Staff Writer
High speed intercity passenger rail between Jacksonville and Miami is in the hands of the Federal Railroad Administration now that a grant application has been submitted for $2.1 billion in available funding.
The North Florida Transportation Planning Organization was updated Thursday on the progress of restoring Amtrak passenger rail service on the Florida East Coast Corridor.
“The restoration of passenger service along the Florida East Coast Corridor could affect a lot of communities throughout Florida,” said Kim Delaney, project manager, from the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council.
Potential new train station sites include St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Titusville, Cocoa, Melbourne, Vero Beach, Fort Pierce and Stuart. Existing stations to be renovated include Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Miami.
In St. Augustine, the best site among three possibilities was determined to be on San Marco Avenue.
“We spent a lot of time in St. Augustine reviewing sites,” said Delaney. “The San Marco site was the least expensive of the three.”
The other two sites included another in the city and one near St. Augustine Airport.
“You’ve done a great job with this project and have really become the face of it,” said Doug Conkey, chair of the TPO Board. “I look forward to hearing about the results of the application.”
The Federal Railroad Administration has released more than $183 million for the High-Speed Intercity Rail program.
The significant portion of funding comes from the federal government’s $8 billion contribution for the creation of a national network of interconnected high-speed rail corridors in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
In addition to the application for $2.1 billion, the Federal Railroad Administration will also make another $245 million available for individual construction projects within the corridor.
“At a time like this, with the way the economy is, the state could really use a project like this to get people back to work,” said Delaney.
The Florida Department of Transportation had some good news relating to the economy for the TPO.
Doreen Joyner-Howard, a transportation planner, said it was a great time to make infrastructure improvements because costs are lower than they have been in some time.
“Projects were completed under budget, so there was some leftover money that Tallahassee recently handed out for priority projects,” said Joyner-Howard.
Local projects that received funding include railroad safety projects at crossings at Ortega Hills Drive, $245,000, and Verona Avenue, $310,000. Ortega Hills Drive received flashing lights and gates and similar equipment was replaced at the Verona Avenue crossing.
In other news, the board said it was pleased with its recent partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation to fund the Road Rangers program. The TPO agreed to contribute $500,000 a year for three years.
The program offers free highway assistance to reduce delays and improve safety for the motoring public and responders. Since the program’s inception in 2000, the Road Rangers have made more than 2.8 million service assists, with more each day.
Road Ranger District Two covers Duval County and it serves sections of Interstate 95, I-295, I-10, Butler Boulevard and Florida 9A from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The District 2 contractor is First Coast Road Ranger LLC.
North Florida TPO Board
Chair, Doug Conkey, Clay County Commission
Vice Chair, Michael Corrigan, Jacksonville City Council
Treasurer, Danny Leeper, Nassau County Commission
Ron Braddock, Nassau County Highway, Ocean and Port Authority
Travis Cummings, Clay County Commission
Denise Lee, Jacksonville City Council
Mike Borno, Mayor of Atlantic Beach
Phillip Mays, St. Johns County Commission
Buck Fowler, Jacksonville Port Authority
Ava Parker, Jacksonville Transportation Authority
Deborah Pass-Durham, Jacksonville Aviation Authority
John Peyton, Jacksonville mayor
Nancy Sikes-Kline, City of St. Augustine Commission
Carl Youman, St. Augustine/St. Johns Airport Authority
Ex Officio members
Mike Griffis, Baker County (vacancy), Flagler County Brad Purcell, Putnam County Capt. Jeffrey Maclay, U.S. Navy
356-2466