BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Gov. Rick Scott held a news conference Monday morning at Port Canaveral to highlight his spending plan, which calls for $173 million to be spent at the state’s 15 ports.
The governor’s budget recommendations include $10 million in infrastructure improvements for Port Canaveral.
Scott said the investment would boost tourism and jobs.
“Port Canaveral is part of 20,000 jobs,” he said. “You can look behind me. These are individuals who completely rely on us spending money on infrastructure.”
John Murray, the port’s CEO, said it will also seek funding from the Florida Department of Transportation to improve Highway 401 and State Road 528, which he said are “lifelines” of the port’s cargo and tourism operations.
One priority, Murray said, would be to repair Highway 401’s draw bridge -- the only access road to the facility’s north side.
“Highway 401 is supported by a very old draw bridge system,” he said. “So every boat that goes under, it opens on demand and creates a lot of traffic issues.”
The CEO said the majority of the port’s businesses and cruising happens on the facility’s north side.
“If you drive on the north side, most of our roads are old and dated,” he said. “We're going to be updating all of those.”
Murray said he already plans to get moving on other improvements with $8 million in previously allocated state funds.
Cox Media Group
