Four toll lanes down the middle of a free-to-drive interstate highway ? wtf is this....

[steve2470]

Later this year, or possibly early 2015, a massive $2 billion overhaul of Interstate 4 through downtown Orlando is set to start. It will add four toll lanes down the middle of the region's most heavily traveled highway, with the likely construction-caused delays expected to send frustrated motorists scurrying to SunRail.

Both developments are unprecedented in the region, though tolls long have played a role because motorists have to pay to ride Florida's Turnpike and the 109-mile road network operated by the Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority.

What's different this time is placing tolls lanes on a so-called free road such as I-4. That's never been done before in Central Florida and, in fact, was prohibited by federal law for years. The prohibition was dropped in 2012, allowing the state Department of Transportation to move ahead with a pay-to-drive plan.

State officials are counting on a private company – four are in the running – to cover nearly half the cost of the project, with tolls being used to repay the investment over 30 or more years. The state is willing to put up close to $1 billion as its contribution.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-cfb-transportation-tolls-trains-20140119,0,957947.story

I'm just speechless. Watch out fellow DU'ers, coming soon to a taxpayer-funded interstate highway near you.