Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiOctober 17, 2017

Last November, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry made an audacious ask of the Duval County Legislative Delegation: $50M to remove and replace the Hart Bridge offramps. “The ramps were originally designed to bypass the industrialized waterfront,” Curry said in 2016, a purpose outmoded in the half-century since the original construction. Curry’s ask: “To knock the [current] ramp […]

Mitch PerryOctober 10, 2017

Florida Department of Transportation officials call Tampa Bay Next a “process,” one in which more input from the public is always welcome. That attitude is impressing some of the agency’s critics, after what was widely perceived as a heavy-handed approach with the now-defunct Tampa Bay Express project, the multibillion-dollar proposal that most prominently included adding […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 30, 2017

Promises made, promises kept. In Feb. 2013, Gov. Rick Scott said there would be an eastbound JTB flyover ramp at I-95. 48 months and $78 million later, that project is in place — and is expected to abate traffic at one of the most challenged traffic corridors in Northeast Florida, starting with its Sept. 6 opening to […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMay 25, 2017

Sen. Rene Garcia is weighing in on a multi-million dollar bridge project planned for South Florida, telling the Florida Department of Transportation that the Miami-Dade community can’t wait any longer. In a letter to FDOT Secretary Rachel Cone this week, Garcia said he was confident the procurement process established by the state transportation agency “followed […]

Joe HendersonMay 23, 2017

Transportation issues in the Tampa Bay area have been well-documented and they will get worse before they get better — assuming, of course, “better” ever comes. The Florida Department of Transportation wanted to attack the problem with a plan called Tampa Bay Express, or TBX. I’ll simplify: It called for building more roads, including 90 […]

Anne LindbergSeptember 26, 2016

State Sen. Jack Latvala on Monday wrote to the Florida Department of Transportation objecting to any plan to start charging tolls on current lanes of the Howard Frankland bridge. Latvala was reacting to recent news that state officials plan to take one of the four existing lanes in each direction on the bridge and charge […]

Lloyd DunkelbergerJuly 14, 2016

With the fatal crash of Tesla car on autopilot near Williston in May, Floridians already know the future of transportation is impacting the state’s highways. Exploration of that future will be one of the themes when the 2016 Floridians for Better Transportation Summit meets Tuesday and Wednesday at the Loews Don CeSar Hotel on St. […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 6, 2016

FloridaPolitics.com obtained a copy of internal talking points designed to help Jacksonville officials sell the Florida Department of Transportation on advocating a $24 million TIGER Grant for JAXPORT. This project, claims the talking points, “will make JAXPORT the largest wood pellet terminal in the U.S. and enhance U.S. exports by two million tons of manufactured wood pellets […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterJuly 5, 2016

Tomas Martinelli is leaving his post at the Florida Department of Transportation and joining the team at Airbnb. Martinelli announced his move in an email Sunday. “As you may know, the people-powered platform and the culture that steers Airbnb makes this opportunity/project an exciting one,” he said. “Although, it wasn’t easy leaving the best agency in […]

Mitch PerryJune 28, 2016

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday unanimously overturned former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s conviction on corruption charges. In case you’ve forgotten, McDonnell and his wife Maureen accepted more than $175,000 in nice gifts, such as $6,000 Rolex watches and $20,000 in designer clothing from a dude named Jonnie Williams, who was swarming around the couple in […]

Tag: FDOT

Hart Bridge ‘design criteria project’ cleared for Jax Council vote

Residents, critics speak out on Tampa Bay Next ‘process’

Jacksonville I-95/JTB flyover ramp will save lives, cut commute times

Rene Garcia: ‘The people of Miami-Dade County … cannot wait any longer’ for signature bridge

Joe Henderson: FDOT’s Tampa Bay transit plan has new name, but really needs new ideas

Jack Latvala to FDOT: Don’t turn lanes on Howard Frankland into toll roads

State leaders, experts to discuss future of mobility at Better Transportation Summit

JAXPORT makes play to dominate wood pellet export sector

Personnel note: Tomas Martinelli headed to Airbnb

Mitch Perry Report for 6.28.16 — SCOTUS ruling on McDonnell case must delight compromised politicos across the land