Business View Civil Municipal - July 2023

11 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 7 Source -gobrightline.com, first published, June 21, 2023 Brightline, the only provider of modern, eco- friendly, intercity rail in America, celebrated the completion of construction to Orlando, paving the way for the launch of service between Central and South Florida this summer. To mark the completion of construction, mayors representing Brightline station cities along with Brightline Orlando construction team members gathered to celebrate with a roundtable conversation on transportation and economic impact in Florida. Brightline’s Orlando expansion broke ground in June 2019, one year after operations began in South Florida between its Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach stations. Additional stations were opened in downtown Boca Raton and Aventura in 2022 as construction to Orlando continued. Brightline is the first private entity to deliver an intercity rail system since Henry Flagler built the railroad more than a century ago. Brightline construction (Phase I & II) generated more than 10,000 jobs and more than $6.4 billion in economic impact to the state of Florida (according to economic studies). Construction teams worked more than seven million hours battling through the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain shortages to finish the 170 mile corridor extension. Mayors from Brightline’s station cities in Miami, Aventura, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Orlando gathered to celebrate this economic and engineering achievement with a conversation focused on the future impact of connecting the state of Florida with intercity passenger rail. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, Palm Beach County Mayor Gregg Weiss, Aventura Mayor Howard Weinberg and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez attended the event held in Brightline’s Orlando Station at Orlando International Airport. Mayors, members of Brightline’s construction management team and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority commemorated the end of construction with the creation of an iconic photo that symbolizes the connection between Miami and Orlando by rail. OPENING LINES BRIGHTLINE CELEBRATES COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION