Session 5 -- Corridors: Transforming Florida's Statewide Transportation Corridors

Moderator, Mr. John Kaliski, Principal, Cambridge Systematics
Mr. George Schoener, Executive Director, I-95 Corridor Coalition -- Presentation
Ms. Aileen Boucle, AICP, District Planning and Environmental Management Administrator, FDOT District 6 -- Presentation
Mr. Johnny Limbaugh, Southwest Area Office Manager, FDOT District 1 -- Presentation
Ms. Michele Mica, Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority -- Presentation

The 2025 Florida Transportation Plan (FTP) calls for the state to optimize the efficiency of existing transportation to support their intended use, whether to serve statewide, regional, or local trips. The Future Corridors Action Plan identifies a collaborative approach to planning innovative solutions to improve mobility along key statewide and regional corridors. These include efforts to add managed lanes, expand modal alternatives, or even integrate infrastructure for energy and other linear facilities.

John Kaliski, Cambridge Systematics principal, moderated this session and introduced the speakers. George Schoener discussed the 16-state effort to plan the future of the I-95 corridor from Maine to Florida. The coalition’s program is multi-modal and emphasizes long-distance transportation across state jurisdictional boundaries. The coalition seeks to transform the I-95 corridor with three key initiatives: addressing critical bottlenecks (e.g., advance solutions for specific highway and rail bottlenecks, consider modal alternatives); establishing information sharing systems to benefit passenger and freight users in the corridor; and integrating intercity air/rail/bus and local transit services.

Aileen Boucle discussed the 95 Express Project. The Department is seeking federal funding from the Urban Partnership Agreement program for this initiative that would develop managed lanes and bus rapid transit on I-95 in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The 95 Express proposes to maintain the existing general use lanes and create two new lanes by restriping. The new and existing HOV would be converted to managed lanes and variable congestion pricing would be applied. The project also proposes to expand and enhance bus rapid transit services on I-95.

Johnny Limbaugh discussed future plans for the I-75 corridor in Southwest Florida, including the public/private partnership to add travel lanes and ongoing studies of the potential for managed lanes. This project will be widening a 30 mile segment of I-75 through Lee and Collier counties to 6 lanes; ultimately this roadway will be widened to 10 lanes by 2030. The District sought a public/private partnership to design, construct, and finance this project to complete it sooner. The Southwest Florida Expressway Authority wants to expedite the widening of the I-75 to 10 lanes by adding tolled lanes, but Collier County has not yet agreed to this proposal.

Michele Mica discussed the ongoing study of needed transportation improvements along the Beach Line (SR 528) corridor between Orlando and Port Canaveral. This represents a concept study and will set up the framework for any subsequent PD&E study. The Authority is considering multi-use (e.g., pipeline, water, electric) and multi-modes (e.g., transit, rail) opportunities within this corridor.

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