Much was made, and rightly so, of the ribbon-cutting on the new Interstate 4-Selmon Expressway Connector and that accompanying 5K road race that gave participants a unique perspective on downtown’s protean skyline.
Actually, the occasion was rife with perspective.
This wasn’t just about adding more lanes–the way we typically view transportation around here. This was about smartly investing in infrastructure, and this was about cooperating with partners– the way we must view the future around here.
The elevated Connector project was conceived in the 1990s, plans were concluded in 2008 and funding was secured in 2009. It was a way of finally filtering hazardous cargo away from Ybor City and into and out of the Port of Tampa via dedicated truck lanes for direct port access. The time-and-money-saving implications are significant for port users–and port marketers. Moreover, a pedestrian-friendly ambiance could be a godsend for a number of Ybor businesses. And the new road should mean a welcome relief for local commuters. Call it Tampa’s I-4 trifecta.
The insider comments were telling.
* “We’ll be able to market around the world.”–Paul Anderson, Tampa Port Authority president .
* “(This) will help attract more businesses and retailers.”–Vince Pardo, Ybor City Development Corp. manager.
* “This kind of investment serves the community immediately and for decades to come.”–Greg Nadeau, deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.
This “kind” of investment, $425 million worth, had multiple partners–including the Florida Department of Transportation, Florida’s Turnpike, the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority and the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County governments.
What we need to keep very much in perspective, however, is the partnership role of the federal government. THAT federal government. This is no Fed-fetish, pork barrel project. This is no budget-desecrating, elevated bridge to nowhere.
This is, and there are those among us who need constant reminding, a by-product of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Remember that? Speaking of perspective, remember where we were five years ago? Remember the partisanly reviled, “Keynesian Kops” stimulus program of President Barack Obama?
Well, the R&R help was worth $105 million to the I-4 Connector project, without which none of this partner synergy happens. Without which short-term construction jobs or long-term economic growth aren’t generated. Without which, the view of Tampa–its downtown and its future–is decidedly different.
And, oh yeah, for additional perspective: Fortunately, the Obama-tainted money wasn’t turned down.