I want to start a conversation about something.

Jacksonville is quietly beginning one of the most ambitious transportation projects in its history, and the way that project is built could define the city’s transportation future, but only if we want it to.

Here’s how. #jaxpol 🧵

The Mathews Bridge, Union Street Expressway, & Arlington Expressway represented Jax's entry into the highway era. Completed in 1953, the bridge was the first fixed link between what was then Jacksonville and Arlington, in unincorporated Duval County across the St. Johns River.

Today is a great day for the future of passenger rail in America. But there’s so much more work to do, so much at stake, and it starts with the 2024 election.

Here's why. 🧵 Two years ago, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill into law.

It reformed how rail projects are funded & operated, but more importantly it included billions of dollars to make those changes a reality. For this let's focus on two ways of funding two programs.

I've been meaning to talk about this, and here's a good reason to do it:

Bringing @GoBrightline to Jacksonville, a 🧵

https://twitter.com/LewTurner/status/1730633417329410546

The history, real quick: Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway historically operated rail service from Jacksonville to Miami (and at one point Key West) during the late 19th and early 20th century.

In celebration of @GoBrightline's grand opening to @MCO, I thought I'd take a look back at Florida's high-speed rail story, and how the dream of connecting the state's biggest metro areas with fast passenger trains *finally* started coming true. 🧵 There's plenty of rail history in Florida, but the story of HSR starts in 1982, with Governor Bob Graham. That year, Graham would ride the Shinkansen bullet train in Japan. After he signed the 1984 HSR Act, two consortiums were ready to compete to build a new HSR line in Florida.