Scott drives $9.9 billion transportation budget


  • January 29, 2015
  • /   Jim Turner
  • /   government
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott's drive to attract more people and businesses to Florida means the need for lots of cement and asphalt. Jim Boxold, who Scott promoted to transportation secretary last month, expressed confidence Thursday that Scott's $9.9 billion budget request for the Florida Department of Transportation won't get bottled-necked by lawmakers putting together a spending plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The request includes billions of dollars for roads, bridges, seaports and aviation projects. That includes $46.1 million for widening Nine Mile Road in Escambia County. "The Legislature has a number of challenges this year, with Amendment 1 (a voter-approved measure requiring environmental spending) and other competing funding priorities, but I feel very confident how we're positioned," Boxold said. [sidebar] BREAKOUT: Other key road projects that would be funded next year in Scott's plan: — Construction of an interchange on Interstate 95 at I-295 in Jacksonville. $179.4 million. — Additional lanes on State Road 77 in Washington County: $106.6 million. — Additional lanes along Krome Avenue in Miami-Dade County: $78.3 million. — Additional lanes and reconstructing a portion of Interstate 75 in Charlotte County: $60 million. — A 13-mile road project from U.S. 98 to the Suncoast Parkway in Hernando and Citrus counties, joining the Veterans Expressway and the Suncoast Parkway to create a 70-mile corridor from Tampa to Citrus County: $148.9 million. — A new I-95 interchange at St. Johns Heritage Parkway, also known as the Palm Bay Parkway, in Brevard County: $28.8 million. [/sidebar] The transportation funding was included in a $77 billion budget proposal Scott rolled out Wednesday. Lawmakers will consider the proposal this spring as they draw up a final spending plan. The money sought for the Florida Department of Transportation is actually down from a record $10.1 billion package that lawmakers approved for the current year, which ends June 30. Funding for transportation has grown from $7 billion when Scott first took office in 2011. Florida Chamber of Commerce President Mark Wilson expressed support for Scott's efforts by equating the need to invest in transportation with staying ahead of water and energy demands to maintain the quality of life in Florida. "We're growing with the number of visitors, we're growing with the number of residents. We're trying to recruit more companies," Wilson said. "If I was here today to try to find a way to stop the smart growth of Florida, I would either figure a way to mess with your water, your energy or your other infrastructure, let's call it transportation." The $9.9 billion proposal would fund the Department of Transportation's overall operations. Included in that is $3.8 billion for highway projects, $109.6 million for seaport upgrades, $350 million for aviation and $242.6 million for the repair or replacement of 108 bridges.  
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