Florida also launches a new portal to highlight and confront the federal government’s attempts to push politics into transportation

AUBURNDALE, FL - On June 27, 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to announce more fully-funded and ahead of schedule transportation projects to add capacity and ease congestion as Florida continues to see record growth and tourism. Thanks to Florida’s good financial stewardship, Florida can largely self-fund transportation solutions, while the Biden administration forces other states dependent on federal funding to embrace ideological and political agendas to access funds. Moreover, Florida is fighting back.

“Unlike the federal government, under my leadership Florida’s Department of Transportation is focused solely on transportation,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “That’s why our major transportation upgrades are fully funded and decades ahead of schedule. We listen to Floridians and meet their needs. Roads are not for politics.”

Since Governor DeSantis took office in 2019, Florida has invested over $67.8 billion to improve Florida’s transportation infrastructure, reduce congestion, and keep our supply chain moving. Over the last two years, Florida has advanced 20 critical congestion relief projects through the Moving Florida Forward Initiative.

In the next year alone, Governor DeSantis is investing over $14.5 billion for 946 current and upcoming construction projects across the state, which includes:

- $5.2 billion to maintain and construct new highways, adding 140 new lane miles; a cumulative investment of $12.33 billion to construct 964.6 new miles of roadway since 2019.

- $1.8 billion to resurface roadways and fill potholes. Since 2019, we’ve invested over $24.28 billion to resurface over 12,300 miles of roadway.

- $382 million to repair 72 bridges and replace another 15, totaling 593 bridge repairs or replacements since 2019.

- $1.4 billion to support intermodal improvements, including over $334.2 million for our airports, $109.6 million for our seaports, and $960.6 million to support transit and freight rail. Since 2019, we’ve invested over $2 billion in our airports, $1.1 billion in our seaports, and another $3.7 billion in transit and freight rail.

In April, the Governor announced fully-funded I-4 projects in Polk and Osceola counties, including nearly 15 miles of highway widening at ChampionsGate and World Drive, starting this year. Once again, Florida is addressing immediate transportation needs by delivering projects ahead of schedule. Today, the Governor announced the addition of a new lane for traffic on I-4, available next year, to provide immediate congestion relief during and after the completion of other I-4 widening projects.

“Thanks to Governor DeSantis’ leadership and forward-thinking approach, we were empowered to look at even more ways to expedite critical infrastructure improvements along the I-4 corridor. Moving Florida Forward was already poised to benefit Floridians, and with the re-sequencing of construction and the additional auxiliary lanes, drivers will start to see relief at one of the most congested areas in the state by the end of 2025, not 2030 as previously planned,” said FDOT Secretary Jared W. Perdue, P.E. “Florida’s vision for infrastructure stands in stark contrast to the Biden administration’s insistence on prioritizing ideological and political agendas over building infrastructure. I’m happy to live in the Free State of Florida where all Floridians and visitors are free to drive what they want, when they want, and where they want.” 

Finally, to demonstrate how Florida is pushing back, Governor DeSantis announced that FDOT is launching a dedicated portal to highlight the politicization of Biden’s transportation department. Florida will call out the federal government’s underhanded tactics and progressive agenda-pushing at every turn. And thanks to Florida’s solid financial standing, Florida can reject the heavy hand of radical federal mandates.

To visit the portal, click here.