Florida Construction News staff writer
Awards totaling $311 million have been announced to repair and strengthen infrastructure in 37 Florida communities, with the bulk of the funding directed to rural counties and small cities impacted by recent storms.
The money is being distributed through the 2023 and 2024 Storms Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Infrastructure Repair Program. Thirty-two of the awards are designated for rural counties and small municipalities and support projects ranging from water and wastewater systems to roads, bridges and emergency facilities.
The largest CDBG-DR awards include:
- $70 million for the Peace River Watershed Project in Polk County to support water infrastructure repairs, flood risk management and habitat restoration.
- $38 million to Suwannee County to construct the North Florida Regional Special Needs Emergency Shelter.
- $20 million to the Jacksonville Electric Authority to redirect wastewater flows to an existing treatment facility.
- $16.4 million to Citrus County to replace a sanitary sewer system damaged by stormwater intrusion and increased flows during the 2023 and 2024 storms.
- $22.7 million combined to the city of Arcadia to widen its main stormwater channel and construct and expand its wastewater treatment plant.
- $17.2 million combined to the Village of Indiantown to build a new reverse osmosis water treatment plant and replace approximately 13,000 linear feet of water transmission main.
Other CDBG-DR awards include nearly $6 million to Bradford County to structurally reinforce roadways, $8 million to DeSoto County for wastewater disposal wells, $4.9 million to Palatka to harden and expand its wastewater treatment plant, and $3.9 million to Live Oak to construct a new water storage tank and water line loop. Additional projects target bridge rehabilitation, stormwater improvements, airport infrastructure, public safety facilities and utility hardening across the state.
An additional $50 million allocated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will support counties and municipalities located in areas most impacted and distressed by Hurricane Ian. Communities receiving funding under both Hurricane Ian and the 2023 and 2024 Storms CDBG-DR programs include Avon Park, Immokalee and Dundee, with projects focused on sanitary sewer repairs and potable water system upgrades.
Separately, awards were also announced under the Rural Infrastructure Fund program, which supports infrastructure projects intended to promote job creation, capital investment and economic growth in rural areas.
For fiscal year 2025-26, the Florida Legislature appropriated $22 million for the Rural Infrastructure Fund, including $5 million for a Panhandle-specific program. FloridaCommerce received a record 112 applications requesting more than $195 million during the application period. Since 2019, the program has awarded more than $110 million statewide.
Major Rural Infrastructure Fund awards include $3 million to Putnam County for construction of critical public infrastructure at its central landfill, $2.95 million to the Keystone Heights Airport Authority for a runway extension, and $2 million to Columbia County to construct rail infrastructure serving the North Florida Mega Industrial Park. Additional grants will support water main extensions, sewer evaluations, airport improvements and utility upgrades in several rural communities.
The combined funding is aimed at accelerating storm recovery while improving the long-term resilience and capacity of critical infrastructure throughout Florida’s rural and small-city communities.
