Will $31.7 billion Hyperloop be
built to connect Orlando and
Miami in 26 minutes?
MAJOR UPCOMING PROJECTS
See our top ten list on our website:
www.floridaconstructionnews.com Will FPL ever complete the
$20 billion Turkey Point
nuclear project expansion
Florida Construction News staff writer
Florida Power and Light’s (FPL) planned $20 billion
expansion of the Turkey Point nuclear power plant
takes second place in Construct Connect’s list of the
top 10 planned Florida construction projects. But it is
uncertain how soon, and whether, the massive proj-
ect will be built.
FPL hit the “pause” button on the project for four
years in 2016. But the utility indicates it is still com-
mitted to nuclear power despite the industry’s recent
retrenchment. In May 2017, FPL came closer to clearing what
might be the last hurdle in obtaining its federal li-
cense for expansion during a two-day hearing when it
defended attacks from environmentalists and neigh-
boring cities over plans to dispose of millions of gal-
lons of wastewater used in cooling the new reactors
in wells deep underground, The Miami Herald re-
ported. FPL first applied to the federal Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) to build the AP-1000 reactors in
June 2009. Long delays are not uncommon in the nu-
clear field, and matters have been complicated by the
bankruptcy of the reactor’s designer, Westingthouse.
NRC hearings were reportedly scheduled for De-
cember, 2017, but the NRC website referencing the
project was last updated last June, and there is no in-
dication in published reports about the hearing’s out-
comes. In February, FPL applied to the NRC to continue op-
erating the existing reactors until 2057.
In other words, this mega-project is still in the plan-
ning stages, but it is far from certain when, and if, it
will actually be built.
16 – MARCH 2018 — Florida Construction News
Florida Construction News staff writer
It is an idea that may
seem out of science fiction,
and if it is built, will cer-
tainly be one of the largest
construction projects in the
state’s history – but the
high-speed rail route that
would allow commuters to travel between Orlando and Miami
in 26 minutes is one step closer to reality.
Officials with Hyperloop One, a private effort first intro-
duced by billionaire Elon Musk in 2013, have included the
Florida route on a list of 10 that had cleared an initial proposal
review. Each of the cities will now receive resources to help de-
velop feasibility studies for the regions.
Of course, the idea still has a long way to go from concept
to reality. Construction Connect reports the estimated cost of
the system, if built, would be a little more than $31 billion (to
be exact, if you can be so finite in things of this scale,
$31,097 million). This puts it as the highest
value of the top 10 Florida construction
projects currently in planning.
Florida’s Hyperloop team is led
by AECOM, an engineering firm, and has
the backing of the Miami Dade Depart-
ment of Transportation and Public Works,
Miami- Dade Metropolitan Planning Organ-
ization, and additional private and public
sector partners, HyperLoop One said in its announcement.
“The Hyperloop One Global Challenge started as a call to
action for innovators, engineers, trailblazers and dreamers
around the world who shared our vision of creating a new
mode of transportation,” said Shervin Pishevar, cofounder and
executive chairman of the Hyperloop One group, in a release
announcing the finalists.
Hyperloop One has been scheduled to test the electric-
powered train, which would travel at more than 750 mph, this
year, at a Nevada site, though there appear to be snags – the
original test track has proven too short to get the train to the
required speed.
An optimistic timeline has the vehicles ready to ship cargo
by 2020 and passengers by 2021, the Orlando Sentinel has
reported. The 257-mile Orlando to Miami project is the second short-
est proposed route of the 10 finalists. Only a 208-mile pro-
posal to connect Bengalaru to Chennai in India is shorter.
The U.S. had three other finalists: A route that connects
Dallas, Laredo and Houston in Texas; one that connects
Chicago to Columbus, Ohio, and Pittsburgh; and a route con-
necting Pueblo, Colorado, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, through
Denver.