The head of the organization in charge of the high speed rail project in Florida says that construction along the Tampa to Orlando rail line should begin within the next year.
Nazih Haddad is the chief operating officer for the Florida Rail Enterprise a new office within the state's department of Transportation, created by the state legislature last December. In an interview with CL, he said "We’re doing the necessary survey of the entire corridor that allows us to identify the parcels for taking for the high speed rail system." Haddad said that his organization isn't certain of exactly what parcels (home or businesses) are needed right now, which is why they're currently conducting surveys.
President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden announced in January that Florida would receive $1.25 billion to begin construction of a high-speed rail line. State and local officials were thrilled, but had been hoping for double that amount. But Haddad remains optimistic that more federal funds will be on the way.
"There's an appropriation for 2010 for $2.5 billion in FSR (Federal Railroad Association) in this country," Haddad said adding that he hopes the state can get up to $800 million or even a billion dollars for it, since the federal government considers the Tampa/Orlando line to be at the top of the heap when it comes to rail projects that should come to fruition in the country.
Attorneys have sent out letter to residents living on 12th Avenue between Nebraska Avenue and 10th Street in Ybor City, saying that once the rail project begins, the Florida Department of Transportation will be taking their homes by eminent domain. The Department of Transportation has said that they do not have any official information about that yet, and thus have not communicated with those households.
This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2010.