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Aug18

Is the U.S. turning a corner on high-speed rail?

For a while now, crazy situations, hunger pangs and frustrating hours behind the wheel have been making life slightly miserable for Florida commuter Joe Panyanouvong. The attorney who regularly makes the 84-mile journey between Orlando and Tampa on Interstate 4 is ready for a solution. Read more »


Aug16

Seminole County cedes power on major road project

The Seminole County has approved a plan that would outsource control over a major road construction project.

The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority will design, construct and then place tolls on the Wekiva Parkway.

Read more »


Jul28

Road agency to start Wekiva Parkway work

Metro Orlando’s main road-building agency is expected to approve today the first steps toward building the final leg of a long-sought Central Florida beltway.

The board likely will decide today to borrow $300 million to start design of that missing link, called the Wekiva Parkway, as well as to widen the area’s most popular toll road. Read more »


Jun17

Crist saves road jobs with budget gamble

Taking a calculated risk that Florida’s economy will be stronger in years ahead, Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed the Legislature’s ill-advised hijacking of transportation funds.

The move will save construction jobs and probably keep some construction companies out of bankruptcy, at a time of unprecedented hardship for the building industry. Read more »


May27

Florida Receives Largest Federal Share of High Speed Rail Funding

Florida has received $66.6 million in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a brand new high speed rail system between Orlando and Tampa. Nearly $80 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grants to Florida and four other states for high speed rail development were announced today by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood at a regional leadership conference in central Florida. Florida’s first funding installment is part of the $1.25 billion grant to the state announced by the Administration in January. Read more »


May24

Wekiva Parkway plans are slow going now

Metro Orlando’s road-building agency asked Lake and Seminole counties six months ago for permission to construct a tolled highway in their jurisdictions.

The Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority is still waiting for a reply. Read more »


Apr21

Key road projects delayed, dropped — but rail on track

Dwindling state tax dollars are postponing or scrapping nearly $119 million worth of road improvements in Central Florida, including extra lanes to a stretch of traffic-clogged Interstate 4 through downtown Orlando.

But the planned $1.2 billion SunRail commuter train remains on schedule. Read more »


Mar11

Hearings set for Palm Coast Parkway Plan

The City of Palm Coast, with the Florida Department of Transportation, has scheduled a public hearing on proposed improvements to Palm Coast Parkway from Cypress Point Parkway/Boulder Rock Drive to Florida Park Drive. Read more »


Feb18

Commuter Rail, High-Speed Rail Missing Connections

In December, the State Legislature authorized SunRail, Central Florida’s commuter rail system. The eventual route runs from DeLand, through Orlando, to Kissimmee and Poinciana. Read more »


Jan28

Obama announces high-speed rail

TAMPA — President Barack Obama took the stage this afternoon in Tampa for a town hall meeting saying, “We are going to start building a new high-speed rail line right here in Tampa, building for the future, putting people to work.” Read more »