Public cool to plan to privatize toll road

A plan to lease Alligator Alley to a private company has FDOT searching for bidders, but public opposition is growing.

June 01, 2008

FOR LEASE: A 78-mile, four-lane toll road, built in the late 1960s, upgraded in 1980s. Slippery when wet. Views of cattle, alligators, brush fires, mucky canals and car wrecks.

PRICE: negotiable.

Alligator Alley, the four-lane toll road, is up for bids.

The Florida Department of Transportation is looking for a private company to lease the 78-mile section of I-75 that connects Southwest and Southeast Florida.

The private company would operate and maintain the road for 50 years or more. The state would still own it.

The bidding process is still in the early stages, but residents in Collier and Broward counties are not enamored with the idea.

FDOT spokeswoman Barbara Kelleher said she was unaware if anyone had expressed interest in bidding for the lease. Interested companies or investors must apply to the state by Friday.

FDOT will present the plan in June to the Metropolitan Planning Organizations in Broward, Collier and Lee counties. By July, FDOT would like to have a list of firms who could potentially lease the road, then make a selection by fall. Gov. Crist and the Legislature would have to approve the plan by next year, Kelleher said.

''We may not have anyone submit their proposal, but we don't know what will happen until we go through the process,'' Kelleher said. ``In the meantime we are getting local feedback and input.''

The feedback so far has not been strongly supportive.

Last week, more than 100 Naples residents and about 60 people from Weston objected to the plan at public hearings. They balked by arguing that the money generated by the project would go to other roads that they may not use. At both hearings, foes waved signs such as ''I-75: Charlie's Cash Cow'' and ``Privatization: Corporations WIN, we LOSE.''

''There are a lot of people who were very vocal about disagreeing with this project,'' Kelleher said. ``It's all still in the early stages.''

FDOT officials argue leasing the roadway could provide more upfront money for other transportation projects.

A state analysis estimates that leasing the roadway for half a century would generate about $504 million in short-term revenue. The money would be allocated to improve South Florida roadways, FDOT said.

State revenue figures show the toll road is quite profitable. The state collected $23.5 million in tolls in 2007, while spending $6.1 million to maintain and operate the roadway.

Consumers now pay $2 in tolls with a SunPass and $2.50 without the special pass.

The interstate highway was originally constructed during the late 1960s as a two-lane toll road. In 1964, the state raised $17 million in bonds to fund construction.

The roadway was widened to four lanes, beginning in the 1980s. To pay for it, the state borrowed $55.2 million by selling bonds.