Editorial: Highway authority

Yet, that does not mean the idea is dead.

Commissioners themselves can skip the extra layer of bureaucracy that would come from state sponsorship and make the same joint effort. That would put commissioners rather than gubernatorial appointees in the driver’s seat, and enhance accountability.

We like that.

If a streamlined version of Davis’ highway consortium can accelerate a full complement of lanes on Interstate 75 by 20 years, so be it.

We like that even more.

That is Job 1. Tolls would trigger four more lanes in addition to the pair now planned for construction within five years in Lee and seven in Collier. Other north-south connectors need cooperative attention and work as well.

Still, two long-range details are important: the same ecological rules facing individual counties should apply to joint efforts, and tolls would be sunsetted at the completion of each job. Alligator Alley’s cash cow status shows how tolls can be abused indefinitely.

In addition, projects in each county ought to have the support of a majority of that county’s commissioners.

Give Mike Davis credit. Though carrying the ball for developers, Davis sought out public opinion and truly listened. He declined to do what other politicians have done — forge ahead because the public "doesn’t understand."

Pearls of wisdom can be salvaged from the style as well as the substance of his work. For that he deserves thanks.