Advocating for a Connected Florida

Paving the Way for a Successful Future

Florida’s existing infrastructure has long supported its growing needs, as more and more people continue to move to our great state. However, Florida is currently experiencing unprecedented population growth. In fact, according to the Florida Department of Transportation, the state’s population is predicted to grow by 600 people every day until 2053, with some areas of the state to see over 20% growth rates.

With three decades of exceptional growth expected for the state, paired with record tourism numbers, Florida needs to continue to focus on critical infrastructure improvements and projects in order to ensure that the state’s communities remain connected and that Floridians and business can continue to move safely and efficiently throughout the state.

Get Involved in Supporting Florida’s Infrastructure Today!

About Connecting Florida

Connecting Florida is an education and advocacy group formed to support Florida’s future and the needed infrastructure to sustain it. Our mission is to provide education to Floridians and decision makers in Tallahassee about the importance of continuing to invest in our infrastructure, as well as advocate for policy and funding to ensure that Florida remains a connected state – for Floridians, the workforce and businesses, and the Sunshine State’s thriving tourism economy.
Connecting Florida is advocating to support key infrastructure and transportation projects that are needed to sustain a growing state and its residents, thriving economy and tourism industry.
Infrastructure has improved the daily lives of Floridians from expressways to modern public transit like Tri-Rail, SunRail and Brightline. We use infrastructure for vacation travel. We use infrastructure to get to and from work. We use infrastructure to receive goods we’ve ordered online or to go run errands. We use it every single day, and it is essential to our lives. It’s also needed in times of state, local and personal emergencies. Florida is prone to hurricanes, and our state infrastructure is used for critical evacuation routes; our first responders rely on infrastructure to respond to emergencies; and we use it to access crucial health care services. All of these situations require efficient and reliable infrastructure. Our infrastructure also supports a growing and thriving state and economy. Florida businesses rely on infrastructure to receive goods to run their businesses. Their employees use infrastructure to get to and from work. They also use it to ship out their goods to customers. Quite simply, infrastructure is at the epicenter of our modern lives and economy.

The state can balance infrastructure development and concerns for the environment by pursuing sustainable infrastructure that takes into consideration environmentally sensitive areas and the uniqueness of the Sunshine State. An excellent example of this is the Wekiva Parkway, which set aside more than 3,400 acres of land for conservation, provides wildlife habitat connectivity between conservation lands, is elevated to reduce vehicle collisions with wildlife, and limits the number of interchanges in the environmentally sensitive area. While the entire Wekiva Parkway demonstrates how infrastructure and the environment can coexist, segment six of the parkway is a perfect illustration of how innovative engineering can minimize the environmental impact of construction while still moving the state forward.

The state took a comprehensive approach to the Wekiva Parkway that would also protect the Wekiva River system. In fact, the state requires the Florida Department of Health to address nitrogen reduction through appropriate onsite disposal standards.

Your help and voice are critical to showing just how important continuing to invest in infrastructure is for the future of our state. Fill out our contact form and we will get in touch with you on ways that you can support the effort.

Showcasing Florida's Infrastructure

State Infrastructure Projects That Have Improved the Lives of Floridians

Wekiva River Bridges
The Wekiva Parkway completed the beltway around Central Florida. It provides travel alternatives and relieves U.S. 441, S.R. 46 and other area roads of traffic congestion that was a result of growth and travel between Orange, Lake and Seminole counties. It also is an excellent example of how infrastructure can be balanced with Florida’s one-of-a-kind environment. As part of the project, more than 3,400 acres of land was set aside for conservation, and it provides wildlife habitat connectivity between conservation lands, is elevated to reduce vehicle collisions with wildlife, and limits the number of interchanges in the environmentally sensitive area. Learn more about the parkway.
Suncoast Parkway

The Veterans Expressway and Suncoast Parkway were constructed to help ease and accommodate the increased commuter traffic in the Tampa and St. Petersburg area. As part of the Suncoast Parkway project, a multi-use paved recreational trail, the Suncoast Trail, was constructed alongside it.

SunRail Station Church St.

SunRail is a commuter train in the greater Orlando area. The commuter system is comprised of 16 stations along a former CSX Transportation line that connects Volusia County and Osceola County through downtown Orlando. It serves as a reliable and stress-free way for Floridians to commute to and from work or for recreation and fun. It saves Floridians money and time by allowing them to bypass traffic congestion and cutting down on travel time. It also improves traffic congestion by cutting down on the number of cars on the road. Many local communities also provide local public transit options to and from SunRail to ensure its accessibility. Learn more about SunRail.

First Coast Expressway

The First Coast Expressway is an outer bypass around the southwest quadrant of Jacksonville. The first phase has been constructed, which links the Middleburg area to I-10, with the second phase currently in process and set to be complete in 2030. Once complete, the expressway will help to ease congestion on other major roadways in the area, helping improve commute times for Floridians and ensuring safe and efficient evacuation routes during times of emergency.

Central Polk Parkway

The Central Polk Parkway will be a four-lane tolled roadway that will begin at Polk Parkway/SR 570 and Winter Lake Road/SR 540 and extend approximately 6.5 miles to US 17/SR 35, tying Lakeland and Bartow together. After the completion of this phase, construction will begin on tying the parkway to State Road 60, which is one of Florida’s major east-west roadways. With population exponentially growing in the Polk County area, which is one of the fastest growing counties in the state, the parkway will improve connectivity in the area and cut down on congestion.

Poinciana Parkway

The Poinciana Parkway is a critical transportation corridor that primarily serves the residents of Poinciana in Osceola County, which is one of the fastest-growing areas in the state. It runs from US 17-92 and Kinny Harmon Road through Osceola County connecting to Cypress Parkway in Polk County. It provides a critical north-south connection to US 17-92 facilitating access to regional transportation networks, theme parks, and the metro Orlando area.

Brightline Train at Boca Raton Station 7

Brightline is a high-speed passenger trail that runs between Orlando and Miami. It connects two of the state’s largest – and still growing – cities to help alleviate traffic, save energy and provide another efficient mode of transportation for Floridians and tourists.

Tri Rail

Tri-Rail is a commuter rail service that links Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. It has 19 stations along the Southeast coast of Florida, and it connects to Amtrak at numerous stations, to Metrorail at the Metrorail Transfer station, the Miami Airport station, and MiamiCentral, and to Brightline at MiamiCentral. Tri-Rail helps ease congestion on I-95, providing an efficient and cost-effective way for Floridians to commute to and from work or to and from recreation and fun.

Florida Coast to Coast Trail

The Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail is an ambitious effort to create a continuous paved multi-use trail across the state of Florida – from the Gulf to the Atlantic – and it is the first of its kind in Florida. Once complete, the trail will link communities between St. Petersburg and Titusville, allowing Floridians and visitors to explore Central Florida by bicycle or foot. The trail links several existing multi-use trails and is managed by a broad range of partnering communities and agencies. Learn more about the Coast-to-Coast trail.

Florida Wildlife Corridor

In addition to connecting communities, Florida has also prioritized connecting its wildlife corridors. The Florida Wildlife Corridor Act (PDF) is an effort to connect large tracts of land in Florida, including farms, ranches and natural habitats, to create a corridor of protected environment that spans the state. This infrastructure effort provides room to roam for Florida’s wildlife and protects important habitats, while also conserving quintessential parts of Florida – many that support recreation – that it is known and loved for.

Contact

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