Florida NewsMakers: FDOT Secretary Ananth Prasad

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Florida NewsMakers: FDOT Secretary Ananth Prasad

On this week’s “Florida NewsMakers” program, Secretary Ananth Prasad of the Florida Department of Transportation sits down with Sachs Media Group’s Michelle Ubben to discuss successes from the state’s 2014 legislative session.

As federal transportation funds dwindle, Prasad praised Florida lawmakers for making a historical investment in the state’s transportation needs. “$10.1 billion, that’s a record ever invested in transportation infrastructure in the state of Florida,” Prasad tells Ubben. When it comes to Legislature’s proposal to increase the speed limit by 5 mph on certain roads and highways, Prasad said safety will be the primary determining factor. “Generally our roads are not build to handle 75-80 miles an hour.  Now people drive faster and there is that element of tolerance there but we will evaluate if we increase the speed limit, the geometry of the road, the road side barriers and hazards, is it capable of handling that and at the end of the day if it’s not safe, we will not raise the limit,” he says. Prasad also addresses emerging technology in today’s vehicles and the state’s new anti-littering campaign.