Ask Hampton Ray about the new toll lanes and the Florida Department of Transportation public information officer will explain them — and most anything else the public might want to know about the area’s state roads. He also is senior public information specialist with Atkins Global, which contracts with the state to provide information services.
My days vary. We currently are dealing with this void on Beach Boulevard. As things come up, we try and inform the community as best we can. Educate, respond and then inform. Our primary role is safety, making sure that the roads are safe, that the people who drive the roads act responsibly and safely.
The biggest projects are the express lanes projects that are going up in Mandarin. We expect those to open in late summer. It is a tolled lane but the general use lanes will remain free. We’ve been doing a lot of education the past two years. We’ve hit almost 200 events, speaking engagements and public information opportunities to try and inform the community. It’s quite a project. It’s going to be great when it opens.
We call them express lanes, but they are managed lanes, so the project manages the traffic on the entire roadway. It starts at the foot of the Buckman Bridge and ends at the Interstate 95 split, so about a mile before the split, drivers will decide where they want to go and maneuver and navigate the roadway from there. Once you’re in (an express lane), you’re locked in and you keep going until the end. The next set of express lanes is from State Road 9B to JTB along I-295. That area is really growing with the Town Center.
I went to Providence High School. I’m an East Arlington kind of guy. My wife and I live in Hidden Hills and we love it. After the University of North Florida for my undergraduate degree, I had an opportunity to work for Sen. Marco Rubio in Washington, D.C. That was a huge learning opportunity and put things in perspective. But after doing that for almost six years, my wife and I decided we wanted to start a family, so we moved home. We are about 10 minutes from my parents, 15 minutes from both my brothers.
In 2013 there was a government shutdown for 2½ weeks. I was furloughed. I was thinking about getting my master’s degree and ended up studying and taking the GRE and applied for grad school. We call it the fruit of the furlough.
My dad is Lake Ray. He’s a former state representative, former City Councilman and now he’s president of the First Coast Manufacturers Association. My mom is Brenda Ray and she had the huge responsibility and task of raising three boys. I’m the youngest.
(Asked about running for office:) We’ll see. I always say it’s tough. It’s become a blood sport, but never say never.
I volunteer for Special Olympics Florida – Duval County. When I was in high school, I was in Best Buddies, a mentor program between people with intellectual disabilities and traditional students.
I’m an avid barbecue connoisseur, so I do enjoy as much barbecue as I could possibly get my hands on, that (my wife) Jessi will let me eat. It started just after college. I continued to seek out fun little barbecue joints. I’m a South Carolina mustard guy.