SANFORD, Fla. – Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez discussed two Central Florida transportation projects part of a proposed infrastructure initiative focused on increased road safety and congestion relief at a Sanford news briefing on Thursday.
The Moving Florida Forward initiative plans to invest $7 billion in 20 transportation projects across the state, including revamping Poinciana Parkway and Interstate 4 from Champions Gate to Osceola Parkway.
“They’ve been selected as areas, that will provide the most relief and make Florida’s transportation system safer, less congested, and help provide a secure supply chain for our products that are moving in and out of the state from our seaports or airports, as well as our freight rail lines,” Nuñez said. “We also want to make sure that as Floridians and visitors love our scenery, they love our parks or beaches, our nightlife, that in our great state, they won’t be experiencing that from behind the wheel stuck in traffic.”
The Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue also said the billions of dollars dedicated to Central Florida infrastructure would help roadways in the area, such as I-95 and US-1 in Volusia County and the Poinciana Parkway connecting Osceola and Polk counties, “in desperate need of upgrades both for safety and congestion relief.”
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“So just think about the magnitude of that investment and the impact that it’s going to have on people’s daily commutes,” Perdue said. “Right now, on I-4 in Central Florida, you never know how long it’s going to take. You could be sitting in traffic for hours. I-75 in Marion County, how many of you are familiar with that? I actually drove it today. The congestion there is all day, every day. It is in severe need of upgrades.”
Florida Highway Patrol Maj. Tom Pikul added he’s seen a lot of changes on Central Florida roadways since starting as a state trooper about 20 years ago.
“I can tell you that the I-4 corridor has changed immensely... Two projects near and dear to my heart, as Lt. Gov. Nuñez already spoke of was the I-4/US-27 to Champions Gate and the extension from Champions Gate to Osceola Parkway. If you ever travel that area, you know traffic is extremely busy, very slow,” Pikul said. “And that’s a challenge because this traffic builds up more—there’s more possibilities of traffic crashes, or frustration and road rage in those areas. You’ll see vehicles traveling on the right shoulder, in the median, and what that causes is a delay in first response.”
He said that improving these roadways not only alleviate that traffic, but also improve response times in the event of emergencies, allowing crews to potentially reduce life-changing and devastating accidents.
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