TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – This month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his latest budget recommendations, which could bring significant changes to some of the state’s biggest highways.
In a release, state officials explained that the proposal — dubbed the “Focus on Fiscal Responsibility Budget” — would include nearly $15 billion for FY 2025-26, which would go toward major highways, rural roadways and the state’s “growing aerospace and maritime industrial sectors.”
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Breaking that down, the release shows that the recommendations would portion out funding in the current fiscal year to help with congestion relief along Interstate 4.
Last year, FDOT officials unveiled plans to relieve congestion along I-4 by the end of 2025 — a drastic shift from the original deadline of 2030 — thanks to advanced construction of auxiliary lanes and two project segments on the highway at ChampionsGate and World Drive.
“It is great news that FDOT has been able to further accelerate this segment of I-4’s congestion relief,” FDOT Secretary Jared W. Perdue said at the time. “Drivers do not want to sit in traffic, they want to be at home with their families. These auxiliary lanes are part of the solution in delivering a better quality of life for our residents and visitors.”
Now, DeSantis’ budget proposal is pushing for $1.7 billion to expedite the relief efforts for congestion on I-4, though it’s not the only subject of the recommendations.
DeSantis' budget recommendations are not the final word on the subject. Florida’s legislature, which meets for its 60-day annual session starting next month, sets and passes the budget. DeSantis can sign the budget or veto all or part of it.
Other items included in the budget proposal include the following:
- $5.7 billion for highway maintenance and construction, bringing 169 new lane miles statewide
- $1.6 billion to resurface 2,647 lane miles
- $954.7 million to repair or replace 64 bridges
- $90 million for projects in Florida’s Spaceport Improvement Program
- $120 million for “projects supporting Florida’s posture as a leader in cruise and cargo operations”
- $254 million for “projects that support Florida’s commercial airports and general aviation facilities”
- $157 million for “projects that support Florida’s intermodal freight and rail infrastructure”
- $169 million for small county grant programs in the state
- $252.1 million for highway safety programs
- $13.1 million for to support operational technology on Florida’s roads, such as investments in autonomous and connected vehicles
- $15 million to implement a Statewide Mapping and Geospatial Data Pilot Program to reduce duplication in state-maintained efforts
- $2 million to build on the FDOT’s professional certification programs, including for bridge inspectors and surveyors
- $26.7 million for improvements to the FDOT’s facilities, such as a new building for the Northwest Florida District Office and workspace improvements at the headquarters in Tallahassee
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