TPO moves to new state-of-the-art center


Col. Gene Spaulding, Florida Highway Patrol and Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper in the RTMC Center.
It was with great fanfare Nov. 12 that the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization officially opened the doors of its new Regional Transportation Management Center (RTMC) at 980 N. Jefferson St.
The North Florida TPO, which formerly had its headquarters on the Southbank in a JTA-owned building on Prudential Drive, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new facility, which was witnessed by political, transportation and law enforcement dignitaries from throughout the region.
The state-of-the-art center will house employees from the Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Transportation and others whose main objective is to work toward safe and efficient travel in the Northeast Florida area. It is the first Transportation Management Center in Florida to co-locate staff across agencies and the first facility in the state to be interconnected to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for a combined response to Homeland Security.

Amy Johns mans the consoles monitoring St. Johns and Flagler Counties in Jacksonville’s new Regional Transportation Management Center.
“It took 12 years to make this become a reality,” said Jeff Sheffield, executive director of the North Florida TPO. “‘We did it!’ were the only words I could think of to say as I was driving in today.”

At the rear of the new center is a 24-foot by 6-foot screen allowing for 300 inches of TV coverage over 18 monitors.

The new center boasts a 24-foot by 6-foot screen allowing for 300 inches of regional TV coverage over 18 monitors.



