Monday's Lead Letter: Road construction causes fatigue
Op-Ed: Construction Fatigue: The Traffic Conundrum
It feels like you’ve won the lottery when you glide through the morning traffic and make it to work early. When the kids are out of school and traffic is lighter, it’s like you’ve got the whole road to yourself.
Unfortunately, these instances are the exception and not the rule for many in our area. Whether it is weather-related conditions, distracted drivers or just too many vehicles on the road, we are constantly battling traffic to make it where we need to go.
As the District Two Secretary for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), I understand these challenges first-hand. As a father, I appreciate the frustration that many feel when it’s rush hour and we all want to get home to our families.
One of our goals at FDOT is to work toward a fatality and congestion free transportation network. We are making progress, but we also understand our region is growing. We are constantly striving to maximize taxpayer dollars and insure our roadway systems meet the demanding needs of the traveling public.
Gov. Rick Scott has placed an emphasis on providing transportation solutions to taxpayers. In fact, by the end of 2017 over $1.5 billion in investments in infrastructure will be made to our region. To put it in perspective, Florida’s investments in transportation in Northeast Florida alone are nearly four times greater than the entire state of Alaska.
We are persistent in our efforts to find innovative traffic management solutions. In an effort to solve some of our transportation challenges, we are implementing Express Lanes along portions of I-295. These lanes increase capacity on the roadway and offer drivers an additional choice in their commute. The addition of these tolled lanes offer a creative solution to the finite resources available.
These investments and construction projects represent jobs for our neighbors and a better quality of life for our communities. Our commitment at FDOT isn’t only to our transportation systems, but also to your family and your spare time. Your time is valuable and when these projects are completed, you can save time and spend it where it matters most to you — probably not stuck in traffic.
Even with these investments in transportation it can feel like construction is a never-ending process in our area. We understand that sentiment and we are constantly looking for ways to alleviate the impact to your daily commute. Whenever possible, we limit detours and lane closures to the nighttime hours. Additionally, we restrict roadwork on certain holidays and during special events when we know people will be traveling. We don’t get it right all the time, but we continue to improve and provide drivers with a better experience on the road.
When you see the orange barrels and construction on the roadway, remember it is a temporary inconvenience for a more permanent transportation solution — a smoother ride is on its way.
Greg Evans, secretary,
District Two, Florida Department of Transportation