Statement by Commissioner Nikki Fried on Cabinet Vote Against Dolphin Expressway Extension

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, the Florida Cabinet voted 3-1 to approve a controversial road project in Miami-Dade County that threatens agricultural lands, Everglades restoration, and endangered species, while not making significant reductions to urban sprawl. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, an independently-elected member of the Florida Cabinet, was the lone vote against the project and offers the following statement:

“I’d like to know why my Cabinet colleagues think they know better than an Administrative Law Judge who recommended against this wasteful project. By overriding a judge with the expertise to recommend against it, Cabinet members have once again sided with developers in favor of harming Everglades restoration, risking wildlife, agricultural lands, and Miami-Dade’s water supply, while not really reducing urban sprawl. Let’s be clear about what was done today, because these lands can’t be unpaved once they’re gone forever. I was once again the lone vote against this, but I’m proud to stand with environmentalists like the Audubon Society, Sierra Club, and others. This project wasn’t going to move Florida forward in June, and it won’t now.”

Background: At the June 2021 meeting of the Florida Cabinet, Cabinet members voted 3-1 to reject the Administrative Law Judge’s recommended order against expanding State Road 836, known as the Dolphin Expressway; Commissioner Fried was the lone vote to accept the judge’s order to reject the project. The Miami Herald’s editorial board criticized the project’s “dubious effectiveness,” stating it would “lead to more development and more pressure on our natural resources.”

###