The administration of President Joe Biden announced that the Florida Department of Transportation received $15 million in federal funding on Thursday for a new truck parking location that will add additional parking for the estimated 18,000 trucks that drive on I-4 between Tampa and Orlando daily.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the facility will be located near Plant City and will feature about 120 spaces, charging stations for electric vehicles and pedestrian infrastructure to allow visitors to park and visit nearby businesses. The corridor is used by 18,000 trucks each day and has one of the highest concentrations of distribution facilities in the country. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg noted, according to the report, that the project was among 26 nationwide to receive federal funding thanks to the infrastructure law, which was supported by all of Florida’s Democrat representatives and opposed by the GOP elected officials.
“Today we are announcing transformative investments in our nation’s roads, bridges, ports and rail to improve the way Americans get around and help lower the costs of shipping goods,” Buttigieg said, according to the Times. “Using funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are able to support more excellent community-led projects this year than ever before.”
The goal of the facility is to create supply chain efficiencies by providing free parking to reduce time spent looking for a place to park, according to the Times report, which also noted it will help reduce commercial vehicle emissions.
According to the Times report, Kris Carson, regional spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation, noted that the grants handed out totaled $1.5 billion.
“The project will also play a pivotal role in Florida’s weather-related resiliency plan as it will serve as a staging area for fuel and supplies during natural disasters,” Carson said, according to the Times.
