Florida Department Of Transportation
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of the State Road Department (SRD). The current Secretary of Transportation is Jared W. Perdue.


History

The State Road Department, the predecessor of today's Department of Transportation, was authorized in 1915 by the Florida Legislature. For the first two years of its existence, the department acted as an advisory body to the 52 counties in the state, helping to assemble maps and other information on roads. The 1916 Bankhead Act passed by Congress expanded the department's responsibilities and gave it the authority to: establish a state and state-aid system of roads, engage in road construction and maintenance, acquire and own land, exercise the right of eminent domain, and accept federal or local funds for use in improving roads. The Office of Motor Carrier Compliance created in 1980 transitioned from the Florida Department of Transportation to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) division of the
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) is a statutorily established cabinet agency of Florida government. In 1969, under Governor Claude Kirk, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Public Safety were m ...
(FLHSMV) on July 1, 2011. The consolidation is a result of Senate Bill 2160, passed by lawmakers during the 2011 Legislative Session, and placed the commercial vehicle licensing, registrations, fuel permits, and enforcement all under the purview of DHSMV.


Structure

The Florida Transportation Commission, made up of nine commissioners chosen by Florida's
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and
Legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
, provides oversight for the state's department of transportation. Each of FDOT's eight semi-autonomous districts is managed by a district secretary. Following the 2002 legislation, the Turnpike District (now known as
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) is a unit of the Florida Department of Transportation that operates toll roads in Florida. The current Executive Director is Nicola Liquori. History The Florida State Turnpike Authority was authorized by the ...
, or FTE) secretary became known as an executive director. There are seven geographic districts plus the FTE. The FTE owns and maintains of toll roads. The department also owns and maintains other toll roads and bridges: the
Sunshine Skyway Bridge The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, often referred to as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge or the Sunshine Skyway, consists of a pair of long beam bridges with a central cable-stayed bridge that spans Lower Tampa Bay to connect St. Petersburg, ...
,
Alligator Alley Interstate 75 (I-75) is a part of the Interstate Highway System and runs from the Hialeah–Miami Lakes border, a few miles northwest of Miami, to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I-75 begins its national northward jou ...
, the Beachline East Expressway, the
Pinellas Bayway System The Pinellas Bayway System is a series of bridges on two state roads in Pinellas County, Florida. It is a toll road complex maintained and operated by the Florida Department of Transportation. It also is compatible with the SunPass ETC system ...
, and the Seminole and Lake County portions of otherwise Central Florida Expressway Authority owned roads. Tolls on all Department-owned facilities are collected by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise. In addition, the FDOT operates and manages several park-and-ride lots and Commuter Assistance Programs throughout the state. The seven districts each have a Districtwide Commuter Assistance Program.


Districts

Florida has seven transportation districts and a separate unit for tolled facilities under
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) is a unit of the Florida Department of Transportation that operates toll roads in Florida. The current Executive Director is Nicola Liquori. History The Florida State Turnpike Authority was authorized by the ...
. Each district is managed by a district secretary. Each district also has major divisions for administration, planning, production, and operations.


Notable projects

In 1954, the State Road Department completed the original
Sunshine Skyway Bridge The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, often referred to as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge or the Sunshine Skyway, consists of a pair of long beam bridges with a central cable-stayed bridge that spans Lower Tampa Bay to connect St. Petersburg, ...
, the first fixed span to connect
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
directly to
Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...
. This greatly shortened the travel time between the two cities, as before cars would have to either use a
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
or drive about around
Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...
. A parallel span was completed in 1971 to make the bridge Interstate standard, and it became part of
I-275 Interstate 275 (I-275) may refer to: *Interstate 275 (Florida), a loop through Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Bradenton in Florida *Interstate 275 (Michigan), a western bypass of Detroit, Michigan * Interstate 275 (Ohio–Indiana–Kentucky), a full bel ...
. After the newer, southbound span was destroyed in 1980 when the SS ''Summit Venture'' collided into it, a replacement bridge was finished in 1987. In 1974, FDOT completed Florida's Turnpike, a limited access toll highway that connected the panhandle area through
Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
to
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. The turnpike is part of an initiative to finance transportation with user fees. In 2021, FDOT funded a review by scientists from Florida State University,
University of Talca The University of Talca ( es, Universidad de Talca) is a Chilean university located in the cities of Talca, Curicó, Linares, Santa Cruz and Santiago. Its headquarters and largest campus are located in the city of Talca. It is part of the Chilea ...
and
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is a public research university located in Hung Hom, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. The University is one of the eight government-funded degree-granting tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Founded ...
, which showed following advantages of on autonomous trains: # Eliminating sources for human errors # Raise of capacity by stronger utilization of existing rail tracks # Reduction of operational costs. Metro Paris reduced its operational costs in case of GoA4 by 30%. # Higher overall service reliability # Better fleet management and service flexibility # Energy efficiency


See also

* Florida State Highway System * Bridge Software Institute at the University of Florida


References


Further reading

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Florida Department Of Transportation Transportation in Florida State departments of transportation of the United States State agencies of Florida Government of Florida Government agencies established in 1969 1969 establishments in Florida Organizations based in Tallahassee, Florida