Florida Gov. Rick Scott will dedicate a bulk of the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT) $9.9 billion 2016-2017 budget to roads, leaving less funding for transit and pedestrian projects. One-third of the funding will be devoted to construction highway projects.
Conversely, only about 6% of the budget will go toward public transit development and less than a half of a percent will be spent on bike and pedestrian trails.
FDOT broke down the budget into these key areas:
- $153.9 million in seaport infrastructure improvements to keep Florida First in the world for ocean cruise passengers and a major U.S. cargo gateway;
- $237.6 million for aviation improvements to keep Florida First in airport infrastructure investments;
- $731.9 million for scheduled repair of 48 bridges and replacement of 21 bridges to keep Florida’s bridges among the best structures in the country;
- $963.4 million for maintenance and operation to keep Florida’s infrastructure among the best maintained in the country;
- $574 million for public transit development grants to keep Florida’s growth in transit ridership over the last five years among the best in the country;
- $159 million for safety initiatives to continue to improve the safety of families and visitors on our roads; and
- $46.6 million for bike and pedestrian trails to keep Florida’s trail development among the best in the country.
