Robert Mahoney, Gainesville district preconstruction engineer, made the announcement at Tuesday's Gainesville-Hall Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting.
The funds total about $32 million, and will go toward reconstruction, widening and overall improvement of the road, stretching from I-985 to State Route 211.
Mahoney said they have acquired some parcels of land for the project, but must still wait on others before construction can be completed.
An original goal to start the Friendship Road project had been December of 2010, but now Mahoney said a more realistic goal would be late spring of 2011 because of the delay of the funding.
The D.O.T.'s fiscal year ran through June 30, and Mahoney said they had been waiting on the money since that date.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/8/222396