by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Mayor John Peyton welcomed more than 200 transportation and infrastructure professionals to Jacksonville for the Transportation & Expressway Authority Membership of Florida (TEAMFL) fourth-quarter 2008 meeting Friday morning at the Hyatt.
The organization was formed in 1997 as a collaborative effort between the State of Florida’s Expressway Authorities System and the Florida Turnpike District. TEAMFL’s purpose is to unite transportation-related agencies throughout the state and promote transportation initiatives before the Florida Legislature and federal government.
The focus of Friday’s meeting was to help attendees understand the growing relationship between highways and railroads and Florida’s 14 deep-water ports.
Peyton pointed out that despite the global economic downturn, Jacksonville appears to be weathering the storm and much of that effect can be attributed to the development of the city as a global trade destination for shippers of cargo.
“The most promising aspect of Jacksonville’s current economic growth is international trade,” he said. “But it’s impossible to entertain the notion of significant international trade without infrastructure. We’re doing everything we can to become the leading port on the east coast. Our challenge is to make sure we can move cargo from the Port to the Interstate Highway system while maintaining the quality of life for our residents.”
John LaCapra, president of the Florida Ports Council continued the theme of how international trade depends on highways and rail and said, “Our problem as a group is there’s no grand design for transportation – not on the state or federal level.”
He said international trade accounts for more state revenue than many people might imagine.
“In South Florida, 25 percent of sales tax revenue is because of international trade. Florida’s lifestyle flows through its ports,” said LaCapra.
Florida’s ports also handle more than half of Venezuela’s exports to the northern hemisphere, LaCapra added.
“And when the United States resumes trade with Cuba, Florida must be ready, but right now we’re asleep at the wheel,” said LaCapra.
Getting cargo to the dock is the first step. After that, containers and other freight must be moved around the country by either highway or railroad. The proposed First Coast Outer Beltway is a key component for managing traffic in Duval County after the two new cargo terminals are in operation at the Port.
Robert Parks, District 2 director of planning and production for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), said when the outer beltway was first conceived, it wasn’t apparent how closely related it is to Jacksonville’s international trade. When the new Port terminals are fully operational, thousands of trucks will hit the roads each day on the way to points south, west and north, adding a tremendous amount of volume to the existing infrastructure.
“Blanding Boulevard and U.S. 17 are at capacity now,” said Parks. “State Road 16 and County Road 210 are nearing capacity and so is the Buckman Bridge.”
Connecting I-10 to I-95 through Clay and St. Johns counties is the FDOT’s solution, said Parks, and it will be a public-private partnership.
“If we’re going to build the outer beltway in the next 30 to 50 years it will have to be financed by tolls. Concessionaires have told us they could build the 46 miles of new road in 3-5 years and it will be a $2 billion project.”
FDOT will be responsible for permits, right of way acquisition and wetland and contamination issues, according to Parks.
“FDOT takes on the environmental risks and the concessionaire will take on the revenue risk,” said Parks.
Parks also said while the basic format of how the public-private partnership will eventually be structured is known, the schedule for the project is “yet to be determined.”
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