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High-Tech Solution To Central Florida’s Traffic Woes

Photo: Matthew Peddie, WMFE
I4 traffic. Photo: Matthew Peddie, WMFE

Congressman John Mica has a dream – that drivers could cruise down S.R. 436 from the Orlando airport to Apopka without hitting a single red light. Now the state has applied for federal dollars to make that dream come true.

For months, Congressman John Mica has been preaching about the benefits of technology that regulates traffic lights so cars can keep rolling down the road. And he’s helped shepherd the state’s application for federal dollars that would pay for this technology on roads like Highway 17-92 and State Road 436. It works through sensors that ping cellphones and toll transponders to measure traffic at any given time.

If Florida lands the grant, the project would cost $11 million and take three years to implement.

State transportation officials should know if they won the grant by the fall.