When Brightline embarked on Phase Ⅱ of its Florida high-speed rail system, the 168-mile corridor from West Palm Beach to the Orlando International Airport, a significant list of transecting geographic features needed to be crossed to complete the route. Chief among the obstacles are 25 bodies of water ranging from drainage canals to major navigable waterways, including a crossing of the Okeechobee Waterway which serves as the vital connection between the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The route also crosses major Florida highways, including I-95, the S.R. 528 Beach-line Expressway, and the S.R. 417 Central Florida GreeneWay. The final 3 miles of the project threads the needle through the heart of one of the busiest airports in the country en route to its terminus at the newly constructed Orlando International Airport (OIA) Intermodal Transportation Facility (ITF). Expanding service from the existing Brightline system in south Florida to central Florida required creativity, innovation, and 47 bridges. Officials had their work cut out for them in planning for this major system expansion.
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