Joint project agreement with port district for transportation corridor between airport and port facility.

(1) An eligible agency may acquire, construct, and operate all equipment, appurtenances, and land necessary to establish, maintain, and operate, or to license others to establish, maintain, operate, or use, a transportation corridor connecting an airport operated by such eligible agency with a port facility, which corridor must be acquired, constructed, and used for the transportation of persons between the airport and the port facility, for the transportation of cargo, and for the location and operation of lines for the transmission of water, electricity, communications, information, petroleum products, products of a public utility (including new technologies of a public utility nature), and materials. However, any such corridor may be established and operated only pursuant to a joint project agreement between an eligible agency as defined in s. 332.004 and a port district as defined in s. 315.02, and such agreement must be approved by the Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce. Before the Department of Transportation approves the joint project agreement, that department must review the public purpose and necessity for the corridor pursuant to s. 337.273(5) and must also determine that the proposed corridor is consistent with the Florida Transportation Plan. Before the Department of Commerce approves the joint project agreement, that department must determine that the proposed corridor is consistent with the applicable local government comprehensive plans. An affected local government may provide its comments regarding the consistency of the proposed corridor with its comprehensive plan to the Department of Commerce.

(2) Prior to developing a new corridor, the eligible agency, in determining the most feasible corridor, shall give first consideration to existing and available corridors in the public domain.

(3) A transportation corridor established pursuant to this section shall not be considered an aviation project for purposes of state funding, but shall be considered an aviation project for all other purposes.