FDOT Spotlights Major Infrastructure Projects Driving the Future of Florida’s Transportation Network

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FDOT Spotlights Major Infrastructure Projects Driving the Future of Florida's Transportation Network

Florida remains a leader in transportation, prioritizing communities through investments in forward-looking transportation infrastructure and technology<_o3a_p>

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Today, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) highlighted its major accomplishments across Florida's transportation system throughout 2025. These projects and initiatives are keeping people and goods moving efficiently, improving safety, and strengthening Florida's economy and workforce. FDOT also continues to embrace emerging technologies, celebrate Florida's natural beauty, and enhance the quality of life and connectivity of communities statewide.

"Thanks to Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature's continued support of our state's transportation infrastructure, 2025 has been a highly successful year for FDOT," said Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared W. Perdue, P.E. "The Department took major steps forward with projects to reduce congestion, invest in critical infrastructure, strengthen Florida's supply chain, create job opportunities, and push the boundaries of new and emerging transportation technologies, all while prioritizing the wellbeing of Florida's communities."

First to Respond When Severe Weather Strikes

In 2025, FDOT demonstrated its preparedness to serve Floridians during emergencies, working across state and local lines to respond quickly to severe weather and keep communities moving.

In January, Winter Storm Enzo brought significant snow and ice to North Florida, presenting unique challenges to a state that typically experiences mild winter weather. FDOT's response began days before the storm arrived, mobilizing over 250 team members and nearly 200 pieces of heavy equipment, pre-treating over 600 critical bridges in North Florida with anti-icing products, and staging utility crews to respond to power outages. As historic snow and ice hit the region and major portions of Interstate 10 (I-10) were forced to close for safety, FDOT crews began work immediately, clearing nearly 400 miles of ice and snow from I-10 and reopening the interstate in just 25 hours.

Unexpected heavy rainfall swept across Central Florida in October, bringing significant flooding and damaging essential transportation routes like U.S. 1, I-95, and State Road (S.R.) 46. FDOT crews immediately assessed damage and started emergency repairs to restore safe travel conditions. Over several days, FDOT cleared debris, pumped floodwater, and repaired damaged roadways, ultimately restoring safe travel conditions for Central Florida communities. The Department also aided Brevard, Lake, and Orange Counties to accelerate repair work on local roads.

From snowstorms to rainstorms, FDOT continues to demonstrate its adaptability in emergency situations, always prioritizing the safety and wellbeing of Florida communities.

Delivering Congestion Relief Decades Ahead of Schedule

In 2025, FDOT continued its substantial progress on projects under the Moving Florida Forward Infrastructure Initiative, Governor DeSantis' bold vision to advance key congestion relief projects decades ahead of schedule. As Florida continues to experience rapid population growth, these projects ensure that our state's transportation infrastructure can meet current and future demands.

This year, Moving Florida Forward projects reached major milestones, including new congestion relief lanes on I-4 that opened in April, eight months ahead of schedule. The completion of the congestion relief lanes adds an additional lane in each direction of I-4 from U.S. 27 in Polk County to World Drive in Osceola County, fulfilling a 2024 promise to quickly relieve congestion on one of the busiest sections of I-4. These improvements provided immediate congestion relief to the 140,000 daily travelers, reducing travel times by 50 percent.

Major progress continues on the Golden Glades Interchange (GGI) Project, with nearly half of the stormwater drainage structures and concrete bridge pile work completed. In addition, the GGI project is already tracking one year ahead of the original construction schedule, showing the team's commitment to getting the job done. This project will bring a multitude of benefits to the region, including the construction of 32 new bridges to enhance efficiency and reduce congestion, as well as establishing a major freight connector to South Florida's seaports and airports.

In 2025, FDOT broke ground on several additional Moving Florida Forward projects. Construction began in February on the new I-75 Auxiliary Lanes in Ocala, which will bring major congestion relief to the 114,000 daily drivers. This project, which will construct 31 miles of new auxiliary lanes, was advanced by 10 to 15 years through Moving Florida Forward and will drive $2.3 billion in economic impact to the region.

In August, FDOT broke ground on the I-275 Widening Project in Pinellas County, which will provide congestion relief by adding two express lanes. This additional capacity will connect people and goods with the Tampa metropolitan area and improve a critical evacuation route. When completed, this project is expected to reduce travel delays by up to 85 percent and generate more than $1.4 billion in regional economic value. Thanks to Moving Florida Forward, the I-275 widening will be completed 15 years ahead of schedule.

Ensuring a Strong Supply Chain and Robust Economy

In addition to major congestion relief projects that enhance the flow of commerce and trade statewide, FDOT has invested specifically in strengthening Florida's supply chain, bolstering our trucking industry and seaports with proactive, solution-based projects.

To support Florida's freight traffic along the I-4 corridor, FDOT is constructing a new 100-space truck parking facility in Polk County at the Polk Parkway and I-4 interchange. This advancement reflects the state's commitment to fiscal responsibility by maximizing available resources, as the new truck parking facility will utilize existing right of way within the interchange. With 75 percent of Florida's total freight moved by trucks, FDOT is committed to expanding critical truck parking facilities throughout the state to support this vital industry In June, thanks to the responsiveness of the Trump Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation, FDOT was awarded a grant agreement for $180 million in Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (or INFRA) Grants to add 917 new truck parking spaces along the I-4 corridor in Volusia, Seminole, and Osceola Counties. This is a grant Florida had been waiting on since the award was announced in January 2024, during the previous administration.

This year, FDOT announced more than $19.5 million in continued investments to further strengthen Florida's supply chain and bolster the state's storage capacity and efficient movement of building materials like construction aggregates. These grant awards, which build on last year's $18 million award, are the second round of investments awarded through Governor DeSantis' highly successful Aggregate Grant Program, which provides up to $20 million each year to Florida's seaports, rail, and rail facilities to deliver projects that enhance the movement and storage of construction aggregate across the state. The five recipients of these grants will expand existing aggregate material storage capacity by more than 4.2 million tons, bringing immediate and tangible storage solutions.

FDOT understands the integral role of Florida's transportation system in the overall success of the state's economy and will continue to take every opportunity to fortify our critical supply chain infrastructure.

Developing Florida's Transportation Workforce

FDOT continues to build up Florida's transportation workforce by investing in programs and career opportunities to attract, train, and retain the best and brightest individuals. FDOT is cultivating a generation of dependable and skilled transportation professionals that will build Florida's transportation vision into the future.

This past legislative session, Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature established the Florida Transportation Research Institute. The institute, in partnership with renowned state universities, will serve as a hub of innovation to keep Florida at the forefront of emerging technology, and will work directly with FDOT to research and implement transformational infrastructure projects.

The 2025 Legislative Session also established the Florida Transportation Academy. Partnering with state agencies like the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs, the Florida Department of Corrections, and the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, this program will create transportation-focused educational programs and curriculum, and offer on-the-job training and a career pathway towards certificates in construction and related disciplines, allowing participants to directly enter into the transportation industry workforce.

In 2025, FDOT launched the Moving I-4 Forward Construction Training Program in Kissimmee to expand the pool of skilled workers that will deliver major infrastructure projects along the I-4 corridor. The first-ever graduating class completed the six-week program in June, and the inaugural class of the FDOT Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Class A cohort officially earned their CDL licenses in August with a 100 percent pass rate. A second cohort completed their program in October, with 41 individuals trained to date.

FDOT continued to host Road to Your Future hiring events throughout 2025, which connect job seekers with career opportunities at all levels in the transportation, road, and bridge industry. By streamlining the hiring process, these events allow FDOT to cut through red tape to interview and hire qualified candidates on the spot. These events resulted in nearly 40 on-site hires in 2025.

Additionally, FDOT's Statewide Workforce Development Program (SWWFD) continues to play a crucial role in enhancing career opportunities in road and bridge construction jobs to meet the current and future needs of the transportation construction industry. Through the SWWFD, 405 job seekers were hired and trained in 2025. These programs reflect FDOT's strong commitment to building a pipeline of trained workers who can enter the workforce quickly and make an immediate impact. FDOT relies on developing highly skilled talent and cutting-edge research to continue delivering transformational infrastructure projects.

Building a Safer Transportation System

FDOT continues to take a proactive approach to safety, working to enhance the quality of travel across the state through safer, more connected communities.

Completed months ahead of schedule in October, the Post Street at Old Roosevelt Rail Safety Project in Duval County reduced the number of travel lanes crossing the railroad tracks from seven to two, eliminating the possibility of vehicles getting blocked within the intersection, and added new pedestrian camera detection and warning devices. This year, FDOT also broke ground on safety-focused projects like the U.S. 231 at Star Avenue intersection in Bay County, which will improve operations and enhance safety by removing a railroad crossing and constructing a roundabout, bridge, and new intersection with a traffic signal.

FDOT leads with innovation when it comes to creating safer work zones, which protect both roadside workers and drivers. Building on the success of 2024's Safety Work Zone Innovations for Today and Tomorrow (SWIFTT) Challenge, a Shark Tank-style event for innovative safety ideas, the Department quickly implemented the two winning life-saving technologies on all interstate resurfacing projects in January of this year. These solutions combine LiDAR, radars, cameras, wearable smart watches, wearable alert speakers, and advanced traffic control devices (cones, barrels, signage, etc.) to provide roadside workers with advanced warnings prior to a potential collision. FDOT hosted the 2025 SWIFTT challenge in December, reaffirming its commitment to deploying innovative safety solutions quickly. This year's SWIFTT winner developed a truck-mounted mobile robotic pavement marking system to spray road lines and symbols. The system not only sprays lines and markings without the use of stencils but also uses geolocation technology to provide coordinates for the new markings, simplifying navigation and prioritizing worker safety and efficiency.

Florida's safety enhancements and initiatives are earning recognition statewide and nationally. The S.R. 26 Safety Improvements project in Gainesville received recognition in the Safety - Small Project category from the Southern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (SASHTO) 2025 America's Transportation Awards. This project addressed a pedestrian traffic corridor near the University of Florida with raised crosswalks and shorter crossing distances between crossings. FDOT also received the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Committee on Transportation Communications (TransComm) Award in the interactive marketing category for the Smart Driving College Challenge. This pilot program tracked driving behaviors like phone use and speeding, with over 750 students participating and earning prizes for safe driving decisions.

FDOT remains committed to educating all those who use Florida's transportation system, whether a driver, pedestrian, bicyclist, or motorcyclist, on the importance of practicing safe behaviors, such as buckling up, putting away distractions, and never driving impaired. Many of the most common crash patterns across the state are tied to preventable human behavior decisions made before and during a trip. In 2025, FDOT promoted a range of statewide educational and high-visibility enforcement campaigns to address behaviors such as not wearing a seatbelt, driving while distracted, speeding and aggressive driving, driving under the influence of alcohol or other impairing substances like marijuana, and overall safe driving behaviors. These efforts play a key role in encouraging safer decisions to help reach Florida's target of reducing transportation-related fatalities and serious injuries on the state's roadways to zero.

Taking Flight in Florida

Florida is at the forefront of emerging flight technology, leading the nation in bringing highways to the skies with Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), an entirely new mode of transportation. FDOT's strategic investments in infrastructure to support AAM will help us become the first state with commercial AAM services.

In October, Governor DeSantis announced that the construction of the first of two AAM vertiports to create the nation's first AAM aerial test bed is officially underway at FDOT's SunTrax testing facility and is anticipated to be complete and operational by early 2026. With the expansion of SunTrax to include both surface and air transportation technology, Florida will now be home to the first Research and Development facility in the nation to accommodate both sectors. FDOT also unveiled Florida's phased approach and proposed flight corridors for commercial AAM services across the state. This new aerial network will support the testing, validation and scale of air-taxi, cargo and emergency management use cases. With friendly regulations and a focus on innovation, Florida is ready to help AAM companies launch and grow Florida's economy.

Even as Florida's AAM industry prepares to take flight, Florida's aerospace industry celebrated yet another record-breaking year. In November, Florida surpassed the record number of launches in 2024 with 93 space launches. Florida broke that record yet again weeks later when Florida's Space Coast commemorated its 100^th launch of the year and ended 2025 with 109 space launches. Florida continues to outpace every other country and accounts for more than 60% of world-wide launches. Florida continues to set the standard for global aerospace innovation. Thanks to the leadership of Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature, the International Aerospace Innovation Fund was established this summer. The fund will drive global aerospace research, commercialization, and workforce development by fostering strategic partnerships between Florida-based aerospace companies, international businesses, research institutions, and space agencies, positioning Florida to be able to attract new projects, companies, and high-wage jobs. Through a combination of private investment, international collaboration and state support, Florida's continued leadership in the global space economy is assured.

Investing in Key Infrastructure

As Florida's population experiences record-breaking growth each year, continued investments to expand capacity and travel options throughout the state are essential to ensure the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. Over the last year, FDOT both broke ground and celebrated the completion of these major construction projects throughout the state:

• The NASA Causeway Bridge opened in March, six months ahead of schedule. A partnership between FDOT, NASA, and Space Florida, the new bridge stretches 4,025 feet over the Indian River and eliminates the need for drawbridge openings. This new bridge is vital for the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and supports the increasing volume and size of payloads and space industry vehicles traveling through the region's growing high-tech aerospace corridor, reducing congestion for both vehicles and maritime traffic.
• The Howard Frankland Bridge Replacement, the largest transportation project ever delivered in FDOT's West Central Florida region, opened to traffic in March and has increased capacity by 50 percent, reducing congestion for the 200,000 daily travelers in the Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg areas and improving a critical evacuation route. The new bridge ties into other key projects, including connecting to the improvements along I-275 as part of Governor DeSantis' Moving Florida Forward Infrastructure Initiative.
• The Suncoast Parkway Phase 2 in Citrus County was completed in August, over a year and a half ahead of schedule. This three-mile tolled roadway created four new lanes, increasing roadway capacity and providing more reliable travel for drivers in West Central Florida. Construction is already underway and ahead of schedule on the final segment of the Suncoast Parkway.
• The First Coast Expressway in Clay County marked a major milestone this summer, when almost 20 miles of new high-speed expressway opened to traffic just in time for the back-to-school season. Once completed, the First Coast Expressway will deliver 46 miles of a limited access, high-speed toll facility to the region, connecting Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties to provide drivers with safer, more predictable commutes and establishing a critical new hurricane evacuation route.
• The new U.S. 1 Jupiter Bridge in Palm Beach County opened in April, with two lanes of traffic in each direction, along with new sidewalks and bike lanes. This project is anticipated to decrease bridge openings by 44 percent due to increased bridge clearances, reducing congestion for both vehicles and marine traffic.
• The I-75 at U.S. 301 Interchange Improvement Project in Manatee County was completed in October and represents a major step forward for safety, traffic flow, and regional connectivity. By converting the previous partial cloverleaf to a diverging diamond interchange, widening I-75, and enhancing entrance and exit ramps, this project reduced congestion and improved driver visibility and access.
• The replacement of the U.S. 90 Bridge over the Simpson River in Santa Rosa County was completed in July. The new bridge accommodates two travel lanes in each direction along with bike lanes.
• In June, FDOT broke ground on the DuPont Bridge Replacement Project, which will include four travel lanes along with new sidewalks and bike lanes. As a crucial connection point for Tyndall Air Force Base, the new DuPont Bridge will allow for efficient movement of supplies and vehicles to improve response time for base personnel. In addition, the taller and wider bridge structure will allow bigger ships to be built in Bay County, contributing to the local economy.
• This year, Florida added Colorado's ExpressToll to its list of interoperable electronic tolling partners, meaning SunPass customers can now use their SunPass transponder when traveling in Colorado. This now makes SunPass compatible with 24 other states, which leads the nation and maintains SunPass' title of the most interoperable transponder in the country.
• FDOT received recognition as one of the top 12 finalists in the 2025 America's Transportation Awards competition, presented by AASHTO, for the I-95 Express Phase 3 Project. This year's competition received the most state Department of Transportation (DOT) nominations to date, with 113 nominations by 35 state DOTs that highlight the positive impact of state DOT projects on communities nationwide. The I-95 Express Phase 3 enhanced a six-mile stretch of I-95 in Boca Raton by expanding express lanes and relieving congestion on local roads. Key improvements included a Diverging Diamond Interchange at Glades Road and a new bridge at Clint Moore Road, both of which improved safety and access for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. As part of a regional express lane system, the project supports future growth, strengthens emergency evacuation routes, and improves freight and commuter movement across Palm Beach County.
  

Prioritizing Florida's Communities and Natural Beauty

With communities at the center of all infrastructure projects, FDOT continues to invest in transportation projects that enhance quality of life for Florida residents and emphasize the state's unique natural resources.

Completed in August, the new I-75 Alligator Alley Rest Area and Environmental Education Center in Broward County allows visitors to enjoy the beauty of the Everglades, learn about Florida's environment and geography, and take a break when traveling between Southwest and Southeast Florida. The center features an observation tower, playground, educational exhibits, an educational kiosk, and a system of multi-level boardwalks.

This year, FDOT completed several projects that will make our communities more resilient to major storms. The S.R. A1A Seawall Project in Volusia County will provide long-term protection to one of the state's most iconic coastal corridors through two 1.3-mile buried seawalls, engineered to sit beneath rebuilt sand dunes and native vegetation to preserve the natural beauty of the shore. Further south along A1A, in Monroe County, FDOT constructed the first pump station with deep injection wells ever built in the Florida Keys and raised the roadway to alleviate flooding, as well as reconstructed the existing beach promenade.

Looking Ahead

While reflecting on these major accomplishments in 2025, FDOT is looking ahead to America 250, the 250th anniversary of our nation's founding year. The Department has already begun celebrating the upcoming year with the launch of the America250FL Road Trip, an interactive experience that highlights Florida's history and contributions to the country, all linked by our world-class state roads and highways. A statewide initiative, the America250FL Road Trip offers insight to our state's storied history with over 100 designated sites across Florida, with at least one significant historical site in each county. This journey offers Floridians and visitors a unique opportunity to connect with the places and people that built our storied history.  

As the celebration of Florida's history, heritage, and innovation begins, FDOT is ready to build the state's transportation future into 2026 and beyond thanks to significant investments proposed by Governor DeSantis for the Floridians First Budget for Fiscal Year 2026-27. With a continued focus on bolstering Florida's transportation network, this proposed investment of $15.4 billion will further deliver on Governor DeSantis' vision of reducing congestion and getting families home in time for dinner, as well as ensuring the safety of the state's communities and strengthening Florida's economic competitiveness through investments for key projects at airports, seaports, and spaceports throughout the state.

FDOT is eager to continue carrying out the transportation needs of Florida's communities in 2026 by investing in emerging transportation technology and research, supporting Florida's supply chain partners, and serving the people of Florida above all else, with a well-planned transportation network.

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^{The Florida Department of Transportation's mission is to provide a safe statewide transportation system that promotes the efficient movement of people and goods, supports the state's economic competitiveness, prioritizes Florida's environment and natural resources, and preserves the quality of life and connectedness of the state's communities.}