Communities across the nation vied for second round of grants to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety.

The $1.6-billion Wekiva Parkway project, a joint effort of the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) and the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT), has been lauded nationally and locally as a standout example of collaborative planning between infrastructure builders and environmental interest groups.

When Mark Callahan looks back on the arduous but successful seven-year effort of managing the project development and environment study for the $1.6-billion Wekiva Parkway, he gives credit to an unlikely group—environmentalists who once opposed it.