FDOT Says We're Good in Northeast Florida

I was excited to see which project(s) might get fast-tracked in Northeast Florida with the state pumping $7 billion into solving congestion over the next four years. I read that some of these 20 major projects were supposed to take 20 years to finish, but an infusion of billions of dollars would cut that to four. So we're saved from traffic issues at last. Hooray!

Would we be getting that First Coast Expressway with a new bridge over the St. Johns River, an I-10 bypass of downtown/Arlington that isn't stupid, safe downtown I-95 ramps? Nope. Maybe a fix for the mess St. Johns County is creating for itself with constant building without planning? Nope. Fixing Blanding in Clay? Nope. Anything? Nope.

That's right, Florida's largest city and one of its fastest growing metro areas received none of the super-important traffic abatement cash. Sorry, neighbors.

Orlando to Tampa: five projects. Tampa to Ft Myers: six projects. One each in Miami, Tallahassee, Pensacola, Ft Lauderdale, and Panama City. I guess there's an I-95 project down in Volusia County, so traveling away from Jax might get easier, and I suppose that might be important. Duval County itself doesn't have the worst commute times (yet), and St. Johns County is about average for Florida, but Clay and Nassau Counties do have extra-long commutes, though that could just be bad decisions of where people live versus where they work. Anyhow, the whole region is growing faster than just about anywhere else on earth, so I assume we'll have plenty of road projects available in the next few years. Just not now.