- The Washington Times - Thursday, October 26, 2017

President Trump on Thursday ordered an acceleration of repairs to Florida’s Herbert Hoover Dike, a project that has been dragging on since 2007 and is still more than a decade away from completion.

Repairing the dike, which surrounds Lake Okeechobee and provides flood protection to South Florida, is a top priority for Florida Gov. Rick Scott.

Mr. Trump also has made infrastructure a top priority, but plans for a major investment in roads and bridges has been put on hold while the administration focused on health care and tax reform.

Mr. Trump directed his budget director, Mick Mulvaney, to speed up the Army Corp of Engineers project, according to the White House.

“This project is important to the state of Florida and we are honored to play a role in the funding, and now acceleration, of this essential infrastructure initiative,” said Mr. Mulvaney said.

The Trump administration also commended Florida for allocating additional state funding to the project in order to bring the major infrastructure priority to completion more quickly and cost-effectively, according to the White House.

Mr. Scott said the president was keeping a pledge to advance the much-needed repairs to the federally operated Herbert Hoover Dike.

“After meeting with President Trump in April, he committed to me to provide the necessary funding to speed the repairs to the Dike. Today, I want to thank President Trump for prioritizing these repairs and protecting Florida’s environment for our future generations,” Mr. Scott said in a statement.

• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.

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