MIAMI – Due to a combination of warm weather and an efficient toll system, Florida ranks near the top on transportation, recent reports said.
Florida's system of tolls, user fees and taxes ensures infrastructure funding keeps flowing and puts the responsibility of maintaining the roads on drivers, transportation policy experts told The Washington Post.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers 2013 report card only four percent of the roads in Florida are in disrepair, as opposed to 14 percent of roads in the nation.
The gas tax in Florida is one of the highest in the country and it's set to adjust to inflation. Some experts believe that the nation should follow this model. The national gas tax hasn't been adjusted since 1993.
The nation's Highway Trust Fund -- which finances transportation infrastructure projects -- has been running on a deficit for years. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that will provide $10.8 billion to keep it running until May 2015. But the Senate has yet to pass it.
The Florida Department of Transportation gets 30 percent of it revenue from the fund.
In Miami-Dade, the lack of funding would likely delay projects such as the express lanes on the Palmetto and Interstate 75, the Miami Herald reports.
Greg Stuart, executive director of Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization told the Sun Sentinel that the lack of funding would affect $1.5 billion in projects.