Florida high-speed rail work on Tampa-Orlando line begins

Written by jrood

For Florida's high-speed rail, early work begins July 19 -- in a very geeky way, local media report. Crews are starting "geotechnical exploration."

Workers will start
surveying the rock and sand under two parts of Interstate 4. They have to find
out what’s down there: How high is the water table? How far down is the
bedrock?

They’ll be drilling in two
areas of I-4 — one in Orange County, and one in Polk County.

The track for the high-speed
trains will run down the median of Interstate 4 when the line connecting Tampa
and Orlando opens in 2015. As cars on I-4 move along with the flow of traffic,
trains on the high-speed rail line are expected to hit 168-mph.

So far, the U.S. government
has committed to fund half of the $2.5-billion rail line.

Florida did just recently
ask for a bit more money from Uncle Sam: $8 million for planning. The Sunshine
State is up against several other locations, competing for a total of $50
million.

While folks in hard hats
and orange vests get to work drilling along the highway, a crowd of people in
suits will be gathering in the Tampa Convention Center.

The group brings plenty of
political power. U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and Congresswoman Kathy Castor, both
Florida Democrats, are hosting the get-together. The gathering’s goal is to
brief everyone from politicians to businesses to folks like you and me on the
latest high-speed rail news.

They’ll talk about progress
so far, working together between different government agencies, and what
challenges are facing the project, which is set to be America’s first true
high-speed train to run on its own dedicated tracks.

In another big briefing
like this two months ago, the people running the project reminded folks there
of their three big early goals: start off the project by creating a safe work
zone, tackle any problems that come up right away, and "create jobs soon."

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