For workers at the Florida Department of Transportation and Florida Highway Patrol, there is one thing on their mind: safety.
That’s why they continue to make strides on one big safety issue along I-95 in Miami-Dade County - lane diving.
“One year ago we announced a plan to address large lane diving, which is an unsafe maneuver crossing the plastic pools,” said Jim Wolfe, the FDOT District Six Secretary.
So, the agency decided to shorten the spacing between polls from 10 to five feet, which had a dramatic effect based on the numbers the state collected.
According to FDOT, replacement of poles is down 92 percent as fewer people lane diving. There has also been an 87 percent decrease in issuing tickets and a 31 percent reduction in collisions in express lanes.
But there’s more work to be done, especially for highway troopers.
“They want emergency pull off areas so they can safely issue a ticket, or put disabled vehicles,” said Wolfe, adding that those are currently under construction.
