Draft budget shows Deegan seeking $441 million for infrastructure

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — We’re getting a first glimpse at Mayor Donna Deegan’s plans to improve infrastructure in Jacksonville.

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According to a draft of her infrastructure budget she plans to propose sending hundreds of millions of dollars on roads, parks and other improvements.

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The total infrastructure investment detailed in the document amounts to roughly $441 million.

Nearly half, $218 million, would go towards roads and transportation projects.

There’s also $86 million for parks, $57 million for public facilities, $39 million for drainage projects, $35 million for public safety improvements and $6 million for environmental and quality of life projects.

Throughout the campaign, Deegan emphasized her commitment to improving infrastructure in Jacksonville.

“Infrastructure, and especially the neglected infrastructure, in the City of Jacksonville has got to be job one,” said Deegan during the Action News Jax Mayoral Debate in April.

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Some of the biggest allocations detailed in the draft budget under roads and transportation include $31 million for multiple projects on the Northbank, $27 million for road resurfacing, $16 million for projects at McCoy’s Creek, and $6 million for sidewalk curb repairs.

In our interview with then Mayor-elect Deegan in late June, she listed infrastructure one of the three main pillars of her administration.

“It’s incredibly important to me to make sure that we put our city in a position to be successful. So, what that looks like to me is being proactive on a number of fronts. We have infrastructure that we have neglected for many, many years. We have got to very intentionally work on that,” said Deegan.

Under public safety, the bulk of the money laid out in the draft would go to fire station projects totaling $31.7 million.

That also includes $3 million for the fire museum.

Public facilities projects include $25 million for UF Health capital improvements, $7.5 million for the baseball grounds and $5 million for Mayport dock redevelopment.

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Deegan also appears to be looking for big investments in parks.

The draft budget includes $13 million for Metropolitan Park, $12 million for the Liberty Street Marina, $15 million for the Southbank Riverwalk, $10 million for the Northbank Riverwalk Extension and $10 million for the Shipyards West Park.

Additionally, there’s $10 million for resiliency infrastructure improvements – A priority the mayor highlighted during our interview with her just before she took office.

“That is going to become more and more important as we go along. So, that’s an effort that I absolutely wanna make sure that we push forward,” said Deegan.

The projects are part of a draft, and aren’t guaranteed to end up in the final budget proposal.

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Mayor Deegan expected to unveil her finalized budget this coming Monday, and her office suggested there will likely be some changes compared to the document released Thursday.