OCALA - Whether or not State Road 40 will become a four-lane road through the Ocala National Forest remains up in the air, but if the plan gets the go-ahead, a subcommittee of the State Road 40 Task Force has a list of things they want the state's consulting firm, Inwood Consulting Engineers, to consider in the conceptual design recommendation.

It will be one of several recommendations brought to the table in February 2006 when the state begins the three-year project development and environmental study to determine if SR 40 will be four-laned from CR 314 in Marion County to U.S. 17 in Volusia County.

Anne Brewer, FDOT engineer, said the process will help identify if the road needs to be four-laned and what it would take to complete the project.

Alex Hull, with Inwood Consulting Engineers, said the plan is not etched in stone, but will become a part of the larger decision process.

Habitat preservation, fire management, topography and safety were listed among concerns in the overall plan.

The group spent a lot of time discussing the wildlife populations in the forest, particularly bears, wanting to make sure data was gathered to identify where the animals frequently cross the road and how that will impact a decision to four-lane the road or how it will be constructed.

According to data from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission seven bears were killed along SR 40 between CR 314 and U.S. 17 in 2004. Along the same stretch of road, 101 bears have been killed from 1976 to 2004.

The growing bear mortality rate along SR 40 in the Ocala National Forest is a concern for committee members like Charles Lee, representing the Florida Audubon. Lee would like to recommend elevating the road through the forest if it is to be four-laned.

"Maybe not raise it as high as the Ocklawaha bridge, but maybe raise by 10, 15 or 20 feet. The whole area is a wildlife corridor and the animals move freely across the roadway," he said.

Pointing to a map used to illustrate possible bridges and signs, Lee's attention is drawn to clusters of yellow dots signifying where bears have been killed.

"In the plan these may be areas where motorists can't see the bears or the bears don't see the cars and where the road needs to be elevated," he said. "I think we've got the right information at the table now and the conversations have gone well."

Terry Gilbert, a consultant for URS representing the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, is hopeful the recommendation will provide a solution for widening the road versus protecting the bear population and other wildlife.

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Harriet Daniels may be reached at (352) 867-4125 or harriet.daniels@starbanner.com.