• 2 min de lectura
• 2 min de lectura
Port Canaveral is leading the charge to tackle worsening roadway congestion in a fast-growing area of Central Florida.
Residents, businesses, tourists, military and the aerospace industry depend on State Road 528, where backups are frequent and often blamed on cruise-related traffic.
Port Canaveral CEO Capt. John Murray has been sounding the alarm for a decade.
"We take the hit for it every day in the media," Murray said at this week's Canaveral Port Authority Commission meeting. He argued the cruise business is blamed though traffic is "booming in every direction with manufacturing and the space industry and commercial space ..."
The commissioners met on Wednesday when no cruise ships were in port and yet SR 528 was stalled, proving Murray's point.
Port officials have taken their traffic concerns to US Rep. Mike Haridopolos and state Sen. Debbie Mayfield, who will co-host a stakeholder round table at Port Canaveral in October to discuss SR 528's future.
"We have a collective community problem. Let's all talk about it and find a solution," Murray said.
Invitees include the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization, US Space Force, US Coast Guard, US Navy, Brevard County Sheriff's Office, Canaveral Fire Rescue, elected officials from the port authority, Brevard County and Canaveral port district cites Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Cocoa, Rockledge and Titusville. Others may participate.
Since 2006, FDOT has had a plan to widen the roadway from four to six lanes. Yet that project is still in the design phase with costs doubling to $760m, according to Murray, who said no construction funding is available until 2035 to 2040.
He said the solution could be a state and/or federal matter. In the Canaveral commissioners' discussion, tolls or an express lane were also put forward as possible mitigation efforts.
Murray acknowledged that one area where the port does contribute to SR 528 traffic snarls is when the SR 401 bridge is up and four ships are using the north side cruise terminals. A plan to replace the bridge with a fixed span was rolled back and it's no longer a priority project.
"We need to push this," Murray told commissioners. "It's time. It's past time."
