Miami's Highway Makeover

"In the very near future, Interstate 95 is going to look a whole lot different -- and potentially cost a lot more -- for hundreds of thousands of South Florida motorists.

Bolstered by a $62.9 million federal grant announced Tuesday, the state will immediately begin converting the underused and unpopular High Occupancy Vehicle lanes into an all-electronic High Occupancy Toll highway.

South Florida was one of five traffic-plagued metropolitan areas awarded a total of $848 million to accelerate plans that aim to use technology and free-market principles to reduce congestion and enhance mass transit.

'This is a huge deal for South Florida,' said U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, a Miami Republican who sits on the House Transportation Committee. 'We're going to be at the forefront of some serious innovations. I really believe this is going to have a pretty dramatic impact on traffic. It's been done in other places, and it works.'"