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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
FDOT officials hold ground breaking for DuPont Bridge replacement project, talk about the proposed state budget
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Florida Department of Transportation officials made a visit to Bay County on Friday to discuss the future of transportation in the Panhandle. Transportation officials joined local leaders at the DuPont Bridge to celebrate the groundbreaking of the DuPont Bridge replacement project. It is a $350 million project that will include 4 lanes of traffic while adding new sidewalks, bicycle lanes, multi-use paths, and more. It is set to be completed by mid-2030. The current bridge may not have any major issues, but it's reaching the age when things could go wrong. 'We always do maintenance and preservation before we do any new capacity. We spare no expense with our bridges. They're very important to us, and we have a very robust bridge replacement program. It's that strategic moment in time for the DuPont Bridge where it's time to replace it. And I think it's an added benefit with the Tyndall Air Force Base rebuild that we use the opportunity to add that additional capacity to U.S. 98,' FDOT Secretary Jared Perdue said. Bay Building Industries Association begins 46th annual Parade of Homes Tyndall officials say that capacity is needed. Currently, about 3500 service members travel on and off the base daily. 'The bridge really fits into that nicely as we open up new facilities, open up new missions, welcome more people to the base. That bridge is really just going to help facilitate our growth.' Tyndall Commander Col. Chris Bergtholdt said. State officials also attended the Bay County Chamber of Commerce First Friday meeting, where they discussed the future of FDOT and how they have invested more than $382 million in bridge maintenance projects, like the DuPont project, in the past year. They say a lot of their success is due to the fact that they receive more than 70% of their funding from the state. 'There's a whole lot less restrictions with state money. Federal money comes with a lot of caveats. Anything that runs through the U.S. Treasury usually takes a long time to get moving. So we're very lucky when funds are allocated through the state. The DOT has a plan of work. They can go to work immediately. They have lots of projects on the shelves that are shovel-ready. So when we allocate that money, they can go to work right away,' State Representative Griff Griffitts said. State lawmakers are expected to vote on next year's budget by June 16th. The proposed plan will include nearly $15 billion for FDOT. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SpaceX works to expand rocket launching facilities along Florida's Space Coast
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – SpaceX, the company behind the Starship rocket, is planning a $1.8 billion investment along Florida's Space Coast, aimed at upgrading NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to support future launches of the mega rocket. SpaceX recently announced plans to construct a 380-foot-tall, state-of-the-art facility, known as a Gigabay, which will support the rapid assembly and refurbishment of reusable rockets. The company has been launching spacecraft from Florida's east coast for nearly two decades but has yet to attempt a Starship rocket launch from the Sunshine State. Starship missions have been exclusively conducted in Texas, but the company believes that once the spacecraft becomes reliable, it will become the new workhorse of the space industry. "As we work to complete the Gigabay in Florida, we are also designing and planning for a co-located manufacturing facility, similar to the Starfactory in Texas, to enable production of Starships in Florida," the company said in a statement. "To enable initial Starship flights from Florida while our Space Coast Starship manufacturing, integration, and refurbishment facilities are being completed, we will first transport completed Super Heavy boosters and Starship upper-stage ships from Starbase via barge to build up a Starship fleet in Florida. With production, integration, refurbishment, and launch facilities in Florida as well as Texas, we will be in a position to quickly ramp Starship's launch rate via rapid reusability." Included in the investment are a new launch pad at Launch Complex 39A and a site at Space Launch Complex 37 at the nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Future Of Nasa's Mega Moon Rocket Appears In Doubt Following Major Boeing Announcement The private space company has not yet received federal approval for the Florida site, and environmental impact reviews are still ongoing by multiple agencies. Several Starship tests in the Lone Star State have led to debris, raising concerns that rocket launches may be harmful to the immediate surrounding ecosystem. The State of Florida said it anticipates 600 full-time jobs to be based on the Space Coast by 2030, when the Starship program is expected to be well underway. "Florida continues to set the pace for space innovation, breaking records with 93 launches in 2024—up from 74 in 2023—and the state is on track to continue this record-breaking momentum into the future as a national leader in space manufacturing, launches, and business development," Jared Perdue, the secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, said in a statement. Watch: Spacex Starship Test Flight Disintegrates After Launch, Debris Spotted In Skies Over Caribbean It is unclear if the SpaceX facility in Florida will be up and running by the time NASA plans to use the rocket to launch a crew to the Moon during the Artemis III mission. The lunar landing could come as soon as mid-2027 but has been pushed back several years due to delays and cost overruns encountered with NASA's Space Launch System. Elon Musk has previously said he envisions uncrewed launches to Mars beginning in two years with the ultimate goal of developing a crewed self-sustaining article source: SpaceX works to expand rocket launching facilities along Florida's Space Coast
