Florida

Florida is a Southern state in the United States. It is known as the Sunshine State. "Florida" is a Spanish adjective which means "flowery." It was discovered by Spanish explorers during the Easter season, which is called Pascua Florida in Spanish. The U.S. Postal abbreviation is FL.

Transportation

Florida's interstates, state highways and U.S. Highways are maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation.

Related Topics:
Interstates - State highways - U.S. Highways - Florida Department of Transportation

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Florida's interstate highways include:

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• I-4, which bisects the state, connecting Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando, and Daytona Beach
• I-10, which traverses the panhandle, connecting Jacksonville, Lake City, Tallahassee, and Pensacola
• I-75, which enters the state near Lake City and continues southward through Gainesville, Ocala, and Tampa's eastern suburbs to Naples, where, as a toll road it crosses the "Alligator Alley" to Ft. Lauderdale
• I-95, which enters the state near Jacksonville and continues along the Atlantic Coast through Daytona Beach, Melbourne, West Palm Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale before terminating near Miami
• I-110
• I-175, which connects I-275 to southern downtown St. Petersburg
• I-195
• I-275
• I-295, a beltway in Jacksonville
• I-375, which connects I-275 to northern downtown St. Petersburg
• I-395
• I-595, which connects I-75, I-95, and the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
• I-795, proposed near Jacksonville

Florida's interstate highway system contains 1,473 miles of highway, and there are 9,934 miles of non-interstate highway in the state, such as Florida state highways and U.S. Highways.

Related Topics:
Florida state highways - U.S. Highways

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Florida has several toll roads. The state has 515 miles of toll roads in the state highway system. The section of Interstate 75 passing through the Everglades is a toll road. The Florida Turnpike, which begins off of Interstate 75 just south of Ocala, continues southeast to Orlando, and down to West Palm Beach is also a toll road. Connecting I-75 to the southwest Tampa area is the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway.

Related Topics:
Toll road - Florida Turnpike - Ocala - Orlando - West Palm Beach - Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway

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Florida has nearly 100 different specialty license plates to choose from for automobiles. There are plates for various issues and causes, such as environmental, and as well for various organizations and colleges.

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In 2000, voters approved a constitutional amendment to construct a high speed rail system to interconnect Florida's major cities. A committee was formed by the Florida Legislature to oversee the project. However, Jeb Bush and other lawmakers pushed for an amendment in 2004 to remove the amendment, which succeeded. They stated that the cost would have been too high to construct the system; however, proponents of the system have said the claims regarding high cost were exaggerated and taken out of context, compared with the cost of building roads, maintaining automobiles, and so forth.

Related Topics:
2000 - Florida Legislature - Jeb Bush - 2004

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Amtrak service exists in Florida, but it is considered by many not to be extensive or convenient enough for anything but vacation travel.

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Public transportation systems exist in many major cities. Miami has a monorail system, and most cities have bus service. However, the bus service is often criticized for being poorly funded, and too infrequent, sparse, inconvenient and spotty for serious use. Efforts, such as the high speed rail system, monorails, and improved bus service, have been proposed by many to help remedy this situation.

Related Topics:
Public transportation - Miami - Monorail - Bus

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Greyhound provides bus service between different cities in Florida. The service here as well is said to be too infrequent and slow. A trip between Tampa and Miami can take 10 hours, for instance.

Related Topics:
Greyhound - Tampa - Miami

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All major cities in Florida have airports, such as Miami International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Tampa International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Jacksonville International Airport. There are many other smaller regional and international airports, including one in Key West.

Related Topics:
Miami International Airport - Orlando International Airport - Tampa International Airport - Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport - Jacksonville International Airport - Key West

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