Miami aims to accelerate Flagler Street revamp

The Flagler Street beautification process downtown is on track with its 30-month schedule.

“Flagler Street is coming along beautifully,” Chairman Manolo Reyes told the Miami Downtown Development Authority board March 18.

The project is divided in five sections from Biscayne Boulevard to Southwest/Northwest First Avenue, with work progressing from east to west. Of the five sections, the project is moving to Section C, or Southeast/Northeast Second Avenue to Southeast/Northeast First Avenue, and to Section D, or Southeast/Northeast First Avenue to South/North Miami Avenue.

“We are at the phase of installing the pavers, and once they’re installed, the streets are going to be opened while they work on the sidewalks,” Mr. Reyes said. “The sidewalks are going to be beautiful.”

There was an interruption in the original plan because cables FP&L was burying had to be manually installed rather than using machinery to avoid damaging pipes and tubes under the street.

Lanzo Construction has worked one step ahead of FP&L with its asphalt removal for FP&L to have ample time to lay wires. Once Lanzo finished the first block, it skipped ahead one step to the third block so FP&L could finish the second.

“After the hiccups we encountered in this phase, we are planning on doing things a little bit differently so we can accelerate to the next phase, Section C and D,” Mr. Reyes said. “We’ll try to coordinate better with FP&L.”

The goal is to accelerate the project for businesses on Flagler, according to Mr. Reyes. “I had a meeting with some of the businesses on Third Avenue that have been affected by the construction and we’re trying to expedite the project as much as we can.”