Experts discuss future of transportation in Northeast Florida

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At its first indoor, in-person event in more than a year, the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce welcomed area transportation experts to participate in a panel discussion. The Chamber’s Economic Development Council held its quarterly breakfast Friday, March 26.

Panelists included Florida Department of Transportation District 2 Secretary Greg Evans, Jacksonville Transportation Authority CEO Nat Ford and St. Johns County Transportation Development Manager Phong Ngyuen.

Ford said that he and Mayor Lenny Curry have announced a plan to increase the gas tax in Jacksonville from its current 6 cents to 12 cents to address “an exhaustive list of transportation infrastructure projects.”

One of those projects is rehabilitation of the city’s aging skyway, which would be expanded from 2.5 miles to 10 miles.

Ford said the tax plan would need support from the Jacksonville City Council and, if implemented, would generate about $1 billion to be evenly split between JTA and the city.

The expanded tax would also fund about 30% of the design for commuter rail between St. Augustine and downtown Jacksonville.

“That’s a long journey; I want to be very careful with expectations here,” said Ford. “But we need to start talking about other modes of transportation, as we’re all interconnected in Northeast Florida.”

Indeed regional transportation beyond the city’s limits occupied a significant portion of the program. Ford noted that the St. Johns Express Select Service, which provides rides between the county’s Government Center and downtown Jacksonville is now operational.

Evans gave an update on the First Coast Expressway, a multi-lane, limited-access toll road that will eventually cross parts of Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties.

“We’re coming your way,” he said.

In addition, construction on a new bridge over the St. Johns River just south of the Shands Bridge is expected to begin later this year and be completed in 2029. The cost of that project is about $334 million.

Construction on a new road from east of the County Road 16A spur to Interstate 95 in St. Johns County is expected to begin in early 2023, with completion projected for 2030. The cost of that project is $303 million.

Emerging technology, too, is demanding the attention of transportation officials. One area of concern is the so-called self-driving car.

“Autonomous vehicles,” said Ford, “it’s not a question of if; it’s a question of when.”

Evans said this would require development of technology connecting these vehicles to the necessary systems.

And, as electric vehicles become more prevalent, there will need to be a new way to ensure those motorists pay their fair share of the cost of road maintenance. Right now, that is funded through the gas tax, but that revenue stream will dry up as fewer vehicles rely upon fossil fuels.

That will probably mean a transition to a different type of road usage tax.

Also, as transportation evolves, so too will the need for professionals trained in the field.

“We need to start developing our next generation of transportation professionals,” said Ford. “We also partner with (Florida State College at Jacksonville), where we’re actually going to be creating a curriculum around autonomous vehicles.”