A locally owned and operated asset

BY STEPHEN DIACO

Special to The Tampa Tribune

February 16, 2012

The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) is the owner and operator of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, Meridian Avenue in downtown Tampa and the Brandon Parkway in Brandon. Meridian Avenue and Brandon Parkway are not tolled. They were built and are maintained by THEA. They are beautifully landscaped, and each has a scenic pedestrian path. We see this as an investment to enhance the transportation and livability of our area.

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Bill would scrap Mid-Bay Bridge Authority

February 22, 2012 6:41 PM

NWF Daily News

Less than a year after surviving the state budget process, the Mid-Bay Bridge  Authority again is fighting to stay intact. Legislation that would dismantle the Bridge Authority will be debated today  on the Senate floor in Tallahassee. The measure, which is a conforming bill tied  to the state budget, would fold the Bridge Authority into Florida’s Turnpike  Enterprise.

“It’s going down the same road as it did last year,” said Jim Vest, executive  director of the Bridge Authority. “The Senate is driving it.”

The Bridge Authority on Feb. 16 approved a resolution opposing any effort to  transfer the agency to the Turnpike Enterprise.

“We’re paying back our long-term debt to the (Department of Transportation),” Vest said. “The Mid-Bay Bridge and the Mid-Bay Bridge Connector would not be a  reality if it had been left up to the Turnpike (Enterprise).”

During the 2011 legislative session, Sen. Don Gaetz spearheaded a push for  the state to take over the Bridge Authority, along with the Tampa-Hillsborough  Expressway Authority and the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority.

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Tallahassee power grab on transport

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Tampa Bay Times

THE Florida Senate will consider a bill this week that would unwind a half-century of smart transportation planning. The legislation would put the expressway authorities in Hillsborough and Orange counties under virtual state control, diminishing the ability of local communities to address their unique transportation needs. This is a power and money grab by Tallahassee that would hurt two of the most dynamic metro areas of the state.

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Orlando Business Journal                                                                                                                    Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 8:35am EST

Four transportation agencies that control toll roads in Florida have joined forces on a new combined back-office operation, the Transportation & Expressway Authority Membership of Florida (TEAMFL) announced on Feb. 7.

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By TBO.COM | Staff
Published: February 04, 2012

On Wednesday, less than 24 hours before the Florida Senate Transportation
Committee was scheduled to meet, an amendment was filed to Senate Bill 1866. The
amendment would have major negative impacts on the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway
Authority’s (THEA) ability to function independently and significantly limit
local control……

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OOCEA and THEA need to become fully independent, self-supporting local toll authorities, like MDX

April 28, 2011 Tampa Chamber Celebrates Success of Keep Expressways Local

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St. Petersburg Times

April 26, 2011

http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/legislative-bid-to-fold-crosstown-expressway-authority-founders/1166142

Tampa Tribune

April 26, 2011

http://www2.tbo.com/news/politics/2011/apr/26/1/lawmakers-drop-expressway-authority-takeover-ar-202693/

A Professional Opinion of Current Legislation Impacting the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority and It’s Effects on Locally-Driven Economic Development

by: The Washington Economics Group

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Click Here for the Report