Gabrielle Russon
Both Chambers support spending nearly $352 million for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Moving Florida Forward initiative to speed up major road construction projects.
According to the latest budget talks from Thursday, lawmakers support funding Moving Florida Forward the same amount in the next fiscal year as they did this current year. Unspent money from the current year can be allocated in the next fiscal year for the same purpose.
In 2023, DeSantis proposed a four-year, $4 billion plan to do 20 road construction projects across the state in some of the most congested areas to free up traffic. The investment in roads has been a priority for DeSantis and a subject he occasionally discusses during his press stops over the years.
“There are projects in the queue that are now being brought to fruition that likely wouldn’t have broke ground until the middle of next decade,” DeSantis said in April at a news conference in Central Florida where he announced expanded Interstate 4 lanes opening, which were one of the projects part of his plan. “We have at least 20 major interstate and roadway projects that have been expedited through Moving Florida Forward.”
The list of other projects includes: the Golden Glades interchange in Southeast Florida, the Interstate 95 at U.S. 1 interchange in Volusia County, and the Interstate 75 at Fruitville Road interchange.
DeSantis calls the state funding a good investment, as people and goods move along the roadways more efficiently.
“The economic impact of Moving Florida forward just in the I-4 region, we estimate to be over $13 billion,” he said.
Moving Florida Forward is also needed because the state’s population continues to surge and the roads are becoming more crowded, DeSantis said.
DeSantis also said it’s important to alleviate congestion for future hurricane evacuations after millions fled during last year’s storms. Hurricane season began officially on June 1 and runs until Nov. 30.
