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County moves to reserve sales and fuel tax revenue for long‑term I‑95 interchange push
Summary
Nassau County commissioners directed staff to earmark fuel tax receipts and an annual sales‑tax allocation toward an I‑95 interchange effort, aiming to show financial commitment while pursuing state and federal approvals over a 10–15 year timeline.
Nassau County commissioners on April 9 agreed in principle to a funding strategy that would reserve local transportation revenue streams for a long‑term push to secure a new I‑95 interchange near the county.
Staff told the board that federal, state and regional approvals, permitting and design work for a new interstate interchange typically take a decade or more, and that political support and a demonstrated local funding commitment strengthen the county’s case for state and federal matching funds. Staff proposed earmarking the roughly $945,000 in annual fuel tax payments (freed up when an older fuel‑tax bond matured) and directing an additional roughly $1 million per year of sales tax allocations to an interchange fund beginning in FY 2025–26.
‘‘Part of that is we need to show a strong financial commitment that we’re moving forward with this project,’’ staff said; commissioners generally supported the approach and the idea that these reserved funds could be used to complete early design, environmental studies and to show local matching at the state and federal level.
Staff and commissioners emphasized these local allocations would only fund a portion of the overall interchange cost; the project will still require state and federal funds and likely decades of engineering, permitting and right‑of‑way work. Commissioners noted the interchange would support future economic development and relieve congestion along existing interchanges.
Next steps: staff will include the earmarked allocations in FY 2025–26 budget planning and use the funds to finance preliminary engineering and permitting work that supports federal and state funding requests. If the interchange concept does not proceed, staff said the reserved funds could be reallocated to other transportation capital projects.
Ending: Commissioners characterized the plan as a long‑range strategic investment and directed staff to proceed with reserving the identified revenue streams in the budget work.
