SWFTI News

SW Fla. group lauded for helping pave the way for road funding

05/22/2004

Click here for PDF

The Southwest Florida Transportation Initiative lobbied state legislators during the budget process

By Larry Hannan
ljhannan@naplesnews.com

Tom Conrecode now has a pair of boxing gloves for his next battle over state transportation funding.
State Rep. Dudley Goodlette presented the gloves, which were nailed to a plaque, to Conrecode during a Southwest Florida Transportation Initiative luncheon Tuesday. Conrecode is founder of the group made up of local officials, businessmen and residents working to improve the region’s road network.
“We wanted to give this to him to commemorate his tremendous efforts in securing (transportation) funding for Southwest Florida,” said Goodlette, R-Naples.
Officials with SWFTI and local state lawmakers took turns congratulating each other for efforts to save transportation funding in the fiscal 2002 state budget. SWFTI presented plaques to Goodlette; Rep Bruce Kyle, R-Fort Myers; Rep. Carole Green,
R-Fort Myers; and Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples.
Southwest Florida had expected several transportation projects to be funded via the Transportation Outreach Program. TOP is a controversial $91 million program for local and regional projects that aren’t on the state’s long-term, road-building plan
TOP projects were put in jeopardy after Gov. Jeb Bush and Senate President John McKay advocated doing away with the program.
Most of the money for local projects was saved, as was the funding program. Several weeks ago the Legislature approved a $50 billion budget that allocates $7.45 million for a Golden Gate Parkway overpass above Airport-Pulling Road in Collier County and $4 million to improve U.S. 41 at the Imperial River Bridge in Bonita Springs.
Saunders complimented SWFTI and said the organization had helped secure funding for the two projects.
“At the beginning of the session, John McKay said there was no way TOP would be funded and in the end he relented and agreed to fund the projects,” Saunders said. “Four years ago I told (SWFTI) that you need to make a lot of noise and stick with it in Tallahassee. You have done that.”
SWFTI continually lobbied local legislators and state leaders throughout the budget process, Saunders said.
Organizations like SWFTI need to remain involved in the legislative process because getting a budget together in the next couple of years would likely be even more difficult that it was this year, Saunders said.
The Legislature took four special sessions before it approved a budget.
Federal transportation initiatives were also discussed at Tuesday’s luncheon. U.S. Rep. Porter Goss, R-Sanibel, is trying to get $24 million in federal funding that will help the Florida Department of Transportation widen Interstate 75 to six lanes in Lee and Collier counties.
FDOT is planning to widen I-75 to six lanes from Daniels Parkway in Lee County to Golden Gate Parkway in Collier County.
The widening will start in Lee County in fiscal 2007 and read Collier county in fiscal 2008. The cost of the project has not yet been determined.