According to U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, $6.15 million in federal funding for transportation projects in Northeast Florida should be available soon. The funds are included in the fiscal year 2005 Transportation Appropriations bill. The measure passed the House of Representatives as part of the fiscal year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill. The Senate passed identical legislation and President Bush is expected to sign the bill in early December.
“These projects are all designed to improve mobility within our region,” said Crenshaw, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “The Mathews Bridge replacement money will go toward easing the commute and improving the bridge’s safety for tens of thousand of people using that route every day.”
Projects specific to Northeast Florida include:
• Mathews Bridge replacement, $1.5 million: Jacksonville is one of America’s fastest growing cities with a population of over one million people. A recently completed Corridor Study by the Florida Department of Transportation has documented the serious deficiency of the Mathews Bridge. Replacing the bridge and implementing related improvements, including Bus Rapid Transit Service (BRT) would cost an estimated $325 million.
• Timucuan Preserve Bike Trail, $1 million: the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is a National Park Service area located at the mouth of the St. Johns River. The Preserve contains nationally significant historic and prehistoric sites. The Preserve includes marshes, islands, and uplands, which are of exceptional ecological and recreational value and are located in close proximity to downtown. The trail project is a key component of the Preservation Project, and the funding will be used specifically to complete the segment connecting Talbot Island and Amelia Island and to conduct a study of the segment between Huguenot Park and Kingsley Plantation.
• St. Johns River Ferry Terminal, $700,000: the requested appropriation will continue the Ferry Boat Project. The funds will help to create ferryboat links to the National Highway System. Specifically, the requested funding will cover a portion of the costs for constructing a ferry terminal along the St. Johns River, which is an extension of the water taxi stations along the St. Johns Historic Boat Tour route.
• Intermodal Cargo Tracking Project, $900,000: the Jacksonville Port Authority owns and operates three public marine terminals and one passenger cruise terminal in Jacksonville. The objective of this project is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Horizon Services Group container tracking system in streamlining the flow of containers and other cargo into and through the port’s four terminals, while providing increased security through a global container tracking system that provides full visibility of shipping containers from booking through final destination.
• JTA Intelligent Transportation System, $750,000: funding is needed to continue developing a Master Regional Agency ITS Plan and provide, within this phase, additional transit communication system linked to other ITS and emergency agencies and a phase of signal priority treatment to enhance overall security and operations. This will serve as the JTA road map for integrating ITS technology into its highway and transit programs. The communication system will allow automatic announcements to ADA clients.
• JTA Transit Rolling Stock, $500,000: this project will provide necessary funding to replace old non-accessible buses hat are past the intended useful life and avoid increasing maintenance costs while improving passenger safety and security with accessible buses and trolleys. Without these replacement buses, safety and air quality will continue to decline while maintenance costs increase. New equipment, including security equipment, will be added to
the buses.