ORLANDO, Fla. — During the coronavirus pandemic, Florida was able to fast track 50 major transportation projects across the state, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis made the announcement during a Friday roundtable discussion with the Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Kevin Thibault and other transportation industry leaders at the Hilton Orlando-Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando.
Due to a decrease in drivers on the road amid the pandemic, DeSantis said he saw it as an opportunity to accelerate some transportation projects and keep workers employed.
"We need to take advantage of that. We need to accelerate these projects," he said. "I felt it was something that we needed to keep going here. I wanted people to be gainfully employed. I wanted the progress to continue to be made."
While accelerating these 50 projects, DeSantis said 650 calendar days of construction were able to be saved.