On the same day the House and Senate approved the revised federal stimulus package, local and state leaders came together to choose the projects they’ll spend their part of the money on.
Wednesday, local leaders agreed on a number of projects, but Central Florida’s busiest roadway likely won’t see much of a benefit.
Late Wednesday, Congress finally agreed on the controversial stimulus package, but despite what we were first told it does not include enough money to fix I-4. The biggest part of the wish list would be I-4. The problem is the cost is more than the entire state of Florida will get under the proposal.
Transformation I-4, from 441 to Kennedy Boulevard, would cost $1.9 billion. That’s a problem, because the entire stimulus package offers $1.4 billion for the entire state of Florida. Metro Orlando should get around $44 million.
Metroplan just ranked their top priorities on their wish list. I-4 is still number one, but $44 million is not nearly enough to rework I-4.
Instead, the stimulus money will fund resurfacing and lane additions to roads like Highway 50. But I-4’s major renovations may be even further down the road.
What we will likely see are repaved roads and roads widened. For construction workers, Tim Young and Chris Bailey, they just hope it provides work even for a little while.
“There just ain’t a whole bunch of work out there,” Young said.
And with out a major road overhaul to I-4 that work and $44 million might not last long.
Source: wftv.com
