More than 500 high school students from several Northeast Florida counties will spend today at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center learning about road and bridge construction from people who actually do that work. This is the second year the Florida Department of Transportation has sponsored Construction Career Days.
Ron Tittle with the Florida DOT says it’s a way for kids who are interested in building roads and bridges to find out more about the industry. They even get to operate heavy equipment like excavators, bobcats and backhoes.
In addition to operating the equipment, there are 45 labs where students can learn about things like bridge repair, GPS surveying and Intelligent Transportation Systems.
And, Tittle says, with $400 million in road and bridge projects scheduled this year, and another $800 million in projects set to begin next year, there are plenty of jobs to go around.
