Alligator Alley plan concerns senators

MIAMI — Concerned that the state is rushing to sell off key assets, two senators have demanded that the Florida Transportation Department turn over documents connected with the decision to privatize Alligator Alley.

Citing a lack of transparency surrounding the details of a proposed 50- to 75-year lease of Alligator Alley to foreign-owned companies, Sens. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, and Burt Saunders, R-Naples, filed a formal demand for the privatization records on Friday.

Saunders and Aronberg seek information on projected toll hikes and changes in operating standards for the 78-mile stretch of Interstate 75 that cuts across the Everglades between east Collier and west Broward counties.

Aronberg has been asking the Transportation Department to seek an independent review of the privatization deal from Florida's Council on Efficient Government. The council was created by the Legislature to review and evaluate outsourcing plans that exceed $10-million, but the Transportation Department is exempt from its review.

"As Floridians are painfully aware, our state has had a checkered history of privatizing other government services, at a significant cost to taxpayers. The stakes are simply too high in this project to risk a similar fate," Aronberg said. "This project could be one expensive horse to chase once it's out of the barn."

Six firms — most of them foreign-owned that specialize in large infrastructure asset investments — are vying for the right to control the alley.

Final bids are due by Dec. 15.

"We'll gladly provide the information that Sens. Aronberg and Saunders are requesting," said Transportation Department spokesman Dick Kane.

If a deal is reached, the winning firm would collect tolls and take on all maintenance, construction and toll collection for the next 50 to 75 years.

The state, which would continue to set toll rates, would receive a lump-sum payment upfront that supposedly would be used for transportation projects in other counties, plus a cut of future excess toll revenue.

The proposal has drawn heavy criticism from elected leaders and residents. They view the lease as giving away a valuable state asset that generates $23-million a year in revenue.