“Governor DeSantis continues to have bold plans for Florida’s infrastructure, and the department is committed to turning his strategic vision into a reality as well as preparing for future growth,” Thibault said. “As a result of the Governor’s leadership, the state is leveraging innovative solutions to improve safety and reduce congestion throughout the state’s transportation system, and I look forward to reporting even more accomplishments in 2020.”
In 2019, some FDOT achievements included:
Receiving a national safety award from the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials.
National bond rating agencies reaffirmed the Turnpike’s elite AA credit rating.
Earning two U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) awards for nearly $100 million in infrastructure projects.
Receiving over $82 million in awards from USDOT Secretary Elaine Chao (the most of any state) as part of the national BUILD Program.
Directing Unprecedented Rail Safety Measures that called for the implementation of safety measures including the deployment of dynamic envelopes at all FDOT and state-owned land rail crossings and launching a statewide education initiative.
Completing construction of Phase 1 of SunTrax, the nation’s first state-owned autonomous vehicle testing facility, and beginning Phase 2 of construction.
Completing I-295 Express Lanes between S.R. 9B and J. Turner Butler Blvd (S.R. 202), which included the opening of a third general use lane.
Widening I-75 from south of SR 50 to the Hernando/Sumter County Line from four lanes to six lanes and improving the capacity of the I-75/SR 50 interchange.
Reaching more than 1.5 million riders on SunRail. The southern SunRail expansion increased ridership by 82 percent.
Improving Sunpass customer call wait times and increasing the customer service score.
Providing Hurricane Michael recovery by removing 10 million cubic yards of debris on both state and local roadways and repairing U.S. 98 in Bay and Gulf counties.
