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Next to tourism,
there may be no bigger spark in the engine of the Florida economy than
transportation. In a state so large, getting from point A to point B is
vitally important, and state leaders know building the methods to
accomplish that goal is a quick way to stimulate the flagging Florida
economy. To wit, when lawmakers were sweeping $1.5 billion from trust
funds and reserves to plug a $2.3 billion hole in last year's state
budget, the
only major trust fund they left untapped was transportation. Gov.
Charlie Crist has often said that transportation projects give the
state a return of $5.60 on each dollar invested.
So with the 2009-2010
state deficit
projected to be as high as $6 billion, perhaps it was no
surprise the governor honked the horn again for more transportation
development. Last year, Crist urged the Department of Transportation to
get moving on $1.4 billion worth of previously approved road projects
under his "Accelerate Florida" initiative. At the time, Crist said 179
projects are on pace to begin between one and five months ahead of
schedule and construction bids have already been accepted for $250
million of work. Crist said the projects will employ 39,000 people and
generate $7.84 billion in economic benefit to the state.
There has never been much
debate in Florida about building roads and bridges, but other modes of
transportation have always caused a stir. A proposed Orlando-area
commuter train, to be known as SunRail, became a bitter fight in the
Legislature in 2008 and 2009. Despite being buoyed by
new support from Crist, who stayed quiet on the matter last year, the
legislation (SB 1212) that would allow the Department of
Transportation to purchase existing railroad tracks from CSX Corp. to
run trains in the Orlando area was defeated this year in the Senate.
Now, backers hope to get the wheels moving again with an negotiation
extension from CSX and renewed federal support.
Backers of a proposed
city-to-city bullet train that was once in the state constitution want
in on the action as well, and are also looking to the federal goverment
for help. Excited by the possibility of receiving
stimulus money from Washington that could be used for the
Tampa-Orlando-Miami train former Gov. Jeb Bush argued the state could
never afford, the dormant lobby that first pushed the train in 2000 is
trying to get that plan back on track. Their first step was reconvening
the Florida High Speed Rail Authority, which was created in 2001 after
voters approved a constitutional amendment for high speed trains. The
FHSRA has been dormant since June 2005, last meeting months after
voters derailed the plans for a bullet train after the push by Bush in
2004. But with $8 billion in federal stimulus money for high speed rail
out there for the taking, the FHSRA's wheels are back in motion. The
authority met in February, April and May to
discuss the stimulus money and whether it might be used to put the
bullet train back on the drawing board.
Current
Transportation
Documents
FDOT Amtrak Stimulus
Pre-Application (07-15-09)
FDOT SunRail Stimulus
Pre-Application (07-15-09)
FDOT
High Speed Rail Stimulus Pre-Application (07-15-09)
South
Florida Senators' Tri-Rail Funding Request (05-03-09)
C.C.
Dockery FHSRA Resignation Letter (04-06-09)
Stephanie
Kopelousos FHSRA Stimulus Letter (04-02-09)
Proposed SunRail route (02-04-09)
Florida 2009 Guide to Major Construction Projects
(Jan. 09)
DOT
2008-2013 year work plan (07-01-08)
MAJOR 2009 CONSTRUCTION
PROJECTS
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