Javier Rodriguez to head up Miami Dade Toll

Javier Rodriguez, a longtime Florida DOT officer has been appointed executive director of the Miami Dade Expressway Authority (MDX). Rodriguez, 38 comes from a position of director of transportation development for the Miami region of FDOT.

Chairman of the regional toll authority Darryl Sharpton says he is excited about the appointment because Rodriguez is well respected both locally and in the broader transport community, adding: "He appears to have lots of energy...and wants to prove himself."

Rodriguez was chosen from about a dozen candidates for the $175k to $225k/yr job.

He was born in Miami to Cuban exile parents and has an engineering degree form Florida International University.

He takes over from the longtime MDX Exec Director Servando Parapar, who boringly retired without any hint of the scandal or drama expected of EDs in Florida tolling. Parapar was the first ED of the eleven year old toll authority that operates five tollroads totaling 52km (32mi) in the Miami area and grosses some $35m/yr.

The MDX tollroads have mainline toll plazas only so the majority of traffic going between ramps bypasses the toll points and goes free. A major challenge is rationalizing the tolling so all users pay.

Also MDX's most promising new project is a much needed north-south Central Expressway that would link the various east-west tollroads. It is stalled by political opposition and fanciful notions of rail as an alternative.

TOLLROADSnews 2007-01-24