Florida Gov. Rick Scott touring Irma-damaged Bonita Springs on September 12. Scott suspended tolls on Florida highways to help evacuees and supply transport before and after the storm.The 16-day suspension of toll roads in Florida to aid evacuations and returns before and after Hurricane Irma struck will result in more than $45 million in lost revenue, according to the Sun Sentinel.
The newspaper reports, though, that the Florida Turnpike system factors toll suspensions for hurricanes into its annual budgets, so the lost revenue should not affect operations or programs.
Most toll road collections in Florida resumed at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 21, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Gov. Rick Scott suspended tolls September 5 throughout the state to aid Hurricane Irma evacuations and those evacuees’ return to the state.
Tolls, however, remain suspended on the Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike, south of the interchange with S.R. 874, to assist Monroe County residents with recovery efforts, the FDOT says. Monroe County in the Florida Keys was one of the hardest hit areas in the state. Fourteen deaths in the county have been attributed to Irma, according to the Miami Herald.
