Why did Florida wait until business resumed to shut down Interstate 4?
Years ago, I took a primitive day tour along the back roads of Belize.
It was a spine-jolting jaunt in a rickety old school bus that whipped along narrow dirt roads with potholes the size of San Pedro.
Why am I telling you this? Because I often think about that nerve-rattling ride when I get on I-4 in Orlando these days.
Thanks to the ongoing construction, trips along Interstate 4 can also be a white-knuckle experience with shifting routes, narrow lanes and ever-changing exit ramps. (To catch the southbound exit for Princeton Street near downtown these days, I’m pretty sure you have to start looking for the temporary ramp entrance up near DeBary.)
Nobody likes this construction. That’s why, when Gov. Ron DeSantis announced April 11 that he was going to speed up con
struction during the pandemic — when people were stuck at home and businesses were closed — it made a lot of sense to me.
But then a week passed. And then another. Then a third and fourth.
Finally, this week — more than a month later, and now that many Orlando businesses have reopened and traffic has picked back up — the state decided to close down major parts of the road.
Needless to say, this makes less sense.
It would seem that, if DOT officials wanted to do more construction when people were staying at home, they might’ve done it back when the stay-athome orders were still in effect. Not when traffic is piling up and slowing down along that stretch of road again.
This feels more like announcing a family vacation during summer break … but not actually taking the vacation until school starts back up in the fall.
They somehow managed to delay a plan for accelerating things.
Yet this frustrating development is par for the course with this $2.4 billion project that has been plagued with delays, cost overruns and even worker fatalities.
Just last month, we learned the state had agreed to pay the international consortium building the road an additional $125 million, with contractual provisions that allow the builder to seek more payments in the future.
All this, despite the fact that taxpayers were promised no “cost overrun risks” if they would just turn control of the project over to private profiteers.
I asked the Florida Department of Transportation why the state didn’t close down the road when stay-at-home orders were in place.
A spokeswoman said “acceleration efforts” began earlier but offered no further details.
So, starting today — with traffic much heavier than it was when the governor made what sounded like a prudent announcement — westbound I-4 is being reduced to one lane during the day and sometimes totally closed at night between Princeton and Gore streets until Monday morning.
FDOT notes traffic will still be lighter than normal, which is true. And to further help motorists, the department also sent out helpful navigational tips like: “Motorists encouraged to avoid area or properly plan an alternate route.”
In other words: Don’t even think about it.
Voter fraud?
Earlier this week, the Sentinel reported that a losing town council candidate in Eatonville has challenged the results of his election, accusing former Mayor Anthony Grant of coercing at least one resident of a motel Grant owns to vote for a preferred candidate in exchange for a break on rent.
The resident said in an affidavit, “I would not have voted that day if Grant had not arranged my transport and influenced my vote.”
Grant denied the allegations. And I obviously have no way of knowing yet what transpired.
But we do know that Grant has been removed from office and convicted of voter fraud before — and got off pretty light.
In 2017, a jury convicted him on a felony votingfraud charge, a felony election violation and misdemeanor absenteevoting violation in connection with helping a nonresident solicit an absentee ballot.
The Sentinel reported at the time that Grant faced up to 11 years in prison.
But he didn’t get 11 years. He didn’t even get one year.
Instead, Grant was sentenced to probation, community service and credit for the 25 days he spent in jail.
Again, we don’t yet know the full story in this most recent case. Grant could be the subject of sour-grapes accusations.
But I do know that people often take laws only as seriously as those laws are enforced. And recent history shows this state decided to treat felony voter fraud as a crime that merited only probation, community service and time served.
Who makes Orlando better?
Lastly, I’d love your help compiling this year’s list of “10 People Who Make Orlando a Better Place to Live.”
Who are the hard-workers, pioneers and leaders you admire most? They can be from the nonprofit, arts, business, medical, media, religious, philanthropic or any other sector in Orlando or all of Central Florida.
Maybe they inspire you through acts of altruism. Or maybe they create places and experiences that simply make living in Central Florida more enjoyable.
If you have suggestions, please send them to the email below.