Budget conference: $13.5B set for Transportation Work Program

Lawmakers have agreed on a sizable chunk of Florida’s spending plan for the next fiscal year.

In its cross-rotunda budget offer, the House reduced its original apportionment for the state’s massive Transportation Work Program by $451 million, matching the Senate’s recommended $13.54 billion.

The funding is about $260 million less than what Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed through his “Focus on Fiscal Responsibility” budget plan in February.

Florida’s Transportation Work Program is the state’s ongoing five-year plan for the construction and completion of mobility infrastructure projects, from roads and bridges to rails, seaports and other related systems.

Investments the Governor proposed for the 2025-26 program include:

— $5.7 billion for highway construction and maintenance, including 115 new lane miles.

— $1.6 billion to resurface 2,647 lane miles.

— $954.7 million in scheduled repairs for 43 bridges and replacement of 21 bridges.

— $345.4 million for aviation improvements.

— $258.9 million for community trail projects.

— $252.2 million in safety initiatives.

— $200.1 million worth of investments in rail, freight and transit.

— $120.7 million in port infrastructure improvements to ensure Florida’s harbors “continue to have capacity while the rest of the nation struggles from supply chain backups at seaports.”

The Governor’s plan also included a $49.4 million earmark for the Shared-Use Nonmotorized (SUN) Trail program, an initiative lawmakers launched in 2015 to create a connected circuit of trails throughout the state.

Of the Work Program funds lawmakers are setting aside this year, $13.4 billion will come from the State Transportation Trust Fund and other funds managed by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), whose Office of Work Program and Budget coordinates with local governments, agencies and stakeholders to ensure its efforts align with community priorities.

The remaining $100 million will come through a nonrecurring cut of the state general revenue fund.

Fifty-three percent of Florida’s five-year, $66.1 billion tentative work program through 2030 is made up of state funding. The second-biggest piece (23%) is federal aid, followed by toll revenues (18%), bonding (4%), and local and other funds (2%).