1915 - 2015: 100 Years of FDOT

1960

Showing aerial photograph of recently completed tunnel under New River at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/104201

U.S. 1 Tunnel Opens in Fort Lauderdale - The U.S. 1 Tunnel under New River in Fort Lauderdale opened on December 9, 1960. This would be the only tunnel on the state highway system until 2014.

1963 to 1964
Interstate 75 Opens in North Florida - I-75 began opening to traffic in early 1963 and was completely open through North Florida by the end of 1964. The last section of I-75 was opened in the Fort Lauderdale area by the mid-90s.

1965
Interstate 4: Central Florida’s Commuter Road of Choice - Constructed in six segments, I-4 was built to handle 70,000 vehicles per day through the downtown Orlando when it opened in March 1965. I-4 currently handles nearly triple that capacity today.


Interstate 4 through downtown Orlando. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/103946

1969
Florida Department of Transportation Created - The Florida Department of Transportation was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of the State Road Department.
Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral - The U.S. successfully put a man on the moon with Apollo 11 in 1969. Historically, FDOT has been actively involved in funding Spaceport projects.

1978 to 1983
Seven Mile Bridge - The Seven Mile Bridge, the longest bridge in the Florida Keys, connects Knight’s Key Marathon to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. The current bridge opened in 1978 and has a current average daily traffic of 15,100 vehicles.

1982 to 1987

Aerial view showing the old and new Sunshine Skyway bridges in 1989. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/131305

Sunshine Skyway Bridge - The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which spans Florida's Tampa Bay, is part of I-275 (SR 93) and US 19 (SR 55). Construction of the current bridge began in 1982 and finished in 1987.

1983
Southwest Florida International Airport Opens - The Southwest Florida International Airport (originally a regional airport) first opened in May 1983 in Fort Myers.  The airport is one of the busiest single runway airports in the nation.

1987
Interstate 95 “Missing Link” Completed - The “Missing Link” of I-95 between Palm Beach Gardens and Stuart was completed. This was the last piece of I-95 completed in the United States. The completed I-95 runs 383 miles along the east coast of Florida from Miami to the Georgia state line in Duval County.

1989

FDOT Purchases CSX Rail Corridor - FDOT purchased the CSX Rail Corridor between Miami and West Palm Beach to begin Tri-Rail Commuter Service.

1999

FDOT Begins Using SunPass - SunPass was implemented across most of Florida's toll roads, saving drivers time, money and the hassles of digging for change.

2000
FDOT Launches Free Road Ranger Service - Road Rangers provide free highway assistance services during incidents to reduce delay and improve safety for the motoring public and responders. Since 2000, the program has made over 4.3 million service assists

2002
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Forms - Florida's Turnpike Enterprise was created by the Florida Department of Transportation.

2007 to Present
Miami Intermodal Center - The Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) project at the Miami International Airport began in 2007. The MIC will provide connectivity between Palm Beach County, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and the Florida Keys.

2008 to 2010
95 Express - The first of its kind in the State of Florida, the 95 Express project combined tolling, transit, travel-demand management and technology to meet current and future travel demands.

2009
FDOT's First P3 Project - FDOT signed a 35-year agreement for a Public-Private Partnership (P3) project on Interstate 595. This was the first Public-Private Partnership (P3) ever initiated by FDOT.

2011
All-Electronic Tolling - Florida's Turnpike converted the southern 47 miles of the Turnpike in Miami-Dade County to All-Electronic Tolling in February 2011. Motorists now use SunPass or TOLL-BY-PLATE and never stop for a toll.
FDOT Motor Carrier Moves to DHSMV - The Office of Motor Carrier Compliance transitioned from FDOT to the Florida Highway Patrol division of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles on July 1, 2011.

2012
Autonomous Vehicle Technology First Introduced - Autonomous vehicle technology was first authorized for use on public roads in the State of Florida in 2012.

2013
Courtney Campbell Trail Funded - The first segment of the Cortney Campbell Trail (Hillsborough County side) was completed in November 2013. Once the Pinellas side of the trail is completed in 2015, it will be approximately 9 miles long and will connect Tampa to Clearwater.

2014

CSX State-of-the-Art Terminal in Winter Haven - The grand opening of the Central Florida Intermodal Logistics Center was held October 2014. This centralized hub for transportation, logistics and distribution serves Orlando, Tampa and South Florida.
Passenger Rail Comes to Central Florida - SunRail officially left the gates and moved onto the tracks in May 2014. With free service for the first 12 days of operation, there were nearly 135,000 total boardings during the first 12 days. Sunrail connects DeBary to Sand Lake Road over 12 stations and 32 miles. Five more stations are expected by 2017.
PortMiami Tunnel - The PortMiami Tunnel was built by MAT Concessionaire, LLC, in partnership with FDOT, Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami. By connecting SR A1A/MacArthur Causeway to Dodge Island, the project provided direct access between the seaport, I-395 and I-95.

2015
Wekiva Parkway - The Wekiva Parkway culminates nearly 30 years of efforts to complete Central Florida’s beltway while also protecting the natural resources surrounding the Wekiva River.

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com. Outline courtesy of FDOT. Cover aerial of Palmetto Expressway courtesy of http://demoya.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/666198.jpg.