment D” as the preferred route for a proposed Treasure Coast Airport connector between Kings Highway and I‑95, officials said at the June meeting.
County staff and consultants said the connector — envisioned as a four‑lane, divided arterial with a 160‑foot right‑of‑way, a 22‑foot raised median, five‑foot paved shoulders and 10‑foot multi‑use trails on both sides — would provide a more direct route to Treasure Coast International Airport, improve mobility for employment centers in the Airport Commerce Park and reduce congestion on Kings Highway and Indrio Road.
Patrick Deyen, Public Works director, said the study was funded in partnership with the Treasure Coast Transportation Planning Organization and is intended to give staff a defined corridor to reference as development applications come forward. “The recommendations of the study provide that specificity to staff as development occurs,” Deyen said.
Kimley‑Horn consultant Brian Goode reviewed nine alternative alignments plus a no‑build option. The preferred Alignment D was recommended because it met planning and safety objectives, generally follows existing or planned right‑of‑way corridors, has relatively low acquisition needs (about 34 acres), the second‑lowest capital cost estimate (about $49 million) and the smallest wetland impact among evaluated routes (approximately 2.5 acres), the study reported. Alignment G, the study noted, had the single lowest capital estimate but slightly greater wetland and acquisition impacts.
The analysis also estimated public‑safety benefits: over a 30‑year horizon the connector could reduce crashes by roughly 1,000 incidents with a corresponding monetized value cited by the study.
Commissioners stressed this is a corridor study, not approval to build. Goode and Deyen noted many steps remain, including detailed interchange justification with FDOT to connect to I‑95, environmental permitting, right‑of‑way acquisition, and design and construction phases; an interchange justification report and additional engineering studies would be required before any physical connection to I‑95. The Board accepted the report and approved staff moving forward with the next coordination steps.
The study will be used as a reference when developers are asked to set aside right‑of‑way and when staff evaluates future land‑use and site plans near the proposed corridor.
