Transportation in Florida

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2021)

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Transportation in Florida includes a variety of options, including Interstate Highways, U.S. Highways, and Florida State Roads; Amtrak and commuter rail services; airports, public transportation, and sea ports, in a number of the state's counties and regions.

## Highways

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Florida's interstates, U.S. Highways, and state highways are maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation, with the exception of a few highways in Miami, which are maintained by the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX).

Florida's interstate highway system contains 1,473 miles (2,371 km) of highway, and there are 9,934 miles (15,987 km) of non-interstate highway in the state, such as Florida state highways and U.S. Highways.[citation needed]

State highways are numbered according to convention. The first digits of state highways with some exceptions (such as State Road 112 (SR 112) connecting Interstate 95 (I-95) to the Miami International Airport) are numbered with the first digit indicating what area of the state the road is in, from 1 in the north and east to 9 in the south and west. Major north-south state roads generally have one- or two-digit odd route numbers that increase from east to west, while major east-west state roads generally have one- or two-digit even route numbers that increase from north to south. Roads of secondary importance usually have three-digit route numbers. The first digit x of their route number is the same as the first digit of the road with two-digit number x0 to the immediate north. The three-digit route numbers also increase from north to south for even numbers and east to west for odd numbers.

Following this convention, SR 907, or Alton Road on Miami Beach, is farther east than SR 997, which is Krome Avenue, or the farthest west north-south road in Miami–Dade County. One notable exception to the convention is SR 826, or the Palmetto Expressway (pictured at the right heading north) which, although even numbered, is signed north-south. State roads can have anywhere from one to four digits depending on the importance and location of the road.[1] County roads often follow this same system.

A law introduced on January 1, 2013, required all non US drivers to possess an International Driving License to drive within the state. The Florida Department for Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles issued a statement on February 14, 2013, announcing that the law would not be enforced.[2]

## Railways

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This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2018)

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### Inter-city rail

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* v
* t
* e

Passenger rail in Florida

Legend

| Sunset Limited

to Los Angeles (suspended)

|  |
Pensacola |  |

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Crestview |  |

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Chipley |  |

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| Central Time

Eastern Time

|  |
Tallahassee |  |

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Madison |  |

|  |

Auto Train to Lorton

Lake City |  |

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| Floridian to Chicago

Silver Meteor to New York

Suspended 2005 |  |

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Jacksonville |  |

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Palatka |  |

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DeLand |  |

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DeBary |  |

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Sanford |  |

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|  |

|  | Sanford
Lake Mary |  |

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Longwood |  |

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Altamonte Springs |  |

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Maitland |  |

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Winter Park |  |

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AdventHealth |  |

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Lynx Central |  |

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Church Street |  |

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Orlando Health/Amtrak |  |

|  | Orlando |

Sand Lake Road |  |

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Meadow Woods |  |

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Tupperware |  |

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Kissimmee |  |

|  | Cocoa

(planned)

Poinciana |  |

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Lakeland |  |

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Tampa |  |

|  |
Winter Haven |  |

|  | Stuart

(planned)

Sebring |  |

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Okeechobee |  |

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Mangonia Park |  |

|  |

| West Palm Beach |  |

|  | West Palm Beach
Lake Worth Beach |  |

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Boynton Beach |  |

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Delray Beach |  |

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Boca Raton |  |

|  | Boca Raton
Deerfield Beach |  |

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Pompano Beach |  |

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Cypress Creek |  |

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Fort Lauderdale |  |

|  | Fort Lauderdale

| Fort Lauderdale Airport |  |

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| Sheridan Street |  |

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Hollywood |  |

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Golden Glades |  |

|  | Aventura
Opa-locka |  |

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|  |

|  | Miami
Metrorail Transfer |  |

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|  |

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Hialeah Market |  |

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|  Miami Airport |  |

|  |  MiamiCentral
|  |  |  |  |  |

Services

|  |  |

|  | SunRail

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|  | Brightline
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|  | Tri-Rail
|  |

|  | Amtrak only

* * *

All stations are accessible
|  |  |  |  |  |

Amtrak service exists in Florida. Sanford, in Greater Orlando, is the southern terminus of the Amtrak Auto Train, which originates at Lorton, Virginia, south of Washington, DC. Orlando is also the eastern terminus of the Sunset Limited, which travels across the southern United States via New Orleans, Houston, and San Antonio to its western terminus of Los Angeles; however, service to Florida has been suspended indefinitely in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.[3] Florida is served by two additional Amtrak trains (the Floridian and the Silver Meteor), which operate between Chicago and Miami and New York City and Miami, respectively. In 2023, Amtrak had a total of 951,043 boardings and alightings in the state of Florida.[4]

Brightline is a higher-speed service between Miami and Orlando. There are plans for Brightline to reach Tampa in the future.

#### High-speed inter-city rail

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Main article: Florida High-Speed Corridor

The Florida Department of Transportation was preparing to build a high-speed rail between Tampa, Lakeland, and Orlando. This would have been the first phase of the Florida High Speed Rail system. Soil work began in July 2010 with the federal government expecting full construction to begin in 2011. However, Governor Rick Scott declined the federal funding.

Florida voters approved a state constitutional amendment in 2000 for the construction of a high-speed rail network. Due to public skepticism about the multibillion-dollar price, voters repealed this amendment.[5] The first segment of this network, projected to have opened in 2009, would have connected Tampa and Orlando, in hopes of alleviating traffic on the busy Interstate 4 corridor. Later segments would have connected Miami, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Pensacola.

## Airports

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See also: List of airports in Florida

Florida has 131 public airports.[6] Florida's seven large hub and medium hub airports, as classified by the FAA, are the following:

Florida large and medium hub airports  City served  | Code  | Airport name  | FAA
Category  | Enplanements

|
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|
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Miami | MIA  | Miami International Airport | Large Hub  | 17,017,654
Orlando | MCO  | Orlando International Airport | Large Hub  | 17,017,491
Fort Lauderdale | FLL  | Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood Int'l Airport | Large Hub  | 10,829,810
Tampa | TPA  | Tampa International Airport | Large Hub  | 8,137,222
Fort Myers | RSW  | Southwest Florida International Airport | Medium Hub  | 3,714,157
West Palm Beach | PBI  | Palm Beach International Airport | Medium Hub  | 2,958,416
Jacksonville | JAX  | Jacksonville International Airport | Medium Hub  | 2,755,719

Major international airports in Florida which processed more than 15 million passengers each in 2005 are Orlando International Airport (34,128,048 est. 2006), Miami International Airport (32,533,974 est. 2006), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport(22,390,285 est. 2006) and Tampa International Airport (19,045,390 est. 2006).

Secondary airports, with annual passenger traffic exceeding 5 million each in 2005, include Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers) (7,518,169 est. 2006), Palm Beach International Airport (West Palm Beach) (7,014,237 est. 2006), Jacksonville International Airport (5,741,652).

Regional Airports which processed over one million passengers each in 2005 are Pensacola (1,638,605), Sarasota-Bradenton (1,337,571), and Tallahassee (1,129,947) and Sanford (1,649,237) which is primarily served by international charter airlines.[7]

Other smaller, regional airports with commercial service (with passengers served in 2005, where available) include those at Daytona Beach (615,841), Fort Walton Beach (520,000), Gainesville (345,788), Key West, Marathon Key, Melbourne (466,367), Naples, Panama City (382,551), and St. Petersburg-Clearwater (596,510).

## Canals

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Florida is part of the Intracoastal Waterway, a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) inland waterway. Florida has the Okeechobee Waterway, St. Lucie Canal (C-44), Miami Canal, and Tamiami Canal.

## Public transportation

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Miami's public transportation is served by Miami-Dade Transit, which runs Metrorail, a heavy rail rapid transit system; Metromover, a people mover train system in Downtown Miami; and Metrobus, Miami-Dade's bus system. Metrorail runs throughout Miami-Dade County and has 23 stations on a 24.4-mile (39.3 km) track connecting to Downtown Miami's Metromover and Tri-Rail. Metromover has three lines and 21 stations on a 4.4-mile (7.1 km) track connecting Uptown and the Brickell Financial District inside of Downtown Miami. Outside of Miami-Dade County, public transit in the South Florida metropolitan area is served by Broward County Transit and Palm Tran; commuter rail service is provided by Tri-Rail, with 19 stations including the region's three international airports.

Tampa and its surrounding area is served by buses run by Hillsborough Area Regional Transit, or HART for short. In addition, HART runs continuous trolley services in downtown Tampa in the form of the TECO Line Streetcar, a heritage streetcar line sponsored by Tampa Electric Company. Pinellas County and St. Petersburg provide similar services through the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, or PSTA for short. The beaches of Pinellas County have their own bus system run by PSTA called the Suncoast Beach Trolley. Downtown St. Petersburg also has a separate bus system, known as The Looper. The Cross-Bay Ferry has connected Tampa's Channelside District to Downtown St. Petersburg since 2016.[8]

Greater Orlando utilizes the Lynx bus system, which also operates a free bus rapid transit service in downtown Orlando.[9] A commuter rail service – SunRail – also serves the Metro Orlando area. The Walt Disney World Resort is also located in this area and is served by Disney Transport, its own internal transportation system consisting of buses, watercraft, parking lot trams, and the Walt Disney World Monorail System. The latter is one of the busiest mass transit rail systems in North America, with over 150,000 riders served each day.[10]

Public transportation in Jacksonville is provided by Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), operating bus service, trolleys, paratransit, and a people mover. The people mover, known as the JTA Skyway is located in downtown Jacksonville, and operates 8 stations along a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) track. Bus service as well as paratransit service is provided around Duval County and partially in Clay County. JTA operates three trolley lines in three different neighborhoods: Downtown, Riverside, and Jacksonville Beach. The entire JTA system has a daily ridership of over 42,000.[11]

In Volusia County, VoTran provides bus transportation throughout the entire county. Express service to Orlando was provided between 1998 and 2014 and has since been replaced by SunRail.

In Polk County, the Citrus Connection and Winter Haven Area Transit (WHAT) provide regional transportation in the cities of Lakeland, Bartow, Winter Haven, Auburndale and smaller surrounding municipalities and unincorporated areas. WHAT connects with the Lynx system at Haines City.

The Gainesville metropolitan area is served by the fourth largest public transit system in the state of Florida. Gainesville Regional Transit System or RTS presently serves 40 city routes (19 on Saturdays, 16 on Sundays), 10 campus routes, and five "Later Gator" routes. Paratransit (ADA) service is also provided to anyone with a Gainesville address. RTS has a daily ridership of approximately 25,000 riders.

In Indian River County, a public bus transportation system called GoLine, which has 14 routes and 543 stops, operates across the county.[12][13]

On April 1, 2016, Florida governor Rick Scott signed a video surveillance bill that was to be used in public Transit systems throughout the state. Public Transits may release their video surveillance to local, state or federal agencies in furtherance of civic duty and responsibility; They may release video footage upon showing good cause to a court of competent jurisdiction.[14]

### Intercity Bus

[edit]

Bus service between cities and towns in Florida is provided by a number of private companies. Amtrak Thruway service is offered connecting Amtrak trains to cities off of train routes, including Fort Myers and St Augustine, but tickets cannot be purchased for the bus alone, only a combined bus-rail itinerary.

## List of Florida roads

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See also: List of state roads in Florida

### Interstates

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Main article: List of Interstate Highways in Florida

Road name  | South or west terminus  | North or east terminus  | Notes

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I-4 | Tampa | Daytona Beach | Has junctions with I-75 in Tampa and I-95 in Daytona Beach.
I-10 | Alabama state line, near Pensacola | Jacksonville | Has junctions with I-75 near Lake City and I-95 in Jacksonville.
I-75 | Hialeah/Miami Lakes | Georgia state line, near Lake City | Has junctions with I-10 in Lake City and I-4 in Tampa.
I-95 | Downtown Miami | Georgia state line, near Jacksonville | Has junctions with I-10 in Jacksonville and I-4 in Daytona Beach.

#### Auxiliary Interstates

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Road name  | Notes

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I-110 | A spur from I-10 into downtown Pensacola.
I-175 | Connects I-275 to southern downtown St. Petersburg.
I-195 | An extension of Miami's Airport Expressway (SR 112); a spur eastward from I-95 to Miami Beach.
I-275 | A 60 miles (97 km)[15] westward half-loop from I-75 north of Ellenton, over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, through St. Petersburg, to Tampa International Airport and downtown Tampa, reconnecting with I-75 in Tampa's northern suburbs.
I-295 | A beltway around Jacksonville.
I-375 | Connects I-275 to northern downtown St. Petersburg.
I-395 | An extension of Miami's Dolphin Expressway (SR 836); a spur eastward from I-95 to Miami Beach.
I-595 | Connects I-75, I-95, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and Port Everglades.

### Toll roads

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Main article: List of toll roads in Florida

Florida has several toll roads, totaling 515 miles (829 km) of the state highway system. Major toll roads include:

* I-75, as it passes through the Everglades between Naples and Fort Lauderdale has been grandfathered as a toll road from its original construction as State Road 84 (SR 84)
* Florida's Turnpike, which begins at US 1 in Florida City and continues north through the western suburbs of South Florida turning northwest at Fort Pierce and continuing through central Florida, passing west of Orlando and ending at I-75 near Wildwood, 23 miles (37 km) south of Ocala. Florida's Turnpike has the distinction of having the farthest distance between two exits of any limited-access highway in the United States. It is more than 47 miles (76 km) between exits 193 and 240; there is a service area with fuel at milepost 229.
* I-275 Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which connects Pinellas County with Manatee County

### U.S. Routes

[edit]

* US 1
* US 301
* US 17
* US 19
* US 319
* US 221
* US 23
* US 27
* US 29
* US 129
* US 231
* US 331
* US 41
* US 441
* US 90
* US 92
* US 192
* US 98

## Funding

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Federal, state and local governments pay for road construction and maintenance. In 2015, the federal government approved $12 billion over the next five years. $10 Billion will be used for the highway program. $2 billion will be used for mass transit systems.[16]

## See also

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* Florida portal

* Florida
* Florida Department of Transportation
* Plug-in electric vehicles in Florida
* Transportation in South Florida

## References

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1. ^ FHP State Road Listings Archived August 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 29, 2009.
2. ^ Florida's International Driving Permit Guidelines,
3. ^ "Sunset Limited, August 29, 2005". Tallahassee Democrat. 29 August 2005. p. 2.
4. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023 – State of Florida" (PDF). Amtrak. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
5. ^ "Derailed: Florida Amendment for $25B Bullet Train Bites Dust in Vote - Site Selection Online". www.siteselection.com.
6. ^ "Florida Drug Threat Assessment-Overview". National Drug Intelligence Center. Archived from the original on August 31, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2007.
7. ^ 2005 North America Airports Traffic Statistics Archived January 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine URL retrieved September 15, 2006
8. ^ Cross-Bay Ferry – official website
9. ^ Solodev (6 February 2018). "LYMMO - Public Transportation Services for Orange, Seminole". www.golynx.com.
10. ^ "Webster: D.C. Metro should be more like Disney World monorail". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
11. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2013-01-28.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
12. ^ "Vero Beach bus and train routes, with GoLine schedules". transitapp.com. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
13. ^ "GoLine - Getting you there!". www.golineirt.com. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
14. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2016-06-15.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
15. ^ "Interstate 275". Kurumi.
16. ^ "Florida to get $12 billion for transportation projects". news-press.com.

## External links

[edit]

* List of all bridges in Florida
* Florida Department of Transportation maps for each county

* v
* t
* e

State of Florida

Tallahassee (capital)

History|

* Timeline
* Indigenous peoples of Florida
* Spanish Florida
* missions
* British Rule
* East Florida
* West Florida
* Florida Territory
* Seminole Wars
* Slavery
* Plantations of Leon County
* Mosquito County
* Armed Occupation Act
* Civil War
* Great Migration
* Fishing ranchos
* Florida East Coast Railway
* Draining and development of the Everglades
* Florida land boom of the 1920s
* Kennedy Space Center
* Disney World

Geography|

* Beaches
* Bays
* Caves
* Counties
* Everglades
* Keys
* Lakes
* Lake Okeechobee
* Metro areas
* Municipalities
* Regions
* Rivers
* Sinkholes
* Springs
* State forests
* State parks
* Straits
* Swamps

Major
hurricanes|

* Florida Keys (1919)
* Tampa Bay (1921)
* Miami (1926)
* Okeechobee (1928)
* Florida Keys (1929)
* Treasure Coast (1933)
* Labor Day (1935)
* Dry Tortugas (1944)
* Homestead (1945)
* Fort Lauderdale (1947)
* South Florida (1948)
* 1949 Florida hurricane
* Easy (1950)
* King (1950)
* Donna (1960)
* Betsy (1965)
* Eloise (1975)
* Elena (1985)
* Andrew (1992)
* Opal (1995)
* Charley (2004)
* Frances (2004)
* Ivan (2004)
* Jeanne (2004)
* Dennis (2005)
* Wilma (2005)
* Matthew (2016)
* Irma (2017)
* Michael (2018)
* Dorian (2019)
* Ian (2022)
* Idalia (2023)
* Helene (2024)
* Milton (2024)

Society|

* African-American
* Brazilian-American culture
* Miami
* Orlando
* Crime
* Cuban-American culture
* Miami
* Tampa
* Culture
* Demographics
* Economy
* Agriculture
* Tourism
* Education
* Florida cracker
* Floridians
* Government
* Haitian-American culture
* Delray Beach
* Miami
* Homelessness
* Human trafficking
* Indigenous peoples
* Everglades
* LGBT rights
* Politics
* Ballot measures
* Congressional delegations
* Congressional districts
* Puerto Rican culture
* Orlando
* Kissimmee
* Politics
* Sports
* Seminole
* Black Seminoles
* Sports

Culture|

* Casinos
* Film
* Florida Man
* Florida Heritage Trails
* Floridiana
* Cuisine of Florida
* Literature
* Miami accent
* Music
* Mass media
* newspapers
* radio
* TV
* Symbols
* flag
* motto
* seal
* Visit Florida

Environment|

* Environmental issues
* Fauna
* Flora
* Florida Reef
* Geology
* Climate
* climate change

Other|

* Cuba–United States relations
* Index
* Tourist attractions
* Transportation

Florida portal

* v
* t
* e

Transportation in the United States by political division

States|

* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

Federal district|

Washington, D.C.

Territories|

* American Samoa
* Guam
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Puerto Rico
* U.S. Virgin Islands

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