Skip to main content

Florida committee rejects bill to stop future express lanes

A bill seeking to end Florida’s practice of developing tolled express lanes has been rejected by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, according to Florida Politics. Part of the debate centred on those who argued that high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes are economically unfair and a safety concern, but opponents said such lanes are the only way to add traffic capacity. Bill sponsor Democratic state Representative Matt Willhite of West Palm Beach argued that his bill was a safety measur
March 30, 2017 Read time: 1 min
A bill seeking to end Florida’s practice of developing tolled express lanes has been rejected by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, according to Florida Politics.

Part of the debate centred on those who argued that high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes are economically unfair and a safety concern, but opponents said such lanes are the only way to add traffic capacity.

Bill sponsor Democratic state Representative Matt Willhite of West Palm Beach argued that his bill was a safety measure, citing accident statistics suggesting that they are a public safety hazard and more trouble than they are worth.

Although Willhite assured the committee that toll road projects already under construction, such as the US$2million Ultimate I-4 Makeover in Orlando would be exempt from the ban, the bill was rejected 6-8.

Related Content

  • Caltrans to focus on traffic management in 2014
    February 21, 2014
    Although San Diego County may see a downturn new freeway infrastructure projects during 2014, many projects, from rail to highways and cycle paths, are still in the pipeline for 2014, according to the region's transportation planning agencies. Laurie Berman, district director for the regional office of the California Department of Transportation, said last week that Caltrans' focus is transitioning from general purpose lane expansions to more traffic management. The new direction is meant to provide trav
  • Construction begins on $1 billion I-95 Express Lanes in Northern Virginia
    August 8, 2012
    Surrounded by elected officials, transportation engineers, and dignitaries, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell held a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday to begin construction of the I-95 Express Lanes in Northern Virginia. The project will build 29 miles (46.7kms) of express lanes on I-95 from Garrisonville Road in Stafford County to Edsall Road in Fairfax County, and will connect the I-95 Express Lanes to the I-495 Express Lanes currently under construction to provide a seamless network of new lanes to reduce
  • Putting a stop to intersection indecision
    March 9, 2015
    David Crawford takes a look at innovations to reduce crashes at rural intersections. Intersection crashes continue to represent a worryingly large share of deaths and serious injuries across US highway networks. Statistics from the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration show that an average of 21% of road traffic accident deaths occur at crossings. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) calculates that intersection crashes account for 48% of all injury-related i
  • TEXpress adds reversible managed lanes
    April 19, 2017
    Land availability restrictions and tidal traffic flows have led to the implementation of a novel managed lane configuration in Texas, as Colin Sowman finds out. Dealing with traffic congestion related to the ‘tidal flows’ caused by large numbers of commuters making their way into major business hubs in the morning and returning to the suburbs in the evening, has seen the widespread use of adaptive signal timing and even reversible lanes.